Gretchen Whitmer responds to calls by some Democrats to vote ā€˜uncommittedā€™ in Michiganā€™s primary on Tuesday

Gretchen Whitmer responds to calls by some Democrats to vote ā€˜uncommittedā€™ in Michiganā€™s primary on Tuesday

Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan governor, pushed back on calls to not vote for Joe Biden over his handling of the Israel-Gaza conflict, saying on Sunday that could help Trump get re-elected.

ā€œItā€™s important not to lose sight of the fact that any vote thatā€™s not cast for Joe Biden supports a second Trump term,ā€ she said on Sunday during an interview on CNNā€™s State of the Union. ā€œA second Trump term would be devastating. Not just on fundamental rights, not just on our democracy here at home, but also when it comes to foreign policy. This was a man who promoted a Muslim ban.ā€

Whitmer, who is a co-chair of Bidenā€™s 2024 campaign, also said she wasnā€™t sure what to expect when it came to the protest vote.

Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat who is the only Palestinian-American serving in Congress, urged Democrats last week to vote ā€œuncommittedā€ in Michiganā€™s 27 February primary.

  • Syndic@feddit.de
    1Ā·
    9 months ago

    Not sure if youā€™re just so damn cynical or are knowingly are pushing Russian propaganda.

    But damn dude, Trump and quite a few top Republicans is balls deep into Russiaā€™s pockets. Thatā€™s the reason that they suddenly are actively taking Russiaā€™s point of view. Something that 20 years ago never would have been possible.

    And sorry, but if you think that the US becoming a full fledged theocratic oligarchic dictatorship than what it is right now then you really didnā€™t think through what that would mean to you and those you love. Their plans regarding abortion and pregnancy prevention alone should be more than enough to point you in the right direction.

    • kava@lemmy.world
      1Ā·
      9 months ago

      Iā€™ll admit I am pretty cynical but I have arrived at my positions with reason and lots of reading and analysis. Itā€™s not out of the blue and itā€™s not partisan. I donā€™t really care about neither Trump Biden or Russia. I was born in South America in the 90s and grew up in the US as an illegal immigrant and became legal under Trump (citizen now under Biden). I have a different experience of this country compared to you. I also have exposure to different language media that isnā€™t as heavily manipulated on certain topics and exposure to different geopolitical viewpoints.

      I think that Putin is a naturally ally for Trump because they are similar strongman leaders. But I do not think that Trump and Co. are beholden to Russia like you claim. Remember that Trump was willing to send weapons to Ukraine that Obama was not - out of fears of potentially angering Russia.

      It was Paul Manafort for example who was involved in Ukraine collecting and spending millions of dollars of taxpayer money in order to influence Ukrainian democracy away from Russia and towards the US. A Trump ally.

      Thereā€™s a lot more to this discussion I can share with you if youā€™re curious.

      As for your last part - I support abortion and think itā€™s absurd that we are going backwards in time and repealing something we figured out in 1974.

      But tell me honestly man - do you believe if Biden were to be elected (which at this point is becoming increasingly unlikely if you are watching the polls) - do you think he will manage to bring abortion back?

      • Syndic@feddit.de
        1Ā·
        9 months ago

        Well I donā€™t have your view on GOP/Putin and their relationship to Russia. I think itā€™s very obvious why after hacking both the Democrat and GOP mail servers only the Democrat one were leaked. There has to be quite some juicy stuff the Russian now hold over several major GOP players.

        But tell me honestly man - do you believe if Biden were to be elected (which at this point is becoming increasingly unlikely if you are watching the polls) - do you think he will manage to bring abortion back?

        Abortion still is around for a lot of states. So at the very least Iā€™m certain that Biden and hopefully a Democrat majority in the Senat will prevent it being banned in the whole country. I mean the Republicans really arenā€™t silent about their plans and that should be important to any sane person. If they get another Trump turn, it will get a lot worse for the US than it ever could under Biden.

        • kava@lemmy.world
          1Ā·
          9 months ago

          I think itā€™s very obvious why after hacking both the Democrat and GOP mail servers only the Democrat one were leaked

          because Russia wants Trump to win. That doesnā€™t mean Trump is a Russian agent or somehow in Putinā€™s pocket. It just means that Russia believes Trump at the helm of the US puts Russia in a better geopolitical situation. The logic probably being that Trump is chaotic and a more chaotic US is a weaker US - therefore better for Russia.

          Again, how do you reconcile your views with the fact that Paul Manafort was intimately involved with the Ukrainian revolution that put a pro-western government in power? Or that Trump was more willing to send weapons to Ukraine than the Democratic president before him?

          As for abortion, I donā€™t think Trump would initiate a country-wide ban either. That would be extremely unpopular and Trump seems to be trying recently to distance himself from these types of extremist bans.

          on NBCā€™s Meet The Press, Trump was more circumspect on the topic, dinging Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for passing a six-week limit on abortion access. ā€œI think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake,ā€ Trump said of his closest rival. ā€œI would sit down with both sides and Iā€™d negotiate something, and weā€™ll end up with peace on that issue for the first time in 52 years,ā€

          ā€œI watch some of them without the exceptions, etc., etc.,ā€ he said, referring to conservatives who donā€™t support abortion exceptions in cases including abortion and rape. "I said: 'Other than certain parts of the country, you canā€™t ā€” youā€™re not going to win on this issue. But you will win on this issue when you come up with the right number of weeks. ā€œBecause Democrats donā€™t want to be radical on the issue; most of them, some do,ā€ he continued. "They donā€™t want to be radical on the issue. They donā€™t want to kill a baby in the seventh month or the ninth month or after birth.

          I donā€™t think there will be any change in the abortion issue on the federal level in the next 4 years regardless of if Biden or Trump is in power.

          I think obviously Trump set up the current state of affairs by nominating the 3 judges, therefore giving the Supreme Court to the conservatives. So heā€™s more responsible for the nationwide abortion bans than virtually any other person in this country.

          Please understand I hate Trump. Iā€™ve hated him since 2016 when he said the famous ā€œmurderers, rapists, etcā€ line. I just equally hate Biden because heā€™s a hypocrite and in many issues he is not fundamentally different in a practical sense.

          Why didnā€™t they push through an abortion bill in congress when the Dems had a majority? Why did Biden continue using Trumpā€™s COVID loopholes to deny people seeking asylum at the border? Why did Biden promise to make Saudi Arabia a pariah state for chopping up a journalist and instead of doing that, he signed billion dollar arms deals? Why did Biden hug Netanyahu right after they started dropping bombs on Palestinian civilians? Why did Biden continue Trumpā€™s policies of sanctions and import tariffs on China? Why did Biden promise to halt the ā€œWall tmā€ expansion and instead expanded it after doing a photo shoot at the border? Why did Biden pretend like Navalny is a hero when he literally organized and marched with neo-nazis in Moscow?

          I can go on and on and on. At this point Iā€™m totally disillusioned with any establishment Democrat.