That’s nuts. “Only voting for yourself” is usually a trump vote. Generally, a Left-wing voter asks “What’s best for everyone?” and a Right-wing voter asks “What’s best for me?”
Of course, the Democrat party isn’t left-wing (more like middle-right) but still, it’s a far less selfish vote than trump.
I don’t know about your life, but my life is made better by the acceptance and participation of all sorts of people. I’m selfishly voting for Democrats because I have 4 daughter and a gay son.
My wife and I make enough money and I could be happy on less if it improved the environment around me by improving the lives of the people I share the world with. Those brown people would be a hell of a lot less scary to us white people if so many of them weren’t in desperate financial straits, and if we didn’t teach them to expect hatred and cruelty from us.
I voted for her because she was the lesser evil, but describing her as just “not the perfect progressive candidate in every way” is a gross misrepresentation. She was probably the most right leaning Democratic candidate to run in a general election and was openly adopting many of the Republican stances. There were basically two Republicans running.
Trump won because the people that voted for him actually like him, they aren’t choosing the lesser of two evils or whatever nonsense. The democrats message of “at least we aren’t as bad” was awfully inspiring.
Hey democrats, if you win what will you do with that power? Change nothing? Cool!
Blame the democrats for getting tight lipped about literally anything anyone cared about.
You didn’t listen - they talked about corporations buying houses, the middle class disappearing, being unable to live on minimum wage, expanding medical for people that need it.
The idea that a political party will change just because they lost because they weren’t exactly where you wanted is also ignorant. That’s never a guarantee. Otherwise we would currently be living in utopia. Maybe it will cycle back, by the time we’re all dead
They honestly spent too much time talking about tax credits to start a business. Starting a business? Lady, I’m starting to look seriously at fleeing the country in hopes of finding one that hasn’t lost its collective mind.
For starters it didn’t use to be a choice of “who would you rather see killed” - or in other words, nothing was forever lost if one side won instead of the other - and beyond that it has always been a cyclical choice, so it made sense for voters who felt insufficiently catered to, to punish a side on one cycle to try and get it to offer a better deal on the next cycle.
Whether that remains the case - i.e. will Trump make himself dictator for life - is the big question.
That’s true but I didn’t mean it as a choice of who you’d rather see killed, just that the system is set up in such a way that as a rational voter you are forced into a situation where you must act to prevent the worst outcome rather than voting for your interests and what you believe in.
Basically, and people let ‘the enemy of perfect get in the way of good enough’. Progress is incremental unfortunately. That’s just how it is. We can accept that, or we get this crap.
The only way a political party changes is when they stop winning.
If Democrats think they will win by being Republicans who hate the gays a little bit less, then that is what they’ll do. They were just shown that that isn’t a winning strategy, so we’ll see if the party changes tack or doubles down.
“You monster, it is your fault you gave us Trump”
I make my voting preferences known in every primary, state, and federal election. I actively volunteer for candidates I like. The party knows what will earn my vote, if they wanted it. If they make the strategic bet that getting my vote will cost them more from somewhere else, then that is on them.
“That is so entitled, how could you”
Have you ever considered that the reason both parties seem so out of touch with mainstream thought is because they have 10s of millions of people who will vote regardless of policy, thereby preventing the parties from understanding what is actually effective in getting them votes?
You seem to think there will be real elections again rather than the type they have in Russia now that Republicans control all three branches of government.
I’m not sure why. Do you think they will ever willingly give up power?
It is impossible to argue against conspiratorial thinking.
Let’s say Kamala had narrowly won the election, would 2028 be the right time to hold the Democrats accountable for real, useful, policy changes? Or would there be another Republican Boogeyman (maybe Ted Cruz again? Or Desantis?) that would absolutely need to be defeated before it would be proper - in your opinion - to ask these public servants to actually serve me?
According to many commenters here, and I assume many of the downvoters whenever a comment questions the utility of unconditional loyalty to the blue party, the US has been hovering just above an irreversible descent into a fascist dictatorship.
So let me ask you, which of the leaders you voted for reversed that decline? Because the ‘vote blue no matter who’ dogma has given over a decade of historically unpopular candidates who consistently lose to - again according to you - naked fascists.
Unfortunately yeah my vote was pointless and local elections too. I ended up getting a runoff for my city council District, both candidates use pictures of them with Ted Cruz in their advertising. That’ll sober you right the fuck up.
Making things worse based on the idiotic hope that it might somehow magically spark things to get better is the absolute dumbest fucking idea one can have.
If by “trolley system to self-destruct” you mean violent revolution and a new system of government imperfect in a completely different way, yes. Good luck with the wait.
With me, at least, they have moved on to, “you care more about your gay daughter than Palestinians!” Which… yeah. That’s called parenting. Along with, “why are you worried about a queer genocide that hasn’t happened yet?!” Because I don’t want to chance it? People can be such assholes.
If both candidates mean gaza is fucked, but one of them means hundreds of thousands of extra unnecessary deaths to disabled people, homeless people, migrants, poor people, queer and trans people etc.
Of fucking course I’ll pick the least bad option instead of being apathetic about it. Especially since I’m a disabled poor person who has had bouts of homelessness.
These same people do not seem to understand that “least bad option” does not mean “good option.” Some of them are now justifying it by saying Harris supports genocide but all Trump supports is ethnic cleansing. Seriously.
I have always taken the advice of W.C. Fields: “I never vote for, only against.” Because there has never been a politician in my adult life that I would have voted for in a general presidential election. Or even a senatorial election,
Same. I’m an anarchist. I don’t believe in this distorted liberal democratic system that seems to benefit the elite no matter the outcome.
But I sure as hell am going to exercise my right to vote. It being a shitty system where I have little power doesn’t mean I should throw away the power I do have!
I knew this would happen and loads of people on lemmy accused me of “fearmongering” or “only caring about myself” when I said I’d vote Harris
That’s nuts. “Only voting for yourself” is usually a trump vote. Generally, a Left-wing voter asks “What’s best for everyone?” and a Right-wing voter asks “What’s best for me?”
Of course, the Democrat party isn’t left-wing (more like middle-right) but still, it’s a far less selfish vote than trump.
I don’t know about your life, but my life is made better by the acceptance and participation of all sorts of people. I’m selfishly voting for Democrats because I have 4 daughter and a gay son.
My wife and I make enough money and I could be happy on less if it improved the environment around me by improving the lives of the people I share the world with. Those brown people would be a hell of a lot less scary to us white people if so many of them weren’t in desperate financial straits, and if we didn’t teach them to expect hatred and cruelty from us.
I’m a selfish-as-fuck-left-wing-voter.
Amen brother, a rising tide raises all ships
“Kamala Harris is not the perfect progressive candidate in every way. How can I possibly vote for her? I’ll sit this one out. That’ll show 'em!”
I voted for her because she was the lesser evil, but describing her as just “not the perfect progressive candidate in every way” is a gross misrepresentation. She was probably the most right leaning Democratic candidate to run in a general election and was openly adopting many of the Republican stances. There were basically two Republicans running.
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Fucking absurd. There is a reason you don’t name one specific
Really? She was to the right of the Clintons? Obama? John Kerry, even? I think you have a selective memory.
Trump won because the people that voted for him actually like him, they aren’t choosing the lesser of two evils or whatever nonsense. The democrats message of “at least we aren’t as bad” was awfully inspiring.
Hey democrats, if you win what will you do with that power? Change nothing? Cool!
Blame the democrats for getting tight lipped about literally anything anyone cared about.
You didn’t listen - they talked about corporations buying houses, the middle class disappearing, being unable to live on minimum wage, expanding medical for people that need it.
The idea that a political party will change just because they lost because they weren’t exactly where you wanted is also ignorant. That’s never a guarantee. Otherwise we would currently be living in utopia. Maybe it will cycle back, by the time we’re all dead
They honestly spent too much time talking about tax credits to start a business. Starting a business? Lady, I’m starting to look seriously at fleeing the country in hopes of finding one that hasn’t lost its collective mind.
People need to accept that the electoral system in the US is just a trolley problem at the end of the day unfortunately.
Not quite.
For starters it didn’t use to be a choice of “who would you rather see killed” - or in other words, nothing was forever lost if one side won instead of the other - and beyond that it has always been a cyclical choice, so it made sense for voters who felt insufficiently catered to, to punish a side on one cycle to try and get it to offer a better deal on the next cycle.
Whether that remains the case - i.e. will Trump make himself dictator for life - is the big question.
That’s true but I didn’t mean it as a choice of who you’d rather see killed, just that the system is set up in such a way that as a rational voter you are forced into a situation where you must act to prevent the worst outcome rather than voting for your interests and what you believe in.
Basically, and people let ‘the enemy of perfect get in the way of good enough’. Progress is incremental unfortunately. That’s just how it is. We can accept that, or we get this crap.
not really close to ‘good enough’ but least bad
This is exactly the fucking problem, if it’s not perfect enough then people allow it to get worse instead.
The only way a political party changes is when they stop winning.
If Democrats think they will win by being Republicans who hate the gays a little bit less, then that is what they’ll do. They were just shown that that isn’t a winning strategy, so we’ll see if the party changes tack or doubles down.
“You monster, it is your fault you gave us Trump”
I make my voting preferences known in every primary, state, and federal election. I actively volunteer for candidates I like. The party knows what will earn my vote, if they wanted it. If they make the strategic bet that getting my vote will cost them more from somewhere else, then that is on them.
“That is so entitled, how could you”
Have you ever considered that the reason both parties seem so out of touch with mainstream thought is because they have 10s of millions of people who will vote regardless of policy, thereby preventing the parties from understanding what is actually effective in getting them votes?
Elections are an information gathering mechanism.
You seem to think there will be real elections again rather than the type they have in Russia now that Republicans control all three branches of government.
I’m not sure why. Do you think they will ever willingly give up power?
It is impossible to argue against conspiratorial thinking.
Let’s say Kamala had narrowly won the election, would 2028 be the right time to hold the Democrats accountable for real, useful, policy changes? Or would there be another Republican Boogeyman (maybe Ted Cruz again? Or Desantis?) that would absolutely need to be defeated before it would be proper - in your opinion - to ask these public servants to actually serve me?
According to many commenters here, and I assume many of the downvoters whenever a comment questions the utility of unconditional loyalty to the blue party, the US has been hovering just above an irreversible descent into a fascist dictatorship.
So let me ask you, which of the leaders you voted for reversed that decline? Because the ‘vote blue no matter who’ dogma has given over a decade of historically unpopular candidates who consistently lose to - again according to you - naked fascists.
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Your vote was meaningless? Even in local elections? You sat out the whole thing because of the top of the ticket?
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Unfortunately yeah my vote was pointless and local elections too. I ended up getting a runoff for my city council District, both candidates use pictures of them with Ted Cruz in their advertising. That’ll sober you right the fuck up.
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Making things worse based on the idiotic hope that it might somehow magically spark things to get better is the absolute dumbest fucking idea one can have.
At least you’re honest about this half-baked excuse for a plan
Got a better one?
I don’t need an excuse. I voted against the horror that is unfolding right now.
That isn’t how trolleys work.
If by “trolley system to self-destruct” you mean violent revolution and a new system of government imperfect in a completely different way, yes. Good luck with the wait.
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With me, at least, they have moved on to, “you care more about your gay daughter than Palestinians!” Which… yeah. That’s called parenting. Along with, “why are you worried about a queer genocide that hasn’t happened yet?!” Because I don’t want to chance it? People can be such assholes.
It’s like yeah.
If both candidates mean gaza is fucked, but one of them means hundreds of thousands of extra unnecessary deaths to disabled people, homeless people, migrants, poor people, queer and trans people etc.
Of fucking course I’ll pick the least bad option instead of being apathetic about it. Especially since I’m a disabled poor person who has had bouts of homelessness.
These same people do not seem to understand that “least bad option” does not mean “good option.” Some of them are now justifying it by saying Harris supports genocide but all Trump supports is ethnic cleansing. Seriously.
I have always taken the advice of W.C. Fields: “I never vote for, only against.” Because there has never been a politician in my adult life that I would have voted for in a general presidential election. Or even a senatorial election,
Same. I’m an anarchist. I don’t believe in this distorted liberal democratic system that seems to benefit the elite no matter the outcome.
But I sure as hell am going to exercise my right to vote. It being a shitty system where I have little power doesn’t mean I should throw away the power I do have!