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This was the last time i vote for a dem candidate. they pay mouth service to progressive policies, but at the end of the day, they do next to nothing for us.
back in in the 2010s when obama was president, there was a time when the dems controlled the house AND the senate at the same time. we still didn't get any real progressive shit passed. the only thing i can think of is daca and obamacare. we didn't get single payer, universal nationalized healthcare, we didn't get robust protections for the working class, we didn't responsibly pull out of iraq or afghanistan, the environment is fucked and there's nothing that we can do about it anymore, big banks got bailed out at the expense of the working class, university cost was and has continued to be at an all time high. They didn't fix the gerrymandering the gop has been getting away with. They didn't set term limits on justices. they didn't fight back when the Rs blocked merick garland. They did nothing to fix the broken electoral system. They did nothing to fix the economic policies set in the reagan era. they did nothing to set a law banning PACs, lobbyists or special interests. the only thing the dem party has going for it is that they are not literally the party of fascists.
2 weeks before the election wasn't the time to start getting excited about a third party. The time for third partying is now, and keep it up until the next one. I'm not going to forgive the dem party for their inaction and they should absolutely be punished by no longer existing as the opposition party.
This was the last time i vote for a dem candidate. they pay mouth service to progressive policies, but at the end of the day, they do next to nothing for us.
I'm genuinely hoping (but not holding my breath) that this is a come to Jesus moment for the Democratic party and that they start actually representing the left side. They need to get it through their heads that trying to play the "lesser evil" isn't going to work anymore. If they didn't learn from this election, they will never learn. I'm expecting the latter, btw.
Didn't even close fucking Guantanamo. Remember Guantanamo? It's still a thing.
Dont worry. With some luck you wont need to
This was the last time i vote for a dem candidate.
I'm sure that'll fix things right up!
This reformist sentiment is how we got here with the Dems.
I could understand reform to an extent but holy fuck come on. They've demonstrated they really truly don't give a fuck about the leftist ideals they carry around like a vestigial organ.
Kamala "Do Not Come" Harris Joe "Nothing will fundamentally change" Biden (Bonus) Joe "Strongest union president ever until it might impact the economy" Biden Nancy "Insider trading is cool when I do it" Pelosi
They exist as the last wall between more serious leftists and actual change.
They co-opt and absorb grassroots movements and then talk them down into a whimper. (e.g. BLM, defund the police, single-payer, etc.) Usually the discourse devolves into "well it might be hard and take some time, and it's something we're not used to, and some people might be mad too, and oh the economy and jobs or something" and that's that. Dismissed until the next crisis, where we'll rinse and repeat.
Notice the verbiage when they're talking: "middle-class" this "middle-class" that. How often do they talk about the lower class? They usually don't, because they primarily want to appeal to the affluent and educated. Meanwhile actual leftist organization meet people where they are on the regular - hungry, unsheltered, endangered - instead of sitting at galas and fundraisers sucking the big green dollary dick and feeling really sad and concerned about those people on the street. But hey maybe more spikes on a bench and more camp raids will solve the problem. After all, they're making the place unsightly for their affluent, educated friends.
"When they go low we go high" is a hollow appeal to civility they use to say "aw shucks guys we tried real hard but then Republicans said no". How many times have Republicans whipped out that "one simple trick" to leverage their position? How many times are Democrats gonna say "hey man that's not cool" until they realize that honor or decorum are like boyscout merrit badges in the face of an opposition that demonstrates they don't give a fuck about any of that?
Right or "left" or anything in between - any time there's a labor dispute you can bet (and you'd be quite succesful) that within the first WEEK they'll be drumming up distrust amongst the working class:
They tell their fellow workers through the media "these union workers are making your shit cost more. Here's how much their asking for in wage increases."
To ask "well, couldn't the company just make a little bit less" is heresy. How could you suggest such a thing? They're a business dummy, they have to make money! Line goes up! Line go down is bad! Jobs and yadda yadda.
They frame the majority of the conversation in terms of monetary or fringe benefits for the workers. They report very little on the safety and PTO/QOL demands of the union.
In the case of Biden and railroad workers, they say "hey just play along and let the rail companies strategize and undermine you for a few more years while we try really super megahard to get you what you want". Newsflash if you didn't know: the element of surprise (within a short time frame) is important for strikes. Now that the companies know the union is willing to take it to that level, the railroad companies being in a position of power and control are in an advantageous position with that knowledge. And by the way nothing was ever done about the safety concerns the rail workers had with PSR or lean operation (or the being on call constantly), and shortly after Biden put down that strike the East Palestine disaster happened. And yeah those people aren't done with their suffering either. But hey at least you, out precious affluent, educated voter didn't have to do anything to support your fellow workers or deal with any upset in your life.
And then there's the laser-focus on identity issues. WHILE IMPORTANT, you know what most helps people in these groups fight for their rights? Better working conditions. Better benefits. Better healthcare. Better work-life balance. More time off to organize, more time off to participate in politics, or spend time with family, or do hobbies, or relax, or do anything that might give them solid footing against the ebbs and flows of capital and fight for themselves and their own rights and communities. Not that help from more advantaged people isn't useful, but when that's step one instead of step four or five it comes off as a "white man's burden" approach. Give them the foundation that every working person deserves.
No one's required to vote for your dog shit, milquetoast party and their old crusty ass kingmakers. And before you start coming at me with the usual stuff, I voted for Harris to buy more time for vulnerable people, leftists, and whatever semblance of free expression and journalism we have left. I sucked it up and put my opinions aside for a bit.
And wow what a fucking waste. How could that party fuck up so bad? Maybe they didn't pay enough money to political consultants? Surely that's the reason.
I'm really sympathetic to all you say. I get the frustration and anger - I've had it for years.
Alas....
They exist as the last wall between more serious leftists and actual change.
It's not a wall. More of a roadblock that can be moved or even removed. We've seen progress, which I get is easy to forget.
The issue is this: pointing all this out and being vocal about the issues is important but does not itself solve the problem. We can protest and complain all we want and it does not result in actual change. And this is kind of the central problem - folks such as yourself (and me, at one time) harp on how bad things are under both parties and even refuse to participate. We don't get politically involved, don't vote, and just complain.
That does not move the needle and never will.
As many have pointed out, with Democrats you can move the needle. You can elect and re-elect progressive candidates and push elected officials to enact progressive legislation. It does actually happen but too often this fact get's forgotten or ignored in all the doom and gloom. Meanwhile, because we didn't get 100% of what we wanted and kept complaining about how nothing changes (when in fact it does) we end up with a neo-fascist authoritarian regime with which there will be NO negotiation, NO active or meaningful protests and during which we will take many many steps backward. Seriously, we are looking at a Christian Nationalist takeover of government and all that entails. This is REALLY bad.
A cynical and less tolerant person would say "stop complaining and do something about it". I would say "ok, I hear your complaints and agree. What are we going to do about it?"
If you truly want to see how much effort the Democrat party wastes punching Left, then stick with your convictions about organnizing and voting third party up through the next presidential election.
I'm done. I can't with them anymore. I've voted dem every single election since 08 and they can't seem to beat a literal fascist 2 out of 3 times. It's not because they aren't the progressive party, it's because they don't actually do anything. they talk, but don't act.
they talk, but don't act
The main messaging from the Harris campaign seemed to consist of:
- the economy is fine
- immigrants are fentanyl carrying criminals and we need to build the border wall
- fracking good
- war good (continued expansion of Israel, keep arming Ukraine instead of pushing for a diplomatic resolution, and let's invade Iran next with the most lethal fighting force in the world)
- what, do you want a DANG CHEETO in the white house?
They don't walk the walk of a pro worker party, but they sure as shit don't talk the talk either.
when the hell did the dem party become the party of lethal military, border wall and fracking? It's like they wanted to alienate their base.
And right on cue, they admitted that the 30-day humanitarian aid deadline for Gaza was a lie. I mean we knew it was, since the deadline was conveniently after the election, but it was still an insult.
I get it. I came to similar conclusions sometime between Hillary's loss and the end of the 2020 primaries. -Trump is not some intellectual mastermind, it takes a special amount of arrogance on behalf of his opponents to lose a presidential campaign against him. To think the Dem party lost to him twice...