• melpomenesclevage@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      49 minutes ago

      did you not read the text in the pic? did it not load for you? lemme transcribe.

      “My roommate described Republicans as the mass shooter and Democrats as Uvalde cops, and I can’t get it out of my head”

      maybe, if you want people to vote for you, you should try fighting for them. maybe, if you want people to vote for them, you shouldn’t sacrifice them and sell them out at every opportunity. maybe, if you want people to vote for you, you should take office when you win the election(2000) not betray every promise and ideal that has ever come out of your mouth (2008) and not be a thug who uses the threat of a worse thug to gaslight and collectively abuse a nation being indistinguishable politically from the guy you rolled over for in 2000 (2020).

      maybe you could try some sort of harsh fingernails-and-teeth parliamentary resistance? more than one guy, and try not shunning him for it (like you did literally last week). maybe organize armed groups to fight the nazis in the streets? I know, wishful thinking; you would never fight your work friends.

      but, you know; you could do something for us. if you want us to vote for you. hell, maybe try just not spending our tax money on murdering children for OTHER nazi shit heads for literally no benefit to us? maybe spend it on building bridges instead. or stimulate the economy by hiring a bunch of local sex workers and partying every night; whatever.

    • lobut@lemmy.ca
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      18 minutes ago

      So many of these clowns can’t be bothered to vote but will still blame the dems.

    • comfy@lemmy.ml
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      41 minutes ago

      The dems are one of the only groups in the US who (legally) had the power to:

      • reduce voter suppression
      • fix the electoral system in general (e.g. remove the broken FPTP system)
      • stop sabotaging popular candidates
      • not choose a senile dementia-sufferer to remain the country’s leader for years
      • support the worker class instead of the owning class and get their votes (too many things to list)
      • support US citizens instead of imperial interests in countries half the population can’t plot on a map

      For most of these things, they should have been doing this long, long ago, before even Obama’s terms. The Democrat Party clearly had the power of the state for more than enough time to make them look like an alternative rather than a complicit ally of the Republican Party. Why should they not be seen as at fault?

    • pelespirit@sh.itjust.works
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      1 hour ago

      I agree. The Trusk team has got the ball rolling for some of trump’s base, but we have to figure out a way to separate the rest from him. I really don’t know how at this point. Common sense doesn’t work and they never see the people making fun of them because they live in a bubble. It’s starting to be too late.

  • Coonytunes@lemmy.world
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    2 hours ago

    At this point why should they say anything? They’ve been fighting tooth and nail for years against this. I feel this is the ‘when your enemy is making mistakes, don’t interfere’. They’re letting people see what they voted for, or didn’t get off their ass to vote for. Not even being part of Trumps’ base will be able to insulate them from what they’re about to struggle with.

    • melpomenesclevage@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      2 minutes ago

      They’ve been fighting tooth and nail for years

      yeah. I remember during the brooks brothers riots, where they kicked the shit out of those fascists. I remember the guy with the full back tattoo of nixon’s face, being stepped on a bunch. I remember it was kinda controversial when president gore pardoned the people who did it, but it was obvious self defense; the cameras caught it all. I’m glad they fought that shit in the supreme court, and put those bastards in their place. they could’ve done some real damage to society if left unchecked, before we got rid of the reagan appointees.

      fuck the gore administration was good. you remember those guys who tried to blow up those decrepit shit hole buildings in new york all those times? and the boondoggle of demolishing them that lead to that weird gay-coded-but-not-gay musical theater real estate failson from the home alone movies being elected governor of new york in 2018? that was so weird. glad they locked that bastard up.

      I remember what president gore did for climate change, the scandal after energy was too cheap to meter for a couple years, and then we had to start metering it again because of that cryptocurrency nonsense, even though it was still cheaper than it had ever been at any point in the 20th.

      I remember how the democrats in congress kept us out of that dumb fucking war the fascists tried to get us into in 2001 with their bullshit lies. I bet it would’ve killed or crippled like half the guys I went to high school with, and the first girl I ever kissed. I remember when the dems in congress swept in and put a stop to all that subprime mortgage nonsense in 2006, stopped anyone from losing their homes, and locked up all the coke addled wall street goons who tried to con us all.

      Al gore was a pretty great president, and with so many good people in the deliberative branch, how could we NOT have stopped global warming in its tracks? lol, tracks, like all the trains. I can go basically anywhere in the country on maglev. giving the japanese a run for their money, at least in the midwest. kinda disappointed the HSR in california uses traditional overhead wire on steel rails, but I can go from san diego to san francisco and hang out in the bay then come back home for dinner. I remember when it used to take that long to drive there-and that was really the only way-from sacramento, one way.

      I remember when they went after white supremacist terror groups being funded by our tax dollars during the gore administration, like the lynwood vikings, the moment they found out. WHOO! LOCAL WIN! that was pretty cool of obama to do. I remember the press release. I actually lived nearby at the time. seeing FBI snipers take out local cops, then pull off their LAPD uniforms to expose all the nazi tattoos and hang them on la brea avenue? that was fucking wild, man. there was a whole arc in the punisher comic books where he had like a crisis of conscience and became an FBI agent and it was weird, and he felt like an asshole when he had to quit but kept respecting them; it felt like it could have been realistic, I honestly felt something similar at the time, but it was so fucking badly written. fucking marvel comics, man. they could have made such good movies; you can tell by how popular the DC comics cinematic universe got under whedon (creepy bastard).

      I remember when they were gonna ratfuck the wildly popular candidate for an arrogant hack who wouldn’t even have remembered to register everywhere she could have, but then decided not to, and won the 2016 election in a historic landslide, breaking the whole ‘red state/blue state’ paradigm. that was one of the best administrations we ever had, like a perfect whatever the reverse of a black mirror is of the reagan administration. the other guy was all “make america great again!” but president sanders actually did it. plus, cuban rum and the lung cancer vaccine. yesplz.

      I remember after the “UNITE THE RIGHT” rally where the nazi in the car killed that lady? the one with all the tiki torches and polo shirts? where the ATF had been waiting on like a perimeter, and took a lot of flak for not charging in and killing those bastards sooner. I hear some of the surviving nazis ended up in gitmo. it wasn’t perfect, but it was ordered directly by a democratic cabinet officer. I hear president sanders was in the loop, he took some heat for letting that lady die, but honestly it could have gone so much worse.

      I remember on january 7th, 2021, after the insurrection, when the white house lawn was covered in gallows of the nazi insurrectionists. the ones that didn’t get mowed down by machine guns day-of. the dems did right that day.

      I remember when the weird guy from home alone 2? that guy kept insisting he was president and lead that shit, after they impeached him from the governership and kicked him out of office, they locked him in the darkest cage they had. I hear it was somewhere in syria. got blown up during the trouble there. some of his followers insist he’s still alive, but LOL, no fucking way. that guy wouldn’t live ten seconds in a war zone.

      I remember when the FBI switched up their priorities and decided to go after domestic white supremacist terror groups, including foreign owned misinformation operations, like not-twitter and fox news, like they were black communists who’d just blown up a pipeline and sabotaged a logging operation. the killings were… I mean, it was kind of intense, and there was a lot of collateral damage, but they were nazis, you know? they would have done more damage if left alive, I bet. I didn’t even know how to feel while it was happening, I used to be an anarchist, and here was the fucking FBI, funded to hunt people like me like we were dogs, and they were killing nazis. real anti-hero hours, and if you’d told fifteen year old me I’d be cheering on the feds, I’d have laughed you out of the room, but they did good. I haven’t even seen a swastika in years, except when I replayed wolfenstein recently-kind of an irrelevant goofy nonsense game, but I played the old one when I was a kid. im glad we beat those bastards IRL back in the 40s.

      I remember the bad old days, when people would die unhoused outside empty houses. I remember the bad old days when so many people couldn’t get healthcare, and stores locked up dumpsters full of perfectly edible food. I remember the bad old days when people were afraid of the state. when people were afraid of the people paid by their tax dollars. when our tax dollars funded corrupt religious institutions, and taught their bullshit in public schools. I’m glad we’re past all that. I’m glad all the authors who predicted all those horrible things were wrong. it’s kind of ridiculous we ever thought it could happen, with leadership like this? I used to be an anarchist, and, like, I’m still kind of a curmudgeon sometimes about bureaucracy and stuff, but with a robust safety net and amazing education and a world that pretty much works, with such a bright outlook for the future, I really don’t have much to complain about, it feels kind of petty. I don’t know what to call myself now. just “democrat” i guess.

      so yeah, we should stand up for the democratic party. The same way they stood up for us so many times.

    • JasonDJ@lemmy.zip
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      2 hours ago

      What even can they do?

      This, for better or worse, is the will of the people. It’s not like nobody knew this was going to happen.

      • WoodScientist@sh.itjust.works
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        1 hour ago

        What even can they do?

        • Refuse Democratic cooperation on a single Republican nominee or bill without severe concessions.
        • Hang any Democrat who dares utter the word “bipartisanship” from a lamp post.
        • Boycott important Trump speeches.
        • Refuse to assist in passing laws that will give the president more power.
        • Filibuster everything and use every iota of resistance in the Senate possible.
        • Participate in direct protests like Al Green - every single member should have done the same thing.
        • Participate and lead street protests directly.
        • Demand lawful access to government buildings, enter by force if necessary.
        • Have candidates for 2028 start running for president NOW, to serve as foci and centers of resistance.
        • Start drafting a “Project 2029” now. Be just as prepared as Trump’s team was.

        They are not doing any of these things.

        • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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          57 minutes ago
          • Start running town halls and hit adds where republican lawmakers run from their own constituents.

          • stop bitching about decorum or voting to censor the one guy who stood up for American democracy.

          • stop pretending like it’s the voter’s fault you lost them

          • start talking about solutions to problems rather than bitching about how awful trump is. One liners that don’t require an associates degree in economics. And focus on problems of average Americans. Not “The Economy™️”

        • tabarnaski@sh.itjust.works
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          57 minutes ago

          This. Even if they don’t have any real power in the Senate or the House, they should be fighting and actively resisting on every front.

          Protests, occupations, or any other popular movement initiated by the people will serve nothing unless they are clearly supported by the Democrats.

    • TipsyMcGee@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      2 hours ago

      If that were true, it’s a dumb election strategy to sit back and wait while your opponent puts an end to free and fair elections.

      • Coonytunes@lemmy.world
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        50 minutes ago

        This is all on the American people now, not their so called leaders. They could start a coup, anything really. As an outsider I don’t give a shit what Obama has to say about the situation. But it would be incredibly inspiring to see the people.wake up and take back their counry

    • JayDee@lemmy.sdf.org
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      2 hours ago

      Kind of a suicide move. Like, they let the mass murderer in, so you’re letting everyone die to spite them.

      We know that project 2025 is essentially a complete dismantling of democracy, so what the hell do they think they’ll get out of letting it happen? Aside from lined up against a wall?

    • conditional_soup@lemm.ee
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      2 hours ago

      I dunno, man, waiting until the last minute to start trying Donald when we all know how slow the wheels of justice grind in this country doesn’t seem tooth and nail to me.

    • gmtom@lemmy.world
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      1 hour ago

      What world are you living in?

      They had 4 years to fight Trump and make sure he was properly tried and sentenced for his crimes and they just didn’t because they didn’t want to look like they were going after political opponents. They have actually done next to nothing to fight him.

      And the “mistake” they don’t want to interrupt is Trump deporting people to random countries, setting up a giant concentration camp in gitmo, cutting cancer research funding and making life he’ll for trans people. So maybe they SHOULD interrupt this mistake, with more than just signs.

      • Coonytunes@lemmy.world
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        1 hour ago

        Anyone with 2 ears and 2 eyes saw and heard the warnings. This is on the American people who chose not to vote their way out of this. I don’t care what they didn’t accomplish, it could’ve been cut and dry if people just voted.

  • UpperBroccoli@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    3 hours ago

    The assumption here is that Democrats are just cowards. That is the more flattering of two options, but the less likely one.

    The other one is that they are actually quite okay with what is happening, because their masters are.

  • glimse@lemmy.world
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    6 hours ago

    A screenshot of a tweet of a screenshot of a tweet put on top of a photo of a concert (?) where the person adds nothing. Why do people do this lol

  • yesman@lemmy.world
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    6 hours ago

    I thought we were going to talk about 3rd parties once it’s not critical to democracy.

    When are we going to wise up and realize that people who vacillate between “I won’t vote for genocide” and “why won’t the Democrats save us!?” are a fucking opp designed to kneecap the left?

    • chaogomu@lemmy.world
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      4 hours ago

      There are steps that need to be taken to get third parties.

      First and foremost is the adoption of a voting system that can not only support third parties, but help them grow.

      TLDR; Fight for Approval if you just want third parties to exist and occasionally win, Fight for STAR if you want third parties to grow and become powerful.

      Now for the long part, talking about the problems with first past the post voting, and how that shapes the political discourse. Or you can watch this video.

      Also, before anyone breaks in with Ranked Choice or IRV as it’s called, you might want to read up on the flaws section here.

      And I’d write more, but the dog wants a walk, and that’s more important right now.

      • limer@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        6 hours ago

        Unity centered around what? The party of the less bad? Of the horrible leadership? The party that only does one genocide? The not Trump party? The party of “we will not trash the economy”?

        I could get behind that, but this federation has not been a democracy for a while. Not when you need more states won and several would require United Nations observers if they were countries. So, in some places it’s just a lost cause.

        People need to be disabused of the notion this is a fair fight won by normal rules. New leadership and splintering is exactly what is needed.

        • qjkxbmwvz@startrek.website
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          3 hours ago

          Unity centered around what?

          Participation. Making things a tiny bit better when possible, and if not that, then minimizing damage.

          Making things better nationally is hard. But locally, change can be efffected — my city (San Francisco) has ranked choice voting for local offices. It’s awesome, and I vote for who I want first. It’s small, but it’s a start.

        • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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          4 hours ago

          Your ignorance knows no bounds. Republicans vote in a block. If we split the left in the midterms, the Republicans will retain control. Simple as that.

          • limer@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            4 hours ago

            I don’t see how my very well known ignorance, and what I said, have anything in common.

            I do see hackers disrupting x today. That group, whatever their motives or how well I would like them, is doing more to restore good governance than then the entirety of the Democratic Party, if you look at events today.

            What have the democrats done today? Since midnight. Tell me some stuff and I might reconsider my stance

            • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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              3 hours ago

              They can’t do anything but filibuster in the Senate with congressional minority. The left abandoned them at the polls to prove a point, and are now complaining that they’re ineffective with no control. You need to learn about our governmental structure.

              • limer@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                3 hours ago

                The left abandoned them

                Wait, the whole left? Like a block of people ? No…

                I do agree me and others should understand more about government and get involved. More than watching a few old people in capital hill doing some useless motions while the nation goes under .

                This will naturally happen if things go as expected, and I probably will not like that answer any more than you

            • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
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              3 hours ago

              INCOMING TRADE OFFER:

              You get: slower tweets for maybe a week

              They get: removing everybody’s social security, dismantling of NATO, end of federal public education funding, 20 Million (conservative estimate) people removed from Medicaid, deportation on basis of ethnicity/heritage


              We cannot settle for petty attacks on the state. We need to reclaim the state. Vote blue no matter who, any Democrat is better than any Republican.

      • TowardsTheFuture@lemmy.zip
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        3 hours ago

        Ah yes, unity. The unity of attacking third parties. Of suing candidates to remove them from the ballot. Of refusing to run a primary to learn the wishes of the party. What great unity. I’ll pass on the party of “nothing will fundamentally change” with your views of “unity” like that.

        I agree we need to come together so the left stops losing. But the democrats do not agree with that, and will actively sabotage it as much as possible. And until that changes, we’re fucked. We need a party willing to adapt to the people on the left, not republicans.

          • TowardsTheFuture@lemmy.zip
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            2 hours ago

            Literally just asking the democrats to not attack leftists, and adopt like fucking any popular leftist policies, be open to changing for the better, not simply say “sorry best we can do is trump+1”

            Of the people, it’s not a big ask. Sadly the people don’t seem to matter as much as corporations for some weird reason.

    • Korhaka@sopuli.xyz
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      4 hours ago

      Every US election is called the most important election. All of them. At some point I think the only way out is to make someone lose because of their support of FPTP.

      • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
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        3 hours ago

        Mission accomplished, then. Harris losing is a statement to the world that Not-Trump isn’t good enough.

        But in doing these theatrics you’ve empowered a fascist oligarchy. Maybe it wasn’t worth it, maybe electing enough Dems to reverse citizens united and tax the rich would have been the better concession of the two.

  • notsure@fedia.io
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    7 hours ago

    the government is not here to be your friend. the government is not here to be your enemy. the government is here to ensure there is a tomorrow.

    • Whats_your_reasoning@lemmy.world
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      3 hours ago

      the government is not here to be your enemy.

      “The government” as an abstract entity might not mean to be anyone’s “enemy,” but the one currently running the show absolutely views its own people as such.

      I never set out to be anyone’s enemy. I want a peaceful life, like most people do. Yet, by doing no more than the radical act of “existing,” the current United States government has hand-picked me and others like me to be their enemies. Anyone who’s LGBTQ, female, non-white, foreign-born, science-minded, and/or financially poor is liable to be scapegoated (at best) or outright targetted by those currently in charge.

      Make no mistake - “the government” might not be here to be anyone’s enemy, but this government definitely is.

      • Sanctus@lemmy.world
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        7 hours ago

        Well, you see, you got a bunch of Neanderthals saying it should be run like a business, and businesses piss literally everyone off to a high degree, so here we are.

        • SlopppyEngineer@lemmy.world
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          6 hours ago

          Running things like a business means all the money goes to the guy at the top and his buddies, and the rest should be glad they still have a job.

    • theshoeshiner@lemmy.world
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      6 hours ago

      We had millions of tomorrows before governments even existed.

      Governments are here to more strictly enforce social contracts. They do this with varying levels of consent, but that is nevertheless what they do.

      • comfy@lemmy.ml
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        1 hour ago

        Hardly. They’re there to enforce the will of politicians, who are funded and influenced by the owning class (regardless of who voted for them once every four years).

    • Troy@lemmy.ca
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      7 hours ago

      Someone else posed it this way: The Democrats exist to solicit donors; getting elected sometimes is a side effect. Big money has wrecked their ability to oppose what is happening.

    • Aux@feddit.uk
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      5 hours ago

      The government exists to govern you, exploit you, enslave you.

      • Lemminary@lemmy.world
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        5 hours ago

        There’s reason to be cynical but not outright nihilistic. Also, most of that is due to corporations and lobbyists in the US.

        • comfy@lemmy.ml
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          55 minutes ago

          No, that’s also the case in most countries. Corporations and their political influence aren’t a US-only phenomenon - they legally own almost all major media outlets around the world, along with holding influential positions in each economy which can pressure their governments into compliance. If a government doesn’t earn the general support of the owning class, it doesn’t have a realistic chance of remaining in government, either by corporations funding and endorsing alternative parties in elections, or through boss strikes to sabotage the national economy if a government they don’t like does somehow get elected (e.g. Allende in Chile). A modern government cannot survive without either the support of major corporations trying to exploit their workers, unless they empower the workers to overpower the corporations and survive off their strength instead (which, in practice, contradicts capitalism).

          Capitalism doesn’t exist without forming those corporations, so governments tending to billionaires isn’t some weird quirk, or some US phenomenon, it’s a systematic trait of capitalism which happens every time.