If there is any silver lining in the Trump era, it’s that we finally have a fresh crop of young, progressive, and diverse democrats. Obviously the establishment will continue to try and snuff them out, but I’m very happy to see an influential progressive platform growing, albeit small. We still have a long fucking way to go, but it’s still refreshing to see and fills me with some hope.
U.S. Politics
- Thread starter Veritaserum
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Sorry to be too hope-killer to your statement but I used to feel that way, like when I was a teenager, unsure of if gay marriage would be legalized and such and I just thought "Well one day all these old politicians with their old ways of thinking will just die off".
Unfortunately with the amazing young progressive politicians - there is also young conservative politicians that will appear. Change will always come in small steps here unfortunately, even while other countries already have things like "medicare for all" that work great, our country is too stuck on corporations and corporate money in politics and I just don't know how that will change soon.
I mean, I feel like that's a given? But I don't remember the last time there were so many inspiring and passionate leftist politicians. Not to mention this is the first time we're seeing so many female progressives / progressives of color. And honestly, though I'm sure there will be some new conservative politicians, the republican party has been undergoing a severe brain drain over the past few decades. There just aren't any intelligent or cunning republicans left. They're all idiot religious zealots who only know how to obstruct. They have no other uniting force other than white supremacy or blocking legislation. Now, will some other party rise up with a more socially liberal / fiscally conservative ideology? Maybe. But overall, I am more hopefully that we are nurturing future leaders of the democratic party (or a new party that can split from the democrats).
Not when they can pretend to be fiscally populist and still win.
He's really doubling down on... everything.
This is a good article. I think the concerns laid out here and Democrats’ failure to appreciate power’s ability to shift public opinion are my main frustrations with the party leadership.
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TAKE ANY DUCT OF MINE, I DON’T NEED IT
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ddd not the liberals attacking them for that tweet and this tweet not realizing they're inadvertently making the person's sympathies to harm reduction look foolish to fellow leftists looking on:
The fact that liberals don't just hear "I'll force myself to vote for Biden" and quickly run away while they're ahead, but still feel the need to force-feed us some nonsense about "most progressive Democratic platform in history".
We're a week away from Bari Weiss writing a "Joe Biden Should Save a Spot for George W. Bush in his Administration & Restore America's Glory on the Global Stage" editorial for Quillette.
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Bye!
Yes. Barring any truly bizarre turn of events (though it is 2020...) there is really nothing progressives can now do to change the fact that either Doanld Trump or Joe Biden will win the election. The only influence progressives now have is which of those two horrible choices it is. Well, progressives in swing states anyway.
And as marginal as the differences in their platforms sadly is, it is an absolute fact that there are differences and that Biden's platform isbetter less awful than Trump's. Both are harmful, but Biden less so. Trump is largely immune to public pressure, Biden can be moved at least some times on some issues. I've yet to see a convincing argument that not voting or voting third party has benefits that outweigh those differences.
You don't have to pretend to like Biden, you don't have to ignore his many, many glaring flaws. Just remember that all political change worth a damn comes from the bottom up not the top down, and an election is the process of choosing your opponent, not your avatar.
And as marginal as the differences in their platforms sadly is, it is an absolute fact that there are differences and that Biden's platform is
You don't have to pretend to like Biden, you don't have to ignore his many, many glaring flaws. Just remember that all political change worth a damn comes from the bottom up not the top down, and an election is the process of choosing your opponent, not your avatar.
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He has like a 12-point national average lead, sis.
Any kind of talk progressives express about just being *so* torn because they allegedly disagree with his policies but just feel like they *have* to vote for him feels more like theatrical capitulation than genuine moral dilemma rooted in harm reduction. I can promise you that you don't have to tear yourself up emotionally over helping to decide whether Biden wins the popular vote by 5 Million or by 7 Million. The bigger the win still won't make them care about the causes we do - in fact, the bigger their win, the more likely every cause you care about because irrelevant come January 2021.
I don't mean to be harsh ddd. It's just why I said before that the way the discourse manifests around the topic feels like voting's utility for many is not material but therapy. Like it feels like certain voters have this weird personal shame or guilt under the ideas of privilege discourse and so voting is their form of confession to free themselves of their sin cause, even if they've changed literally nothing for the marginalized people they claim to care about, at least they did their part and now feel justified in claiming the mantle of being a good and moral person regardless of the constructed privileges an imbalanced society has given them. It's all very religious and odd.
The fact that we're even having conversations about the morality of voting when the man has such a huge lead kind of exposes the sheer contempt liberals have for the marginalized. To win is not good enough - it must be a complete blowout, so it's not just a national rejection of Trumpism but also a rejection of Progressivism. Liberals suddenly caring about Angela Davis (appearing on Democracy Now and RT, which they claimed were media outlets serving the interests of Putin dddd) is all just such a show and performance. It's all artifice.
OK, but I feel like you know exactly why people are feeling a moral obligation to vote right now, and I'm not convinced it has anything to do with a contempt for marginalized people. Quite the opposite.
It really boils down to no one wanting to be shocked by another disastrous election result like in 2016, the pandemic putting a cloud of uncertainty around who will actually show up to vote, Republicans being unrelenting about voter suppression, and potential foreign influence. That's way too many variables for my liking to feel OK not voting because a poll suggests a big lead in *checks notes* July.
I'm not mad at anyone who sits this one out, but this is basically where I'm at personally.
Sis I think it has a lot more to do with the fact that everyone thought Hillary had it in the bag until she didn't.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
ddd Is it any wonder why some progressives feel guilt and shame in deciding whether or not to vote for Biden when this is basically how the conversation goes in online left-wing circles
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