Well that’s your prerogative. You can’t move politicians if you just hand off your leverage.
What im doing is using my leverage to its greatest effect.
Dems move right. They’ll lose. Proven track record. They think they’ll turn Republicans. But they won’t. They’ll turn a few comfortable fence sitters who would be fine either way. But no real numbers. And definitely not those motivated by cultural grievance.
Wait and see. They’ll move right. Get almost no Republicans. And lose the liberals out near succdem territory. Left of that was already gone. We have hard demands. Like Universal Healthcare, ending the genocide in Gaza. Small asks, you know. But they’re not asks, they’re demands. Red lines. And we like unions on this side. We’re used to holding the line. We do not caper and simp for politicians. They come to where we are, or they can fuck off.
Now by all means. Unleash your impotent fury upon me. Tell me how I am all manner of villain and don’t forget to tell me about how I’m helping chump win. Do not forget the finger wagging. Not one wag.
You know. I was going to vote for her at one point. I was going to suspend my demands after she “snubbed” Netanyahu immediately after Joe stepped down. But then came the mixed messages and hem hawing on LITERAL FUCKING GENOCIDE. Then the DNC. Where she let AIPAC dictate that no, a Palestinian American could not give a pre-screened speech at the DNC. That sealed it. I, me, myself. Will never compromise on genocide. That’s not a line. That’s a cliff. There is no circumstance in which I will support or give my vote to anyone who would support a genocide. Doesn’t matter where. That they’re ok with it at all is the ultimate indictment on them. I don’t care about pragmatism or geopolitics. There are many things in this world that run a spectrum of grey, this is not one of those. This is black and white. Good and evil. And if both candidates are fine with it then this country is lost. And deserves whatever ill fate befalls it.
Edit - Pretty much Harris’ only hope is that enough Republican women will secretly vote for her against the wishes of their husbands and church leaders. Which is possible. But not guaranteed. But Harris needs to lean on Roe hard. She should be throwing bills right now. Even if they’re doomed. Force them through. Force the Republicans on the record. And use those votes as ammunition. It’s really too bad that dems only know how to play politics when it comes to crushing dissent from within.
No Josie, I think you’ve got 💯 the right of it and that your downvoters are all idiots. I’ve caught multiple bans here, there and elsewhere specifically making the exact points you are right now. So most importantly I want you to know you aren’t alone, and you’ve got friends here that both agree with you, and have also suffered the slings and arrows the, frankly reactionary, Lemmy userbase.
It’s a fucked system and your vote is the only thing you have. Withholding it for some kind of policy position is literally the only thing that has been demonstrated to be effective at moving political actors over the previous 20 years of politics. You are making the right choice.
It does move politicians… To the right.
Because dumbasses who don’t vote aren’t courted. Same reason politicians don’t bother with young people. Because statistically they don’t vote. But all those old fucks do. It’s why social security never goes away but Medicare for all never comes.
You guys are down voted for stupid ideas. Not because Anyone is “reactionary”.
Handing off leverage would be the ones that hate everything that Democrats stand for, but will still vote for them. Those are the same people that said they would push Biden left after the election, when all they did was go to brunch. their failure to make even attempts at pushing left has resulted in right wing authoritarianism being on the menu.
