mastodon - Link to source

I desperately need Democratic Party leadership to understand that winning the House and Senate cannot mean a return to "normal" pre-Trump.

That "normal" pre-Trump is what led to Trump. Don't believe me? Two terms under Obama led us to Trump. Then we rallied and elected Biden in 2020 and got him a trifecta government. Biden stuck to "norms," and it led us right back to Trump in 2024.

If you're not ready to disrupt the entire system that keeps electing Trump, you need to be voted out as well.

in reply to Grumble 🇺🇸 🇺🇦 🇬🇱
mastodon - Link to source

AccordionBruce

@grumble209
There’s a whole class within the Democratic Party who gets paid high salaries from big donors, whether we win or lose

Democratic Party needs to institute internal anti-corruption rules

I don’t want to pass any laws to do that

Clean their own house first

@Grumble 🇺🇸 🇺🇦 🇬🇱
in reply to Qasim Rashid, Esq.
mastodon - Link to source

Spiritual Annie ☮️

Our normal didn't just lead to TFG.

It also led to climate crisis, discrimination born of fear, a very rich class and a very poor class, illiteracy, incuriosity, scientific doubt - all of which TFG used to manipulate first his followers and financial supporters, then the country, the hemisphere, and the world.

More, TFG is a malignant narcissist who is starting to implode due to narcissistic injuries. He will do as much damage as possible when he goes critical.

in reply to Qasim Rashid, Esq.
mastodon - Link to source

PeachMcD

Near yours in my feed...

sfba.social/@vij/117232815096695502

Manish Vij (@vij@sfba.social)

Attached: 1 image Why should you be able to abolish a democracy with a plurality, and birthright citizenship by bribing 3 people. There’s more friction in resetting your iPhone https://bsky.app/profile/theophite.bsky.social/post/3muuis2omy22s
Manish Vij (SFBA.social)
in reply to phaedral
mastodon - Link to source

⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)

@phaedral
i am regularly spouting the very same sentiment

however we see alternatives now: AOC, Mamdani, El-Sayed, etc

so what we do is vote to get 50 more Mamdanis

people who don't vote out of frustration with centrist democrats are idiots

but we have to articulate a valid response to this dead weak centrism in the democratic party

again:

not voting is for idiots and is acceptance of fascism

not replacing (which we do by voting) centrist dems... is the same, in the long run

@phaedral
Esta entrada fue editada (hoy, 1:51)
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
mastodon - Link to source

phaedral

@benroyce Y'all just make me a little nervous 'cause I remember Susan Sarandon saying if she can't have a Bernie win she was for Trump "because it would bring the revolution." That sort of irresponsible nonsense is dangerous. Either one is helping defeat the nazis or one is aiding them by distracting from the vital task. Spending energy today shitting on any dem is a net win for the nazis.

As you well know.

@⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to phaedral
mastodon - Link to source

⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)

@phaedral
Susan Sarandon is an idiot

She means well but we are all familiar with people who mean well but by their (in)action they only make things worse

Standing on perfection and not participating, allowing far worse to dominate, is for ineffectual losers who value their holy self-regard over obvious real world peril

It's pure entitlement and privilege, because the bad effects won't touch them, so they play their smug games

We need to vote. To replace centrist democrat shit

@phaedral
Esta entrada fue editada (hoy, 1:59)
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
mastodon - Link to source

phaedral

@benroyce ...to kick the fucking gop to the curb. When you've accomplished that get back to me about "centrists." But first, clobber the nazis, eh?
@⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
in reply to phaedral
mastodon - Link to source

⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)

@phaedral
zero argument

simple tactics: hold the line so we can fight another day

against that we have idiots who think a vote is a devotional love letter of eternal purity. which is fucking immature and stupid. but that's how they are, so they don't vote, so we don't hold the line, so now our struggle is harder

it's just fucking tactics!

the deeper issue:

we take over the democrats with real leftists in the primaries

two different struggles

complementary, not contradictory

@phaedral
in reply to phaedral
mastodon - Link to source

andrew773

@phaedral @benroyce Problem is they Dems in question are working with Donald and Republicans more than what the base wants them to do hence vichycrats. Johnson and Jeffries had basically the same bosses in the 2024 campaign cycle. Check out their opensecrets profiles "Top Organization and Industry Donors." And don't try to say I'm not dedicated with enough I vote Democratic party every election and I also volunteer and donate.
opensecrets.org/profiles/mike-johnson/us_congress/summary?mpid=1055439&cycle=2024&display=candidate
opensecrets.org/profiles/hakeem-jeffries/us_congress/summary?mpid=1050304&cycle=2024&display=candida…

Hakeem Jeffries – US Congress – Summary – OpenSecrets

Campaign finance data for Hakeem Jeffries: PACs, industries, individual donors, and more. US Congress profile on OpenSecrets.
OpenSecrets
@⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce) @phaedral
in reply to andrew773
mastodon - Link to source

⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)

@andrew773 @phaedral
none of this is news to anyone

centrist dems fucking suck

the point is to use our antipathy to show up in the primaries and replace them. primary turn out is so poor. but that's where we get 50 mamdanis across the usa

so where are these people sick of the schumers and the jeffries in the primaries?

many decide to just not vote at all

which only serves to hand MAGA fascism wins

unfathomably stupid and self-defeating

@andrew773 @phaedral
Esta entrada fue editada (hoy, 3:52)
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
mastodon - Link to source

andrew773

@benroyce @phaedral I mean this year in multiple states Senate primary including mine have mentioned they will not support Schumer so hopefully we're working on it. My congressional district was denied a Democratic primary and the system was also abused to prevent Democrats from running independently.
@⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce) @phaedral
in reply to andrew773
mastodon - Link to source

⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)

@andrew773 @phaedral
that's wrong

but like you said:

"mine have mentioned they will not support Schumer"

and how was that arrived at?

it wasn't arrived at through those who don't vote

and empty "dems suck" comments result in that

dems *do* suck

so we *fix* that

in the primaries

we don't just throw up our hands and let MAGA take over. that's insane

and i'm not accusing you of that, but you have to accentuate the way forward, not just issue complaints

@andrew773 @phaedral
in reply to Sordid Seraphim
mastodon - Link to source

⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)

@Sordid_Seraphim @phaedral
of course

but let's not act like everyone on the left is a future fetterman

there will be future fettermans

that's just life. disappointments are normal. no progress comes without difficulties

but if a mere *possibility* that someone might go centrist or worse, nothing real, just a fear, is enough to turn people off from engaging, well that's completely fucked up. i don't know to address that kind of reticence

@phaedral @Sordid Seraphim
Esta entrada fue editada (hoy, 5:06)
in reply to ⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)
mastodon - Link to source

Sordid Seraphim

@benroyce @phaedral
The issue is Mamdani successfully branded himself as Socialist to the crowd. Any L's he takes lands directly in the pocket of the left.

That's especially an issue if he is actually a sneaky establishment dem then it's the dury of the people to hold his feet to the fire.

@⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce) @phaedral
in reply to Sordid Seraphim
mastodon - Link to source

⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)

@Sordid_Seraphim @phaedral
It's especially an issue if he's actually an alien from Alpha Centauri 😂

Come on

You're speaking on baseless fictitious suspicions

You take the man at his word

If he goes back on his word, you castigate him

If he doesn't, you celebrate him

But if instead, he hasn't gone back on his word, and you sit there envisioning horrible betrayals this is just some fucked up bullshit

I'm going to take a wild guess and say you can be rather paranoid?

@phaedral @Sordid Seraphim
Esta entrada fue editada (hoy, 5:25)
in reply to Sordid Seraphim
mastodon - Link to source

⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)

@Sordid_Seraphim @phaedral
you're disappointed in a stated policy position isn't happening fast enough on one issue, so "everybody the same"

😂

do you expect the culture of the NYPD to change on a dime?

do you want Mamdani patrolling the streets along with the cops?

or will you show some patience and temperance and understand big problems take awhile to change?

or, you know, "utopia on day 1 or the same as fascism"

🤣

yeah, i think what you're saying is crazy

@phaedral @Sordid Seraphim
in reply to Sordid Seraphim
mastodon - Link to source

⏩︎VOTE⏪︎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ⁼ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ (Ben Royce)

@Sordid_Seraphim @phaedral
if i say "i want to end world hunger"

then i'm elected president

and world hunger doesn't immediately end on day 1

am i liar? did i betray you?

am i immediately the same as the guy who said "more hungry, more bombs, more billionaires"

an objective is not a promise of complete victory in no time

your "standards" for making hilariously cynical judgments is fucking wack

@phaedral @Sordid Seraphim
Esta entrada fue editada (hoy, 6:00)
in reply to Qasim Rashid, Esq.
mastodon - Link to source

contrasocial

Voters need to understand it more so than leadership. Voters need to understand that there are some progressive wins this cycle so far, but "voting blue no matter who" isn't enough any more. A bunxh of Newsoms or Buttigiegs aren't going to save our country.

If we want to avoid returning to normal it means continuing to push even if there is a blue wave. It means rooting out every corporate democrat and replacing them with an actual leftist.

in reply to Qasim Rashid, Esq.
mastodon - Link to source

Nicole Parsons

How a billionaire with interests in Greenland encouraged Trump to acquire the territory

US president’s friend Ronald Lauder – who first proposed Arctic expansion – is now making deals in the island
Tom Burgis (the Guardian)
in reply to Qasim Rashid, Esq.
mastodon - Link to source

Wulfy—Speaker to the machines

"Normal" should have been public flagellation of the January 6th terrorists and throwing in jail the adjudicated rapist, traitor and fraudster, agent Krasnov.

Followed by the voting out all the "Democrats" who voted for confimation of the extremists High court kangaroo court judges and repugnican departmental officials.

in reply to Qasim Rashid, Esq.
mastodon - Link to source

Sordid Seraphim

I kinda just accepted that we're on an unstoppable downward slope.
Don't get me wrong it's not gonna stop me personally from pushing for better as I think even the effort is valuable in itself.

It's not a matter of whether you feel discouraged or not, if you stop pushing for better because you think it won't happen things will truly never change.
That's how you get a majority of US citizens voting for nothing.

Esta entrada fue editada (hoy, 4:12)
in reply to Qasim Rashid, Esq.
mastodon - Link to source

GhostOnTheHalfShell

Even this is just a start. Billionaires and gigantic corporations have to pay for the role they played making America this way. It was their deliberate plan to do this and they’ve spent hundreds of millions of dollars every year for a half century. And now we have a second contingent with even more money from Silicon Valley, who are even more genocidal than oil money.

Their wealth and their corporate size that makes them possible must be completely dismantled.

Esta entrada fue editada (hoy, 3:35)
in reply to Qasim Rashid, Esq.
mastodon - Link to source

Simplicator

Horrifying thing is, it’s not that they don’t understand. They’re willing to do it again, ideologically & b/c they refuse to relinquish $100Maire/billionaire support. In fact they’ll blame voters again & double down… even if it means falling to fascism permanently & the literal end of the world.
in reply to Qasim Rashid, Esq.
mastodon - Link to source

@pineywoozle ‘s #3WordNote

In this election if you’re a Democrat & you have the best chance of winning in the General, I’m going to vote for you. I don’t care who you are. Period the motherfucking end. Once the primary is over, I do not give two shits. You are getting my vote and that includes motherfuckers who stir up
trouble 2 months before an election under the guise of purity bullshit. Trump didn’t happen because of the Dems. Trump happened because we didn’t vote enough Dems in PERIOD.
Esta entrada fue editada (hoy, 4:17)

reshared this

in reply to Mastodon Migration
mastodon - Link to source

@pineywoozle ‘s #3WordNote

The media in this post is not displayed to visitors. To view it, please go to the original post.
@mastodonmigration Yep, and the purity BS is already starting. We need to point it out for the dangerous stupidity it is loud and often. If the people who didn’t find HC or KH pure enough had gotten off their privlaged high horse and just voted Dem we wouldn’t have had tRump a single time let alone two. All the deaths under tRump are as much on their heads as they are the republicans & tRump.
@Mastodon Migration
in reply to @pineywoozle ‘s #3WordNote
mastodon - Link to source

Zagone

@Pineywoozle @mastodonmigration
I'll be voting a straight Democratic ticket -- Social Democrats whenever possible.

I have low hopes nonetheless.

Too bad most of us were more worried about school shootings than democracy. The Left could use a few self-defense guns when the fascists start hunting.

We simply MUST win the midterms.

@Mastodon Migration @@pineywoozle ‘s #3WordNote
in reply to Mastodon Migration
glitchsoc - Link to source

ina

@mastodonmigration
@Pineywoozle @QasimRashid

for real, people who dont live in gop-majority states cant fathom what its like to have their rights constantly being taken away :/

often times, its the democrats who providing the only protection for minorities and marginalized communities

@Qasim Rashid, Esq. @Mastodon Migration @@pineywoozle ‘s #3WordNote

Mastodon Migration reshared this.

in reply to hiphopheaven
mastodon - Link to source

@pineywoozle ‘s #3WordNote

@hiphopheaven Nope, tRump happened because of lazy non voters, purity BS non voters and racist easily lied to MAGA. We can solve two of those 3. Enjoy your block. Voting in enough Dems to consistently have power is the only thing that’s going to save America so we can work to make it what it can be.#VOTE out #tRump
#Trump @hiphopheaven
in reply to Wulfy—Speaker to the machines
mastodon - Link to source

@pineywoozle ‘s #3WordNote

@n_dimension It’s too sad of a topic for me to joke back. I hope that the people who promoted not voting for KH because she wasn’t pure enough about Palestine have nightmares about the deaths they caused, every night for the rest of their worthless lives.
@Wulfy—Speaker to the machines
in reply to @pineywoozle ‘s #3WordNote
mastodon - Link to source

Display Name

@Pineywoozle
Obama could have saved people instead of saving the banks. He didn't. Biden was elected and given all that power to bring consequences to Trump finally. He didn't. He smiled and shook his hand in the end as he welcomed him to the White House.
There was Manchin, Sinema, Fetterman and many others waiting for their turn to vote to block the agenda.
And finally I repeat this to almost all my family and friends early on; I'm voting for Newson's progressive primary rival and if he turns out to be the candidate I'm absolutely not voting for him. I want it to be known now.
@@pineywoozle ‘s #3WordNote
in reply to Qasim Rashid, Esq.
mastodon - Link to source

ij

Not sure that Obama or Biden led to Trump.

I think it was neoliberalism under Reagan and therefor the rise of super rich tech bros together with a broken bipartisan election system in a turbo-capitalist society led to Trump.

But I agree: the US need to fix their broken system.
Turn away from bipartisan system, throw the election system over with its majority based election, move to proportional representation, fix your crazy educational system, overturn the concentration of media outlets in the hands of super rich, tax the super rich until they are just rich, end the life time jobs of federal judges of the supreme court for a max. term of 10 years, get real universal health care for all, end US defaultism and exceptionalism, etc…

Esta entrada fue editada (hoy, 4:58)
in reply to ij
mastodon - Link to source

StarkRG

@ij I think it goes further back. The US prosecuted progressives so hard during McCarthyism that we're only now starting to see some in the very lowest rungs of government and pretty much none at all in federal office. The Overton window keeps shifting because there's been nobody pulling it left, just the Republicans pulling it right and the Democrats trying to stop it moving at all, not to keep it centred, to stop it moving, to conserve whatever position it's currently in.
@ij
in reply to Qasim Rashid, Esq.
mastodon - Link to source

Bill Zaumen

Part of the problem is fixing the Supreme Court decision Citizens United: whether by a constitutional amendment or by adding more justices. While it could be just "please send us money", I got the following in an email from the DNC: "Here’s the deal: The GOP has its billionaire allies already spending hundreds of millions of dollars to keep MAGA in control of the House and Senate."
in reply to Qasim Rashid, Esq.
mastodon - Link to source

Juan Per¢ent,🇲🇽 🍉,🇻🇪

From the outside, it looks to me that you need more than reforming the Democratic Party. A reset ? In Mexico MORENAs movement overtook 70 years of single party power in a few years, in France Macron (for the worst) built a winning movement from nowhere, JLM now has a chance at winning from a new left.
You have DSA that could accomplish that. Giants often have clay feet, they fall over easier than you'd think.