1y ago

But it'll all be fine, I'm sure it'll blow over and never affect me

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If you live in Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, or Florida (really any of the fifty states, but these are the most critical), AND you don't want to see Donald Trump elected for a second term, you must vote for Joe Biden in November. Yes Biden is a doddering old man who is experiencing rapid cognitive decline, and yes it is totally unacceptable that these are our choices, but disengaging does not solve the problem, it only makes it worse.
Believe me, I completely understand the inclination to just say to hell with it and check out, but we can't do that. I have been as guilty of it as anyone but I now fully recognize it was a mistake. But it's not too late to make it right. Voting is not only a right, it is a responsibility. If we, the people, want to rule, we must be vigilant and responsible.
Right now, our priority is damage control and harm reduction. I know, it has been that way for far too long, and that is extremely frustrating, but it is nonetheless the reality of the situation. We must vote for Biden this year, and then we MUST stay engaged so that we can work toward nominating the best possible candidate in 2028. We must stay informed and vote, diligently, in every state, local, and primary election.
- doddering old man who is experiencing rapid cognitive decline
  Only in the media. Also, according to the media, the orange 34 count felon is completely fine, A-okay, in fact.
  Get a grip America. Biden's policies are popular with Democrats AND Republicans
  
  Didn't watch the debate, huh? Its all true.
  
  I did. But I also watched a number of his speeches before and after. He over prepared and tripped over his own feet. Reagan likely was in decline for over half his years but they celebrate him now.
  Biden did horrible, but he seemed unnaturally prepped to me. I don't care what the practiced Biden does, I'm more concerned with what he's like over a cup of coffee or an ice cream cone.
  
  Didn’t watch the debate, huh? Its all true.
  Now do more than watch the debate. Listen to Biden speak on every other recent occasion. Would you like to be judged for your worst performance or your average?
  
  There's a reason why people were saying he was like this for years now. Funny how it was all confirmed the instant it wasn't completely controlled n scripted.
  
  There’s a reason why people were saying he was like this for years now. Funny how it was all confirmed the instant it wasn’t completely controlled n scripted.
  An assertion that is easily proven false, of course. But hey, let's not let facts get in the way of a good yarn.
  
  So do you just lie all the time?
  
  Someone said it best a couple weeks ago here.
  "Just because Alfred is getting too old to take care of things doesn't mean you put the Joker in charge of the Bat Cave."
  
  We aren't talking about trump right now
  
  He does fine, when there is a teleprompter.
  
  You got downvoted, but it’s very clear that the Adderall shortage hit the nominees hard.
- If you want to be more strategic, if you can convince right wingers to not vote that also can make a difference. Feed your red-hat uncle's ideas about how voting is rigged so he shouldn't bother. Tell your maga neighbor you'll drive him to the polls and then don't.
  This is an existential crisis. Don't think the right wing won't do anything they can to win.
  
  This is such a great strategy, also mention how tRump passed the Unconstitutional bump stock ban and doesnt give a damn about the 2nd amendment.
- The problem is, the people who are swayed by this argument were already going to vote Blue no matter who.
  To win the election, you need to convince voters who are still doubting between Trump and Biden. And they have definitely heard this argument before, so a different argument is needed.
  
  No, the point of the argument is to convince the people who are not planning to vote at all to show up.
  
  The last presidential election had ~60% turnout. That's one of the highest turnouts EVER. People sitting at home are indeed the problem.
  
  While voter apathy is a big problem, it is likely that voter suppression targeted at the tie breaking areas has more of an effect on the overall outcomes. Suppression includes duscouraging engagement, leading to apathy.
  Like I have voted in every election that I could, but my electoral college votes always went to the person I voted against. Even locally the vast, vast majority of my votes were for the losing party. It is really hard to not be apathetic, and for me voting is a breeze.
  
  Agreed. And to your point, competitive states without voter suppression like Wisconsin and Michigan had turnout of around 75%, while Texas (which is most known for suppressing voters) only achieved 60% turnout.
  
  While voter apathy is a big problem, it is likely that voter suppression targeted at the tie breaking areas has more of an effect on the overall outcomes. Suppression includes duscouraging engagement, leading to apathy.
  And Congress could have done something about it when Democrats had the majority in both houses. In one hand, they had the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, and in the other, they had the continued preservation of the Jim Crow Filibuster.
  Democrats chose to keep the filibuster.
  
  So "Shut up, we're not going to listen to your concerns, we are owed your vote" is sure to work!
  
  The debate fallout has made the fence-sitters' decision for them.
  Dems need a parachute candidate pronto. Kamala would win, too.
- Ohio used to be a swing state, too, right? Not sure of it still is or if it isn't, how that turned around. But maybe they should be in the list?
  
  We went for Obama twice and trump twice. It’s complicated. We’re mostly just extremely gerrymandered and divided. Columbus is extremely liberal, rural Ohio is frequently terrifyingly conservative
  
  We did do the right thing in most of the special elections these last twelve months, though
  
  Hell yeah we did. We often do the right thing when faced with a direct democratic clear choice.
- Important to talk to people we know, and make sure they actually vote.
- If you want to be more strategic, if you can convince right wingers to not vote that also can make a difference. Feed your red-hat uncle's ideas about how voting is rigged so he shouldn't bother. Tell your maga neighbor you'll drive him to the polls and then don't.
  This is an existential crisis. Don't think the right wing won't do anything they can to win.
- It would be nice if Biden or the Dems or really anyone had a plan to protect us or to somehow stop what we're seeing happen before our eyes, but it just seems that there's no end and the second a republican gets in power it's all over for us
  
  I can't count the number of times I've heard people insist that Biden's DOJ is doing a great job, but also that all these Republican leaders are committing crimes with impunity.
- But ~~the economy~~ rich people's yacht money though!
- I so want nothing to do with this election, I feel so defeated and disgusted by all of it BUT I keep reminding myself that if I don’t vote then I essentially voted for whoever ends up winning. And that could easily be Trump. And in my view he’s not just an awful candidate, he’s an existential threat eat to democracy. So I will vote. But damn, literally almost anyone else could beat Trump, why this is our choice is so insane.
- Hear hear
- If it's that dire, why is it not more important than Biden's massive ego and power hunger that he doesn't care to step down even if it pretty much means Trump's gonna win?
- You need to vote to make sure the electors just ignore you.
  Get the plane tickets while they’re cheap.
- you must vote for Joe Biden
  The problem with the Handmaid's Tale was that people just didn't vote hard enough.
  
  I've never read the Handmaid's Tale, I really don't know much about it. I don't know how analogous that story is to our current situation, if it is at all. But I do know that there is a real danger posed by Trump and the Republican party. Is the Democratic party completely harmless? Absolutely not, but I don't think they are as great a threat to democracy as the Republicans. We should vote for Biden as a harm reduction measure. Yes, just like in 2020. I know people get tired of hearing that, I know people are fed up with the constant hounding to vote for the lesser of two evils, but that is the situation we are in.
  That being said, voting for Biden in this general election lIs iterally the bare minimum that we must do to defend democracy, and if that is all we do, no, it absolutely will not be enough. I think a lot of us, myself very much included, dropped the ball over the last four years and didn't do nearly enough to try and push for more meaningful changes. That has to change, and, again, I'm including myself in that. I need to do more, most of us do. We need to do everything we possibly can to ensure that by February 2029 we will have a better president in the White House, a better Congress, and a better supreme court, as well as better governors and better state legislatures in as many states as possible.

158 comments