this post was submitted on 18 Mar 2024
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Political Memes

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[–] mozz@mbin.grits.dev 129 points 6 months ago (39 children)

If y'all are going to post an incessant drumbeat of why Biden sucks, I'm just gonna keep pasting a few of the reasons why he doesn't. It's not just that it's not his fault that the Republicans kept him from doing good things (although they did prevent him doing much more than that); even hampered by their obstruction, he still managed to among other things:

  • He took the biggest action on climate change in US history; the goal of the climate bill is to put us on track for a 40% reduction in US emissions by 2030. It’s way too late but that’s clearly not Biden’s fault since he started fighting for it basically as soon as he got into office, and managed to achieve passed legislation which is several standard deviations above the norm for “let’s ignore it until we’re underwater and on fire” US politician status quo.
  • He ordered the forgiveness of half a trillion dollars in student debt, about a third of the current total balance, and the Supreme Court told him no. He’s still managed to forgive $138 billion worth of it even against stiff Republican “no we need that money to give to Wall Street criminals pls” resistance.
  • He introduced a bill to legalize marijuana federally, which the Republicans killed in the senate.
  • He achieved the lowest unemployment in 20 years after having been handed an economy that was still digging out from the apocalypse that was 2020.

The shitshow that is supporting Israel during its accelerating genocide, I won't defend all that much. But the overall attempt to paint him as the same as the average Democrat is dead wrong. (And, for what it's worth, "the DNC as a whole and Hilary Clinton specifically are tone deaf media idiots" I'll also fully agree with.)

All the folks that like to post memes like this haven't had much success in trying to say any of the above isn't true.

[–] mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 23 points 6 months ago

yup. wish into one hand, shit into the other and see which fills up first. We've got a monumental shit storm coming in november and these dolts want to quibble about results when the alternative is the 2025 project to destroy our country.

[–] RampageDon@lemmy.world 13 points 6 months ago (2 children)

I love following you in all these posts. I actually started adding tags to people after I saw your post a few times. The tags really make it more noticeable how small a lot of these communities are when you can point out the same few people making posts and comments. I highly recommend tagging people for anyone who doesn't already.

[–] Passerby6497@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago (1 children)
[–] RampageDon@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago

I only use connect so I can't speak for all apps or the website but I just click someone's post/comment, hit the 3 dots and add a user note.

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[–] archomrade@midwest.social 11 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Biden campaigned on the notion that 'nothing fundamentally will change' - big surprise that the people who think we need fundamental systemic change aren't happy with what little he's done to paper over big issues.

Liberals are just not in alignment with leftist goals, i'm not sure why we keep pretending otherwise.

[–] mozz@mbin.grits.dev 26 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I know whenever a US president tries to legalize marijuana federally and spend a trillion dollars on student loan forgiveness and climate change and more or less doubles the amount of tax Amazon is paying, I'm like "wow, nothing is changing."

I would love a Bernie Sanders person who would do more. Do you know what Trump might do if he wins the election to Bernie Sanders or an activist organization who's advocating for even more systemic change?

[–] archomrade@midwest.social 6 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Why would cannabis rescheduling matter to someone who thinks the climate has already crossed the carbon-feedback tipping-point and we're a decade away from mass-crop failure?

Why would forgiving a fraction of existing federally-owned student debt matter to someone who believes that capital accumulation is accelerating and locking them into a permanent state of home rental and wage slavery regardless?

If you believe that our current political climate (and the rise of fascism in the US) is a direct result of 200+ years of capital accumulation leading to very real and accelerating economic disenfranchisement of the working class, why would a politician who swears by and protects that system from fundamental change be one you are at all happy with?

'But if you don't help us beat this other guy things will only get worse!' is a pointless plea to those who believe that the system Biden is defending is what is creating the fascist movement to begin with. The people you are trying to reason with are closer to blowing up a pipeline than they are to being convinced that modest incremental change will do anything more than give fascists more time to organize their own movement.

You don't need to share that perspective to understand why those people might find the accomplishments in your list petty and ineffectual.

[–] kinther@lemmy.world 16 points 6 months ago

You're not wrong and neither is @mozz@mbin.grits.dev.

You can both be right. I'm more in the "we're all fucked" doomer camp, but I want to see less harm done, even if it is petty and ineffectual.

[–] mozz@mbin.grits.dev 6 points 6 months ago (20 children)

Why would cannabis rescheduling matter to someone who thinks the climate has already crossed the carbon-feedback tipping-point and we're a decade away from mass-crop failure?

Because better outcomes are better than worse ones. Maybe a second term for Biden would enable him to maintain the policies that are planned to remove a billion tons per year of CO2 emissions, maybe even add a little to it, whereas Trump would reverse even those pitifully small gains and actually add to US emissions. Maybe 20 years down the road that little bit is what tips us into a "luckier" (relatively speaking) outcome, avoids a total runaway greenhouse effect that literally kills us all, and we get away with merely mass starvation and the loss of most of the biosphere. But humanity gets to continue after that within the wreckage, having learned an agonizing lesson about the consequences of its actions, instead of being extinguished.

Do you brush your teeth? Why? Why would you need a job, if because with the way the climate is going you may not grow old enough for your money or the state of your teeth to matter at all?

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[–] lewdian69@lemmy.world 72 points 6 months ago (10 children)

You vote for Democrats but they don't win enough seats due to gerrymandering and idiot citizens...

[–] ganksy@lemmy.world 44 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (5 children)

Thank you. This is a BS take based in ignorance of all the factors involved in getting your legislation to the president's desk. You have to vote every election all the way down the ballot or you can assume the same marginal success. (Edit autocorrect)

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[–] lennybird@lemmy.world 35 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

Don't forget the Electoral College. The only democracy I'm aware of where you can win with less votes than your opponent...

... But We The People are all created equal amirite.

[–] freeman@sh.itjust.works 13 points 6 months ago (2 children)

The only democracy I'm aware of where you can win with less votes than your opponent...

American exceptionalism at it's finest.

[–] UnfortunateDoorHinge@aussie.zone 4 points 6 months ago (2 children)

I don't get this argument as a non American. Is the presidential a total vote regardless of geography? Most democratic countries you vote for local member. A lot of countries share the problem of progressives living close together and landsliding one electorate, but have no horses in other rural seats.

In Australia the standard story is the Liberal (conservative) party getting the most first preference votes, followed by Labor (centre left) then the Greens (progressive) coming 3rd but giving enough preferences for Labor to win.

[–] current@lemmy.ml 6 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

Voting is based on electoral districts, which are areas mapped out every decade by state legislatures, and each district has electors which are given to a candidate who wins the vote in it.

The problem is that citizens of less populated states have more voting power due to the rules on how many electors a state gets.

Plus, conservatives often gerrymander – intentionally drawing the districts so ethnic minorities are divided, and most districts are designed to have a majority of Republican voters while all the areas with mostly Democratic voters are all put together into 1 or 2 districts. States like West Virginia also lower the amount of districts in the state as part of the strategy. The gerrymandering has lead to some pretty insane looking maps (North Carolina, Texas, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Ohio)

Also electors may not actually vote for the candidate that wins the election in their district, which is technically illegal but also not really illegal and has happened quite a few times.

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[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 11 points 6 months ago

It's a careful balance, and benefits the rich more that way.

[–] Cryophilia@lemmy.world 10 points 6 months ago (16 children)

And not ENOUGH people voted for democrats.

"I personally voted for a Democrat, how come they don't have a supermajority in Congress??" well Katelyghnn, not enough of your friends voted.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 10 points 6 months ago (39 children)

Do you think that's because democratic voters are biologically less likely to vote, or could it be that the DNC is doing a poor job of energizing the base?

Fuck the GOP, of course, but they are absolutely pushing for fascism, and getting fascist policies through, which excites their fascist base.

The DNC has been pushing for tepid liberalism for decades, and when there hasn't been sign of genuine positive change at tangible levels, the DNC will lose voters.

If you can blame voters for not voting, you can blame the party for failing to grab voters as well. It's a two-way street.

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[–] Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world 8 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

They won enough seats and found just enough no votes to kill BBB and the minimum wage increase, and keep the filibuster intact so they couldn't protect Roe or voting rights.

[–] lewdian69@lemmy.world 6 points 6 months ago

I wish they had done more too but they barely had 50/50 in the Senate and Sinema doesn't count let's be honest. So if we go back to this meme, Democrats keep winning, still just isn't the case or if you think it is true, see my comment about don't win enough. Enough being the key word.

Luckily they were able to pass lots of good legislation during that time of the thinnest of majorities. From Wikipedia: The Inflation Reduction Act, American Rescue Plan Act, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Postal Service Reform Act, Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, CHIPS and Science Act, Honoring Our PACT Act, Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act, Respect for Marriage Act.

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[–] MadBob@feddit.nl 30 points 6 months ago

It comes as no surprise that a dichotomy between "The Democrats" and "The Republicans" in a democratic republic brings so much fakery with it.

[–] Son_of_dad@lemmy.world 30 points 6 months ago (2 children)

As a Canadian, I hate conservatives, but it cringe every time Justin Trudeau tries to tell me he understand the struggles of the working class, while wearing a $10k Rolex

[–] mozz@mbin.grits.dev 4 points 6 months ago

Bill Burr had a great bit on Conan. He explained that he was more comfortable with the Republicans.

"I know they don't like me," he explained. "They're just pushing old people down the stairs... GOD MADE THIS FOR ME!" Whereas "the Democrats" (I would amend this to "a lot of the Democrats") are pretending to be for the working class, when they're the same crop of etc etc.

"So you feel like the Republicans are more honest," said Conan O'Brien.

"WHAT? No. No no..." said Bill, as if he was trying to reboot his whole explanation and try to explain again from the beginning what he'd been trying to say.

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[–] ZombiFrancis@sh.itjust.works 19 points 6 months ago (2 children)

America: We don't want a 2020 rematch.

Republican Party: Too bad.

Democratic Party: How about a splash of 2016?

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