ABCnews

  • @negativeyoda@lemmy.world
    cake
    link
    fedilink
    17511 months ago

    The 2 party system is horseshit, but this is your recurring reminder that the greens are not worth your vote.

    Any party serious about affecting change does so at the local level first. The fact that the greens consistently try to get attention with symbolic candidacies at the national level while being fuck all out of touch with school boards and local politics paints them as diva opportunists at best and bad faith progressive spoilers at worst.

    This is coming from someone who agrees with most of West’s platform at face value

    • tech
      link
      fedilink
      5311 months ago

      You know who was involved with the Green Party back in the early 2000s? Kyrsten Sinema.

    • LemmyLefty
      link
      fedilink
      4111 months ago

      Running for president as a 3rd party is like proposing marriage to random strangers instead of, y’know, dating people. We all know you’re doing it for attention because it’s not going to work.

        • @LetMeEatCake@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          28
          edit-2
          11 months ago

          Which is… never. At least for presidential elections. I can’t speak for the marriage proposals.

          The Republican party didn’t appear out of nowhere in 1860 to win a presidential race. They were formed in 1854 and supplanted the Whig party entirely before the 1860 election. It was a majority party throughout the north before it won a presidential race — it wasn’t a “third party.”

          Likewise, Democrats replaced the Democratic-Republican party in much the same way that republicans replaced the Whig party, and had been a major party from its very beginnings. Literally in their first election there were only two parties running!

          There are only three other parties that have won the presidency: Federalists (there from the inception of the party system), Democratic-Republicans (ditto), and Whigs (major party years before first electoral win). There’s been no “third party” that has ever won the US presidency. All three have the same story as democrats as starting off in an election with just two parties.

    • @charliespider@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      1811 months ago

      I’m a green party supporter (not in the US) and couldn’t agree more. I support the greens as much as I can to help spread environmental awareness, but if the election looks like it will be close, I vote for the party most likely to defeat the conservatives.

    • jimmydoreisalefty
      link
      fedilink
      1011 months ago

      IMO still better to vote 3rd party than to waste your vote with the blues and reds.

      We need to start showing them that we are not shee, just keep voting for them with no changes; Reagan/BushSr/Clinton/BushJr/Obama/Trump/Biden all they did was for the wealthy class not for the working class, do not get me wrong they do throw in crumbs here and there…

      • wrath-sedan
        link
        fedilink
        34
        edit-2
        11 months ago

        Trump admin: passes $1.5 trillion tax cut where 60% of savings go to the top 20% and slashes the corporate tax rate by 40%

        Biden admin: passes $1 trillion infrastructure bill, $400 billion in climate funding, $1.9 trillion in COVID aid that temporarily boosted unemployment aid and child tax credit, and first major gun safety legislation in decades, seen here

        Demand change. Demand more from the politicians that work for you. Take Biden and all elected officials to account for expiring temporary relief for the lower class. But on many important issues for the lower class there are big differences between red and blue.

        • @Pattern@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          911 months ago

          Thank you. I get so frustrated with people who say the two parties are the same. They are not, and all you have to do is compare the policy achievements of the Trump and Biden administrations. There are real consequences to choosing Dem over GOP.

        • GodlessCommie
          link
          fedilink
          411 months ago

          Demand change

          That’s cute, the working class has zero impact on policy

        • jimmydoreisalefty
          link
          fedilink
          411 months ago

          You don’t get it, we don’t care for the crumbs.

          They don’t matter to us, only to you who still vote team blue no matter what.

          The real problems will only be addressed when we all band together against the wealthy class, so we need to stop playing their games.

          • @fubo@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            27
            edit-2
            11 months ago

            Sure, while you’re building your revolution, don’t betray your country to the actual freakin’ fascists. The Republicans are not the party of big business anymore — that’s the Democrats, who have done great things for the capitalist economy. Today’s Republicans are the party of hate groups, Nazi street gangs, child abusers, rapists, thieves, and traitors.

            • jwiggler
              link
              fedilink
              311 months ago

              I agree with you to an extent, but I also sympathize with the person above. I think it was Noam Chomsky who said this, but if each president after WW2 were brought before the Nuremberg Court, they’d be hanged for war crimes. I think when he said this he stopped at HW Bush, but Id be willing to bet it’s true up to now.

              This doesn’t mean all sides are the same. I’m still going to vote Democrat in a general election, for the most part. But at the end of the day, they still push a globalist free-market ideology, they still promote war, and they still condone the surveillance of the American people, the imprisonment of dissidents and political threats, and the destruction of the environment in the name of profit.

              Fascism is already here. It’s the corporations (the rich) who hold power, and both neoliberals and conservatives work to uphold that dynamic so they themselves can maintain power.

                • jwiggler
                  link
                  fedilink
                  311 months ago

                  Why do you think that? I think really the only big hallmark that is missing is a single dictator/autocracy.

                  Otherwise, you have a nationalist, privatized, militaristic country, in which national politicians and news organizations collect money from corporations and as such are so influenced, and a lack of political plurality where voters are consistently forced to choose between the lesser evil.

                  Idk, I mean you’re right Im no political science grad. But sounds pretty fascist to me.

            • jwiggler
              link
              fedilink
              211 months ago

              I agree with you to an extent, but I also sympathize with the person above. I think it was Noam Chomsky who said this, but if each president after WW2 were brought before the Nuremberg Court, they’d be hanged for war crimes. I think when he said this he stopped at HW Bush, but Id be willing to bet it’s true up to now.

              This doesn’t mean all sides are the same. I’m still going to vote Democrat in a general election, for the most part. But at the end of the day, they still push a globalist free-market ideology, they still promote war, and they still condone the surveillance of the American people, the imprisonment of dissidents and political threats, and the destruction of the environment in the name of profit.

              Fascism is already here. It’s the corporations (the rich) who hold power, and both neoliberals and conservatives work to uphold that dynamic so they themselves can maintain power.

              • @SCB@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                111 months ago

                Noam Chomsky should stick to linguistics because it’s the only thing he’s good at.

          • wrath-sedan
            link
            fedilink
            2011 months ago

            People to the left of Biden sitting the election out/voting 3rd party will have one practical outcome: helping to elect Trump, who is about to go on trial for trying to overthrow the government.

            I would love to live in an America where Biden is the rightmost option instead of the leftmost. That’s not where we are, and if we want to get there we can’t let fascists near the levers of power.

          • @Sassy@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            511 months ago

            You might not “care for the crumbs,” but with your attitude, that’s all you’re destined to get.

          • GodlessCommie
            link
            fedilink
            211 months ago

            They are happy with their chains, they gotten so used to them they take comfort in their presence.

            They settle for crumbs when they have the power to take the whole damn loaf

          • @SCB@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            111 months ago

            we’re gonna bang together against normal people

            You’ll get less than 10% of the vote.

      • @negativeyoda@lemmy.world
        cake
        link
        fedilink
        1811 months ago

        We need ranked choice voting first. Funny how it’s something both Democrats and Republicans can unite over why it’s bad, confusing, whatever…

        • @LetMeEatCake@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          511 months ago

          Some democrats don’t like RCV (see the DC thread from the other day), but many do. NYC has RCV, and I assure you it didn’t get there without democrats supporting it. So does Maine.

          RCV wouldn’t work well for presidential elections as they are anyway, because it’s a two-stage election. What would RCV mean in an individual state? Pretend a 3rd party is in contention in that state but has no chance nationally. Candidates A and B are the major parties, and C is our third party. If the results are C=40, A=35, B=25, and B’s support transfers to C, and C’s support would transfer to C, does that mean B should be eliminated so C can win the state, or should C be eliminated (because they won’t win any other states) and B should win the state? There’s no obvious answer and it just invites more of a clusterfuck.

          RCV is great for popular vote elections, which is what everything else is (mostly… there’s… I think it’s Mississippi governor?) and what the presidential election should be.

          Popular vote first, RCV second.

            • @LetMeEatCake@lemm.ee
              link
              fedilink
              111 months ago

              The problem is that it depends on how you assess it. There are two, both perfectly valid, ways to look at this.

              The way you’re looking at it is you see it as a state-only contest. B got the fewest votes, B’s votes go to C, C wins the state. The end. From an administrative level this is the simplest approach. I don’t feel any need to expand on this assessment as you’re in favor of it and seem to grok the principles behind it.

              The other, equally correct, way to look at it is to assess this as a national contest. In that case, C is the one that actually gets the fewest votes because they have 0 electoral votes in any other state. C is incapable of winning, so C would be eliminated in the first round of the state level contest. After all, one of the points of RCV is to eliminate the impact of spoiler candidates that cannot win. With that in mind, it’d be dumb to design an RCV system that increases the impact of a spoiler candidate that cannot win.

              The issue with the first interpretation is the risk of magnifying the impact of a spoiler candidate who cannot win. The issue with the second interpretation is the sheer administrative difficulty (if C were competitive in multiple states then each state needs to take into account how other states are doing their RCV process, etc.). Both flaws would be unlikely to matter >99% of the time, but that one time the flaw would matter could lead to a constitutional crisis or less dangerously result in fundamental dislike of RCV systems. That one time might also become more likely if voters feel more comfortable voting for third parties due to this system.

              The problem here is that both systems are fair, logical, and valid; they also each present major issues in edge scenarios. That’s why it’s important to go for a popular vote first. That way the election is one election, which RCV is explicitly designed for. The current two layer 51-elections that lead to another election that we have for the US presidency is basically a nightmare scenario for an effective RCV system.

              • @Stumblinbear@pawb.social
                link
                fedilink
                111 months ago

                It IS a state-by-state contest. The electoral votes each state decides to give are decided completely at a state level, and it should be at a state level. Each state has different priorities, different laws, different populations, and are all differently affected by the result of the presidential election, so just because they voted for C doesn’t mean each individual state wouldn’t have a preference for A over B given a different choice at a state level.

                As an example, Kansas may put C as first choice and B as second choice due to their state-specific priorities. Florida may put C as first choice and A as a second choice for whatever their reason may be.

                If B gets thrown out in the end, then each state needs to resolve their votes differently to reflect their differences in priorities. It’s the most fair.

        • wrath-sedan
          link
          fedilink
          4
          edit-2
          11 months ago

          Eh I think it’s more complicated than that. Neither national party is calling for it definitely. And DC Dems are suing to block it in the city. But if you look at where RCV is implemented it’s basically very Democratic cities and independent-streak states like Maine and Alaska. Both of which do have a lot of pressure from viable independent/dem-soc alternatives. It’s also completely banned in Florida, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, and Tennessee. So I would tip the scales slightly towards Democrats here, but I agree it primarily challenges those in power so if you’ve been elected under the current system you’re usually not crazy about it regardless of party. (To be clear I totally support RCV or really anything other that FPtP voting)

        • jimmydoreisalefty
          link
          fedilink
          311 months ago

          You do not understand what I am saying.

          This is not a first we need to do this… first we need to do that…

          We need to stop voting for the bloods and crips.

          Looking at the long term, this will help us win the war on the wealthy class.

    • @aidan@lemmy.worldM
      link
      fedilink
      311 months ago

      Eh, the reform party nearly got it. It can be easier to get local elections after achieving national legitimacy.

      • @SCB@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        2
        edit-2
        11 months ago

        Tell that to the Tea Party, the last significant change in voting dynamics we’ve had as a nation, that won almost entirely at the local level and got fucking destroyed on the national stage.

        The Tea Party is what eventually led to the populist surge that backed Trump.

        • @aidan@lemmy.worldM
          link
          fedilink
          211 months ago

          The Tea party movement (which was within the Republican party) was born out of the Reform party and their national fame.

      • @assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        111 months ago

        They made no inroads after Hilary vs Trump. They aren’t going to see any better opportunity for national legitimacy, and it wasn’t enough to make a significant difference. If they want to succeed, they have to start local.

        • @aidan@lemmy.worldM
          link
          fedilink
          111 months ago

          The Reform party had national legitimacy in the 90s, but not much because they didn’t win the presidential elections. Then they dissolved.

          • @assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            111 months ago

            They need to play the long game. Even if by some miracle they won the presidency, they would have no senators or house representatives. Democrats and Republicans would likely not cooperate. It would be ironic. Greens aren’t willing to form a coalition with Democrats despite having so many commonalities, but they’d need to convince Democrats to do so with them if they didn’t want to instantly be a lame duck president.

            • @aidan@lemmy.worldM
              link
              fedilink
              111 months ago

              What you do is veto and pass executive orders to show your dissatisfaction with current congress and hope this gets you enough publicity to win seats in midterms.

              • @assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                1
                edit-2
                11 months ago

                When has that ever worked? Republicans cannot be shamed into doing the right thing. We have seen this consistently time and time again. You could probably make some inroads with Democrats though.

                Nonetheless, that shouldn’t be the goal. The goal should be taking the presidency, the Senate, and the House. At the very least, if you’re capable of winning the presidency, your party should be able to take a good number of seats in Congress if you have people running. Maximizing that number will make the presidency more successful, and that will require people running for those positions in every state, and most importantly, the support of the third party in cultivating those candidates.

                • @aidan@lemmy.worldM
                  link
                  fedilink
                  111 months ago

                  What? I never said shaming into doing the right thing, I said advocating an ideology and hoping others follow it

  • @eran_morad@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    9211 months ago

    I’ve noticed an increase in “bOtH sIdEs!11!!!” bullshit on Lemmy lately, along with your usual cadre of dumbfucks who will be manipulated into tacitly supporting the republican traitor filth. And I’m betting it’ll steadily tick upward.

      • EnderWi99in
        link
        fedilink
        52
        edit-2
        11 months ago

        He’s a spolier candidate that is openly backed by interest groups on the right. He isn’t personally a Republican, or ideologically conservative, but he sure has some strange friendships.

        • @aidan@lemmy.worldM
          link
          fedilink
          1411 months ago

          Spoiler candidate when not voting for one of thr two preferred oligarchs is kind of a degrading term. Perot didn’t spoil the Bush campaign- and the Libertarian party, that gets more votes than the Green, draws mostly from “would-be Republicans”

        • GodlessCommie
          link
          fedilink
          1111 months ago

          Splitting the vote is liberal myth, we wouldn’t vote for your shitty candidates if they were the only ones running

            • GodlessCommie
              link
              fedilink
              511 months ago

              Never gave a fuck what the echo chambers thought, they sacrifice their conviction for ‘winning’

              • @assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                1211 months ago

                Or in other words, they compromise to form coalitions with people who mostly agree, so that have a better chance of winning and seeing most of their goals achieved.

                Versus refusing to compromise, and not supporting a candidate unless they pass your purity tests and you call in love with them.

                Which strikes you as the more mature, adult option?

                • GodlessCommie
                  link
                  fedilink
                  511 months ago

                  If 65% of people living paycheck to paycheck is ‘goals achieved’ then hes doing good. If 750k living on the streets is ‘goals achieved’ hes doing good. If 3 people having more wealth than the entire combined populations of the top 11 states is ‘goals achieved’ then hes doing good. If 62% of bankruptcies are due to lack of affordable healthcare is ‘goals achieved’ then hes going good. If 42m people, more that the entire population of California, need SNAP to barely survive is ‘goals achieved’ then hes doing good.

                  So far he’s kept Trumps tax cuts for the rich in place. = Goals achieved. He’s kept Trump’s immigrations policies in place. = Goals achieved. He adopted Trump’s ‘stop COVID testing and the numbers will go down’ approach to COVID = Goals achieved. The party lack of following through with promises of making RvW law resulted in its repeal. = Goals achieved. Drilling in protected areas that liberals were outraged when Trump proposed them = Goals achieved. Leasing off most of the Gulf of Mexico for oil drilling despite further damaging the climate = Goals achieved.

                  His achievements are off the fucking charts.

                • EnderWi99in
                  link
                  fedilink
                  411 months ago

                  Or in other words, they compromise to form coalitions with people who mostly agree, so that have a better chance of winning and seeing most of their goals achieved.

                  This is what progressives don’t seem to understand, which is why they never get anything done and will never win.

                • GodlessCommie
                  link
                  fedilink
                  511 months ago

                  You are delusional if you believe we are not a fascist state. The democrat ratchet effect has helped enable that

      • @SCB@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        4711 months ago

        I think Cornel West not paying his child support is one of very few things I dislike about Cornel West as a person.

        One of the others, of course, being that he’s running as a spoiler candidate.

          • stown
            link
            fedilink
            English
            311 months ago

            A third party candidate. The US has 2 real political parties. Democrats see voting for a Green party candidate as spoiling the chances for the Democratic candidate because only left leaning people would vote Green and this effectively splits the vote.

              • stown
                link
                fedilink
                English
                111 months ago

                What is your point? Corollary between left leaning voters and the Green party? Duh!? I don’t understand what you are trying to say.

                • @commie@lemmy.dbzer0.com
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  111 months ago

                  i’m saying most other parties do not lean left, including the democrats. if democrats are worried about splitting a vote with greens, they could vote for the green candidate.

  • Jordan Lund
    link
    fedilink
    English
    4111 months ago

    As bad as that debt is, it would be worse if it just up and mysteriously disappeared one day.

    I hope folks are watching it like hawks.

    I like Doctor West as a person, he’s a fascinating guy, and a great speaker, but nobody in that much debt should be anywhere near elected office.

    • @Astroturfed@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      811 months ago

      I work in the finance/baking sector. I literally couldn’t get a job like this. Every bank or financial institutions HR departments would disqualify you on a background check.

        • @Astroturfed@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          2
          edit-2
          11 months ago

          Ya, but the entire reason I wouldn’t be able to get a job is they view you as too vulnurable to manipulation and bribery. Sounds like things you want to avoid in a president or any political office holder…

            • @Astroturfed@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              111 months ago

              For president? I guess it’s geriatric number 1 who isn’t getting anything I want done. Geriatric sideshow clown who will grift as much as he can while letting his party fuck us, or possibly one of his disciples. Being better than a huge steaming load of dog poo isn’t really much to brag about. Thus is the state of American politics.

      • Jordan Lund
        link
        fedilink
        English
        211 months ago

        If the debt up and mysteriously disappeared it would mean persons unknown paid it.

          • Jordan Lund
            link
            fedilink
            English
            211 months ago

            If the debt mysteriously vanished? No way to know unless you subpoened the banks or something.

              • Jordan Lund
                link
                fedilink
                English
                211 months ago

                The point is any political candidate with massive debt needs to have their finances watched carefully just in case that debt disappears.

                Then there needs to be an investigation into who, exactly, just bought that candidate.

                See:

                https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-did-supreme-court-judge-brett-kavanaughs-100k-debt-disappear-1785043

                “In 2016, Kavanaugh reported in a financial disclosure owing between $60,004 and $200,000 in credit card and loan debt. But, as reported by Mother Jones, when he was nominated to the Supreme Court that debt had gone.”

                Who paid it? ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

                • @commie@lemmy.dbzer0.com
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  211 months ago

                  but the biden/obama/clinton/pelosi/schiff family wealth needs no investigation?

                  it’s not just debts. it’s any money.

                  maybe i’m naive, but i don’t believe you could buy cornel west. i would doubt mysef if he wins the green nomination, drops out, and backs biden. i don’t know anything else that might shake my faith is his character.

  • @Copernican@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    2711 months ago

    I think Cornell West made great contributions to philosophy. As someone with pragmatist leanings I enjoyed his works. I don’t want him in a congressional or executive government role.

  • @Passenger@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    2311 months ago

    It’s really a spoiled vote to vote third party. People can whine about how it’s unfair, but it still won’t change anything. Do you really think spoiling your vote will show it to the big guys? Well guess what? Now they’re no longer in power and the other side is rejoicing in their own victory. Meanwhile there are those who understand that they won’t get everything that they want, but at least they won’t have a side that will try to take away their rights by nominating and then confirming a right-wing justice to serve for life on the Supreme Court.

    • @DocMcStuffin@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      2511 months ago

      It’s a fundamental problem with a first-past-the-post voting system. Third parties act as spoilers. That’s why I’m a proponent of ranked choice. It’s not a panacea. It doesn’t fix everything, but it removes the spoiler effect. Then people can vote their conscience with their first choice.

      It’s not a coincidence that the leadership of both parties hate it. They can’t run a traditional campaign with wedge issues. Good. I’m tired of a divided country. The party leadership can suffer through appealing to a broad part of the electorate.

    • @aidan@lemmy.worldM
      link
      fedilink
      311 months ago

      If you’re in most states your vote will not matter due to electoral votes being all or nothing. Voting third party expresses your dissatisfaction with the major parties and helps to legitimize the third party in the eyes of others so it can have a chance in the future. And yes, everyone will always say this is the most vital election ever.

  • @ebenixo@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    2211 months ago

    That’s all they can come up? So he’s still exponentially cleaner than your current set of warmongering, insider trading, union busting politicians. Your upvote shows you’re just a right winger.

    • @Zapdrive@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      211 months ago

      Exactly my thought. They obviously published the worst thing they found about him. And being in debt is bad how? That just proves he is not a corrupt, insider trading, oligarchy favouring candidate. And what proportion of that “half a million” is missed child support payments? It could just be $10 child support + 499,990 debt = A headline that makes him look like he owes 500,000 in child support!

    • @Zapdrive@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      111 months ago

      Exactly my thought. They obviously published the worst thing they found about him. And being in debt is bad how? That just proves he is not a corrupt, insider trading, oligarchy favouring candidate. And what proportion of that “half a million” is missed child support payments? It could just be $10 child support + 499,990 debt = A headline that makes him look like he owes 500,000 in child support!

  • @Pectin8747@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    1611 months ago

    If I’m going to have a crook in office, I’d rather they be a crook that awakens people to the issues that matter such as medicare for all and ending the drug war. The bar is just that low

  • @YaaAsantewaa
    link
    English
    1311 months ago

    I was wondering when Democrats were going to get around to their smear campaigns against progressives. Looks like they’re starting early this campaign season

    • EnderWi99in
      link
      fedilink
      611 months ago

      You mean smearing the spoiler candidates the GOP put up to split the ticket juat about every election the past 20+ years? That’s who you’re worried about the left smearing?

      • @YaaAsantewaa
        link
        English
        211 months ago

        The GOP? You don’t know much about politics in this country.

      • @Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        111 months ago

        You mean smearing the spoiler candidates the GOP put up to split the ticket juat about every election the past 20+ years?

        There are smear campaigns against RFK Jr?

    • Chozo
      link
      fedilink
      911 months ago

      Lemmy still has a small user base. There’s not a lot of people posting new threads. There’s like… maybe 20 people (not counting bots) that are regularly posting content to this platform right now. And for what it’s worth, OP is only posting one copy of each link, to this community only, so it’s not even spammy behavior. It’s all relevant to the community he’s posting to.

      If you have an issue with it, then post the links, yourself, before OP can. Be the change you want to see, instead of just whining and being nonconstructive. Focus on the content being posted, instead of the person posting it.

    • AnonTwo
      link
      fedilink
      811 months ago

      Op was encouraged to post the topics he wanted people to see. He’s doing that now. I see nothing wrong with that.

  • @MonsiuerPatEBrown@reddthat.com
    link
    fedilink
    9
    edit-2
    11 months ago

    Did he fuck a female slave of his and lie about the paternity of their love-child ?

    Because prolly only like two or three POTUS on dollar bills did that.

  • EnderWi99in
    link
    fedilink
    811 months ago

    Guess that helps explain how he ended up on the Republican payroll.