“What’s going to happen in this next election? I’m terrified about what could possibly happen, because our leaders matter. Who we select, who speaks for us, who holds that bully pulpit, it affects us in ways sometimes I think people take for granted,” Obama told Jay Shetty on his podcast “On Purpose.”

“The fact that people think that government — ‘eh, does it really even do anything?’ — and I’m like ‘Oh my God, does government do everything for us, and we cannot take this democracy for granted.’ And I worry sometimes that we do. Those are the things that keep me up,” she said.

“The bars are different for people in life. That I’ve learned,” she said.

Without naming Trump, she continued: “Other people can be indicted a bunch of times and still run for office. Black men can’t. You just learn to be good. And in the end, you benefit from that extra resilience.”

  • TheEighthDoctor@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Me too and I’m not even American, dissolution of NATO, serving Ukaine on a platter to Russia, possibility of more war in Europe with Putin getting bolder.

    No pressure Americans but your elections are kind of important for the future of the world.

    • dhork@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      There was a rider attached to one of the latest appropriations bills (which is now law) that restricts how future Presidents can pull the US out of NATO. It can’t happen now unless Congress passes an act authorizing the President to do so, or with a 2/3 vote of the Senate (the same mechanism as ratifying a treaty).

      So at least on this issue, we’ve put in some safeguards in case we elect an idiot again.

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            11 months ago

            They stopped some of his bullshit, but they also failed to stop a lot of it. If he’s allowed to run for president again, that will be a huge example of rules not stopping him.

            • kofe@lemmy.world
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              11 months ago

              This is where states rights are again shown to be fucked. States rights to include insurrectionists on the ballot this time.

          • fidodo@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            He did a lot of illegal things that got overturned. But the problem is while it’s being overturned it can still do a lot of damage.

          • prole@sh.itjust.works
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            11 months ago

            Huh? How is that why he’s not in office? I would say that, in spite of all those things, he still received the second highest vote count in presidential election history.

            He just happened to lose to the person who got the highest.

    • Ð Greıt Þu̇mpkin@lemm.ee
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      11 months ago

      Yeah but a bunch of white college kids who don’t even know what Mer7aba means have decided that the way to serve the Palestinian cause is to let the guy who handed Jerusalem and the Golan Heights to Netenyahu back into office to teach the establishment a lesson so we’re fucked.

      I’m starting to think they’re actually just right wingers who know that saying what they ACTUALLY want will get them dumped by all their cool allies club friends. Probably why they keep insisting on dumb fuck takes like “bErNiE wOuLd Be A cEnTrIsT iN pOlAnD!” and “AmErIcA hAs No LeFt!!!”

        • fidodo@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          There’s no economically left wing party, but it is pretty left wing about a lot of social things. Gay marriage and marijuana legalization happened in some states before much of the rest of the world for example.

        • Ð Greıt Þu̇mpkin@lemm.ee
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          11 months ago

          Ok but really objectively consider that statement though.

          Policy by policy the Dems flank left of most of Europe’s old guard of social democratic and socialist parties. Dems tend to be more in favor of new and expanded welfare programs compared to their European counterparts, they’re less likely than said counterparts to adopt right wing policy and talking points to try and appease alt-rightified voters, and on social issues there is no contest, just say the word “Roma” and watch Europeans range from saying that pulling that card isn’t fair because “that’s different” to saying that what the fascists did wrong was lose before they finished the job on the Roma.

          The metric by which America has no left is one by which the western world at large has no left, and at that point what value is gained at all by insisting on it?

          • Eldritch@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            Policy by policy the Dems flank left of most of Europe’s old guard of social democratic and socialist parties.

            In what bizzaro world!!? We don’t have basic singles payer health care like all other major western nations. Not to mention millions of other things.

            Dems tend to be more in favor of new and expanded welfare programs compared to their European counterparts,

            Not even. They’ve passed maybe one thing in nearly the last century that approached it. As flawed as it was. And on top of that. Large amounts of Dems have happily voted for eligibility exclusion on even pre existing social welfare programs. Making them more and more useless.

            they’re less likely than said counterparts to adopt right wing policy and talking points to try and appease alt-rightified voters,

            Hello, last 40 years? Hello, third way Democrats? Hello, bipartisanship over principles. Even to this day Biden still waxes poetically about how we need Republicans and how they are good.

            and on social issues there is no contest, just say the word “Roma” and watch Europeans range from saying that pulling that card isn’t fair because “that’s different” to saying that what the fascists did wrong was lose before they finished the job on the Roma.

            There are multiple groups who would elicit similar reactions throughout the United States. Including black, Muslims, trans, gays, and even Democrats. Oh and by the way those fascists and Nazis you were talking about. They got their start by checks notes oh, they literally got their start by emulating the United States. Not only that, around topics of which the United States still hasn’t resolved properly yet to this day. You’re batting 0 here.

            • Ð Greıt Þu̇mpkin@lemm.ee
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              11 months ago

              You seem to have mastered the art of using many words to not say a thing, except maybe for how little you understand European politics compared to American other than “but their actual fascist parties that have elected seats have healthcare.”

              • Eldritch@lemmy.world
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                11 months ago

                You seem to have mastered the arts of deflection and not being able to address a single point made. I’ll take my skills over yours any day.

          • go_go_gadget@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            at that point what value is gained at all by insisting on it?

            Make this argument in the other direction to prove your sincerity.

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        11 months ago

        m starting to think they’re actually just right wingers who know that saying what they ACTUALLY want will get them dumped by all their cool allies club friends.

        So you all lost the 2016 general election all on your own then?

        The absurdity of your perspective is that you believe there is a large group of voters who didn’t show up for HRC while also apparently believing not one of them is sharing their reasons why in anonymous forums.

        • Ð Greıt Þu̇mpkin@lemm.ee
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          11 months ago

          The absurdity of yours is that you’re pretty obviously one of those people who thinks a millions of votes lead in the primary race is “the DNC establishment shoving her down our throats” and not “we have to be dragged kicking and screaming to even vote for the guy we supposedly support!”

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            11 months ago

            I mean it’s either that or “a bunch of selfish pieces of shit voted for Biden specifically to fuck over progressive or leftist efforts”. You sound like the kind of person who would do just that.

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      11 months ago

      Imagine the worst outcome you can think of on the issue that’s most important to you, and that’s probably likely no matter who we elect. Both parties rule as conservatives, and conservatism in recent memory has meant a slow-burn of lost liberty.

      Don’t worry though. No matter who we elect they’ll still run us further into debt in order to fund the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, because it’s making our legislators and their backers obscenely wealthy. War is one of the shitty things for which there’s always bipartisanship.

      • Custoslibera@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        You’re part of the problem.

        There is no ‘both sides are bad take’ here.

        There’s Biden who at worse maintains the status quo and then there is Trump who will become a literal dictator.

        No I’m not exaggerating. You fucking centrist morons can’t see you’ll be on a train for the gas chambers if he is elected again and will be shocked when it happens.

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          11 months ago

          LOL

          I’m a Green.

          Though you’re partly right. It is the centrists who truly paved the way for fascism in this country. 40 years of lesser evils really added up.

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              11 months ago

              They’re not the centrist though. They want someone to the left of Biden. You want someone to the left of Trump.

              You’re the centerist here. And yes you will be the death of the Democrat party and probably the entire country along with it.

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                11 months ago

                I can’t vote for the American president.

                But if I could I would still have to vote for Biden because of first past the post voting. Third way candidates are a wasted vote.

                Would I want to vote for Biden? Of course not.

        • umbrella@lemmy.ml
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          11 months ago

          Did any of the 2 sides really pushed for actual healthcare? Or did anything substantial about any of the pervasive cost of living problems? Or yknow, stopped bombing other people around the planet? Or did anything about the growing nazi problem?

          Its a good cop bad cop shtick, both sides are pretty bad. Not only in the US, mind you.

    • Clbull@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      If America pulls out of NATO, I wonder if NATO would disband and if the EU militarizes.

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        11 months ago

        You made me wonder if Trump would pull out of NATO and ask a few NATO members to move to Russia-US alliance instead.

        • dhork@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          I think this is coming. Trump and Putin will invite the world to a Friendship Union. We can call it “FU World”…

    • umbrella@lemmy.ml
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      11 months ago

      US meddling on the rest of the world only goes well if its white europeans. I’m not thrilled about the US being “strong”.

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        11 months ago

        That’s not what Trump’s actions suggested the last time in office, I have no doubt republicans hate Russia, maybe even more than Democrats, it’s Trump specifically I’m worried about.

    • Wahots@pawb.social
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      11 months ago

      I’ll be voting, and getting as many people as I know to vote. If there was ever a time to vote, it’s this one (at least since the civil war era).