this post was submitted on 10 Sep 2023
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Late Stage Capitalism

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

That Entire Country itself doesnt give a shit about the will of the people

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Yeah, the Republicans really don't give a shit about the will of the people so hard they try to change the rules of elections and gerrymander because otherwise they would always fucking lose.

If either party was put up against a national party with equal relevance that did care about the will of the people, you would have both Democrats and Republicans out to sabotage them.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

The ultimate irony that we have proof that the primary was rigged, yet there was a deluge of mouth breathers calling Bernie's supporter delusional and salty. 8 years later and the same people were calling everything rigged without evidences because they are delusional and salty

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

And all indications are that they intend to rig the next primary against RFK Jr. Not that we should in any way support that racist, ultra-zionist genocide apologist (seriously, for anyone who still thinks that he's a good alternative to the establishment because he's said some decent anti-war things in relation to Ukraine, one look at how he talks about Palestinians should make you want to puke), and frankly at this point you gotta wonder if he's really that stupid to think that he could get a fair process despite it being common knowledge what was done to Bernie, or whether it's all some elaborate psyop to sheepdog even more people into the Democratic Party.

The reality that every American leftist needs to get through their heads is that no amount of "working from within the Democratic Party" is ever going to change anything, you will just end up empowering some of the worst imperialist pigs in existence. Democrats are just as much a dead end for anything remotely leftist as the Republicans are, and if anyone still thinks that voting for either of them is "harm reduction" they need a serious fucking wake up call.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I've taken to calling it (voting for the Other Guy) harm redirection. That is perhaps still too charitable a take.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

harm redirection.

Holy shit I'm stealing this

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The truth is the truth with regards to them not caring about voters. Not at all. But I think that most people in the US don't really understand how parties work. Like large amounts of people register to vote under a party and may think of themselves as being under that banner. But they never actually join the parties in any official manner outside of voter registration. To my knowledge both main parties did used to do their primaries based on actual membership beyond just simple voter registration, or at least only people that represented various locations as party members. So most regular people really only got to vote in the main elections.

I think the main misunderstanding comes from the two main options allowing for "open primaries" in order to at least seem like these primaries matter. At any time both of the parties can just throw out the public results and re-do them closed and in private with just real members. Of course along with managing to be super bipartisan in making random rules/laws that set very high bars for being a recognized party at all for any level of ballot access. The average Democratic or Republican voters haven't ever signed a membership card or pays dues (and not simply random donations). Which might also be one of the many reasons that these parties are just able to do whatever they want. As it isn't like most people will ever attend meetings and vote at said meetings. The only voting that people think matters is the major elections. Hell, I think that people like Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy did more actual shit for their local chapters. All because they actually joined at those levels. That should be massively embarrassing to anyone that vote shames third party voters, but never try to materially do anything about their claimed party.

If most people really cared about doing literally anything other than vote shame people for bothering to vote for shit they care about. Then they would first actually go out and officially join their registered party. Attend actual meetings and actively participate in that district's/county/town level's shit including speaking up with concerns, asking real questions, build up blocs/solidarity with others on specific demands (and be ready to withhold support of said local level party as a group), and voting at said meetings. We just let these bought and paid for elites that will never care about anything other than those that bought them if the actual base/members aren't ever going to do anything. And why would they? They just get to rule from the top-down and keep doing everything but care about real fucking people.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Like large amounts of people register to vote under a party and may think of themselves as being under that banner. But they never actually join the parties in any official manner outside of voter registration.

This is one of the weirdest things about US elections I don't think I'll ever understand. You register that you're going to vote for a particular party before you actually vote??!!

In the UK, it's noones business who you vote, or intend to vote for, before or after an election.

Some organisations might carry out exit polls but no-ones under any obligation to provide any information, or even if they do, whether it's truthful information.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You don't have to register how you'll vote, but in most states you have to register to say that you will vote. Depending on the state the rules are different. Sometimes you only have to register once per residence, sometimes you have to register for each election. And then there's the whole "purging the voter rolls" silliness which some states use to try to exclude certain demographics from voting at all.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

You have to be a registered Democrat/Republican to vote in their respective primaries, though, which is a little like registering how you'll vote. It's a pretty bizarre system, to say the least.