i take every opportunity to shit on, mock, ridicule, insult, verbally abuse bothsidesbad dipshits everywhere they show their stupid fucking faces

whatever happened to all the "vOtE 3rD pArTy BeCuZ gEnOcIdE" fucking morons? actually j/k i don't miss them at all. how's that iran war going? we sure helped palestine by throwing away our vote, huh? fucking idiot clowns

40 plus years of neo liberal policy, that yes have been embraced by 'both sides', has been destroying the nation and for some reason people don't want to admit it.

Okay, but there's a difference between "both sides are bad" and valid criticism of the democratic party.

Getting slapped and getting stabbed are both bad. But not equally bad.

I vote so I can cancel out a maga vote

We need to show the Democrats that being conservative light is not good enough by making it have consequences in primaries.

The lesser of two evils trap demoralizes people and makes them think that this is the best we can hope for from a politician but it’s not, We’ve seen a rise of left-wing politicians lately and we can do better.

We must participate whenever possible and the choices aren’t always great but they do still matter.

So yes, Democrats actively doing less damage than the Republican counterpart, and no it isn’t good enough.

People deserve a world where hope can be a part of it.

votes third party

No not like that

Seriously though, I think it's important to confront and admit that voting for the lesser evil does legitimize the evil they do, even if the greater evil does it worse. Because critically digesting both that fact alongside the fact that voting for the lesser evil really does result in better outcomes for society is what will actually get the hesitant on board with going and doing it. If you try to dismiss or handwave that fact, you are dismissing and handwaving the very real concerns of the disillusioned non-participants. Acknowledging the dissonance is far better.

I think it's also important to point out that while direct action and social organizing are the most effective things things you can do to change society, they are incredibly time consuming while voting usually takes 5 - 30 minutes. And if you're actually interested in the former, there's little to no excuse to avoid the latter.

Just whatever you do, don't shame people for being disillusioned. That makes people really dig in their heels.

Well that's just nonsense. Any criticism of the democratic party, a famously spineless and dismissive organization, is a psyop?

A party that has collaborated with the Republicans the whole way? Going so far as to make ICE one of the best funded militaries in the world?

Oh is it the time of year for liberals to start telling us we can no longer complain?

Both sides are bad, but both sides are not the same. One shows time and time again they are scared of their voters and will change course with enough pressure. The other one only puts pressure on us under the heel of a boot.

Yes, both suck, but we are not getting anywhere with this stupid flip flop between two awful options. You take the less bad one, then work really fucking hard to get better people to replace them. Don’t keep falling for this one weird trick bullshit, where one cultish figure that claims to solve it all will get the nod in an effort to “try something different”.

Third parties are useless, unless we can get ranked choice. Until then, we play the fucking game, not keep flipping the board every few years.

https://youtu.be/9X4Z1lLUMfw

George Carlin put this idea to rest a very long time ago. If you truly believe that Democrats are somehow fundamentally different from Republicans you have lost the plot.

The largest non-voting registered group in the 2024 election were those associated with neither party: independents and unaffiliated voters.

About a quarter of eligible voters aren't even registered on top of that.

"Both sides are bad" statements aren't necessarily driving partisans to not vote. They are, or can be however, an important message for those two big parties running the elections to hear from the people.

It's also, possibly one of the few talking points that forces acknowledgement that those independent, unaffiliated, and unregistered voters exist and whose interests might matter towards the outcome of policy and/or elections.

But yes, the interests that align with at least the GOP are furthered when votes are suppressed, that has been demonstrably true for decades.

Nevermind that we hold parties accountable and make them actually represent the people. If centrist/corporatist Democrats wanted to win, they should be listening to the people, and they refuse to do that. They are absolutely complicit in what's been happening over this past decade, even long before that.

The real problem is that both parties have convinced most people that striving to change the voting system that produces the two-party system is pointless.

As long as that system exists, this useless and polarizing debate won’t stop and evil and corruption will continue to flourish.

The land of freedom, choice and competition doesn’t want freedom, choice and competition in its elections. Think about why that is.

Multiple things can be true. Both sides are bad, but that's why the concept of voting for the lesser evil is a thing.

Everybody sucks. But you should still vote.

It's far from the only way. They have the means to rig elections or cancel them altogether.

If you think voting is getting you out of this mess, you're in for a reality check.

I don’t think “both sides are bad” is designed to keep people from voting. It’s meant to give the people that follow the definitively worse of the 2 sides a justification to keep voting the same way.

gotta ask yourself if you want a chance to fix things or no chance at all. with trump, its no chance at all

First of all, half the non voters would vote republican (unless you actually believe democrats are just actually lazier people than republicans?!).

Second of all, 99% of the shit trump does wrong is just plainly wrong under both parties "values." It doesn't matter what party this is way bigger than party this is about an enemy of the state controlling the white house.

Also the democrats keep voting to fund his government, instead of shutting the whole damn country down, which is in fact necessary because an active unrepentant child rapist is controlling the white house and he's starting illegal wars and stealing billions of dollars. So, to vote in the house or the senate for even one dollar of taxpayer money to be entrusted to donald trump as the chomo-in-chief of the executive branch is in and of itself treason worthy of capital punishment.

So yes, fuck the democrats who have voted to pass budgets that hand trump trillions of dollars that he treats as a blank check. Domt tell me dems are the best way to get him out of power, tell me who to vote for to express my desire that the federal government ceases functioning immediately until he gets out. Because this whole lets vote him out ive been hearing it for ten fucking years now and yet here we are. Stop telling me to wait for November, shut the whole fucking thing down today. This guy rapes children and we're letting him do anything??? Why?? Shut down the government light the constitution on fire because literally zero authority for anything good in the world can exist while the "leader of the free world" is a rapist murderer who is grifting billions of dollars. Like it just has to stop, fuck the vote, just stop this fucking maniac who slathers his face in orange paint and rambles about how the epstein files exonerated him!!

Voting is an illusion of choice. At best, you’re voting for a personality. Who voted for these flock cameras? Who voted for this war with Iran? Who voted for citizens united? I can go on and on.

That's like saying the US is good for materially enabling Israels genocide in Palestine because the US is killing people more indirectly than Israel.

Critique has nothing to do with voting.

This is a misunderstand. It's not about voting. It never was. It's about organizing.

Sure vote for harm reduction. Yes, it can slow things down a bit temporarily, but don't think it'll save your life. Both parties are genocidal fascists who will continue to escalate war and state violence. From a capitalist standpoint, fascism is correct and necessary. Profits have fallen too low, democracy is no longer profitable, no matter which party is in charge. The billionaires need living standards to drop much lower. But in a democracy, people would not be willing to accept that, so they need to be disciplined violently.

Democrats, just like Republicans will come for your loved ones, arrest communists, continue imperialist wars and genocide, shut down strikes and unions, militarize the police. Simply because Democrats are capitalist and within capitalism, fascism is the next logical step. Not for ideological reasons, but because of real material economic facts. The facts demand fascism. Democrats will adapt or cease to be Democrats.

When Nazi fascism was defeated in Europe, it wasn't by voting for the lesser fascists. The only way to save democracy is to organize real resistance, that's able to enforce demands.

If you have limited capacity to contribute and organize, don't waste your time campaigning for the Democrats. Vote for them, if it makes sense in your state, but that's just one day. If you have any energy to spare the rest of the year: talk to your neighbors and coworkers about real solutions. For example general strikes and anti-fascist community self defense. Learn communist theory, start a reading group. Join a Marxist org.

No, not voting for either genocide party.

No one is obligated to vote for Democrats based on lesser evilism. We're circling the drain with a neoliberal/reactionary crisis cycle in perpetual imperial war while wealth keeps consolidating upward and working people get crushed. The billionaire donor base they solicit money from is the same, their economic and foreign policies are quite similar. Even when Democrats have achieved majorities at the state level they serve their masters, not the economic interests of the people.

Workers party now.

Orban lost because everyone went out and voted for the other party. If you watch interviews of voters, a lot of them said they don't agree on everything with who they are voting for, but it must be done to progress away from the Orban era.
Democracy is a slow process, and sometimes, voting for the lesser of two evils is the only choice you have. It opens the door for better candidates in the next elections to come.
Or, you know.. you can do an armed revolution. But lately, they don't bring the change everyone hopes for.

Shouldn't you be more concerned with the parties caucuses? Since you have a two-party autocrcacy anyways