this post was submitted on 15 May 2024
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Sorry this is kinda political. Is there an asklemmypolitics group this would be better for? I'm hoping not to get into the libs vs progressives political debate we see everywhere on here... Just want to know what people are actually looking for.

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[–] Matomo@lemmy.ml 34 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Non-US guy here. I don't get why there's a choice whether to vote for him or not, when you know the alternative is Trump.

It's clear Biden isn't a great option, and there's probably plenty of reasons not to want him. But is any of those reasons gonna get better in the next 4 years when his opponent would win?

[–] Wes4Humanity@lemm.ee 8 points 4 months ago

Yes, obviously stopping Trump is the priority. But, that's not the point of the question. Imagining Biden actually did have to earn your vote, what would he need to do?

[–] NoIWontPickAName@kbin.earth 7 points 4 months ago (2 children)

That attitude only leads to worse and worse candidates in a spiral to the bottom

[–] magnetosphere@fedia.io 17 points 4 months ago (2 children)

That’s assuming there will even be candidates in the future.

In previous elections, I would have agreed with you, but Trump has already tried to destroy democracy once. I honestly don’t think that democracy will survive a second Trump term.

[–] Wes4Humanity@lemm.ee 5 points 4 months ago (2 children)

What if the "democracy" we think we have is actually just oligarchy putting on a show... And the only way to really get a democracy is if we fight for it, and Trump gets the fight going faster so we can get to democracy faster? Just a hypothetical, not advocating for this. Obviously a violent revolution would suck, especially considering the US was literally designed to make peaceful revolution relatively easy, but I think those designs have been crushed at this point... By the oligarchy

[–] JoeCoT@fedia.io 6 points 4 months ago (2 children)

What if a revolution in the US caused a global economic collapse?

We tend to think of potential revolutions in the same way as the US Civil War, or the French or Russian revolutions. The problem is that a civil war would be much more like the British Civil War, and most people know very little about the French or Russian revolutions.

A Revolution or Civil war wouldn't have 2 times. It'd have a dozen. We can't agree on what the future of the country should be now, how would we in a Revolution? There would be Revolution, counter-revolution, a civil war where the sides shift every 6 months. And you know how other countries try to influence us now, with Russia interfering with elections and China manipulating companies? That's with the full strength of the Federal government attempting to stop it. Now they'd get to do it with an extremely vulnerable, fractured country.

Add on to that that those other revolutions involved world powers, but in a far less connected world wide economy. The fall of the US looks less like the French Revolution, and more like the Bronze Age collapse.

I think it's too soon to write off the US as irredeemable without revolution. The last time we had a brush with Fascism taking over the country, we got FDR and The New Deal. If we can avoid this brush with Fascism, we might get another chance at turning things around.

[–] Wes4Humanity@lemm.ee 5 points 4 months ago

I feel like Bernie was our shot at a new FDR... And the establishment was able to quash that. I hope we can still do it, but it feels like there's very little hope for a non violent way to get to actual democracy

[–] NoIWontPickAName@kbin.earth 1 points 4 months ago

We’ll end up Balkanizing, then we can try again for something better

[–] magnetosphere@fedia.io 2 points 4 months ago

There’s a good chance you’re right.

[–] NoIWontPickAName@kbin.earth 1 points 4 months ago

Heard it all before, you will hear it again

[–] Matomo@lemmy.ml 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

That sounds like it has to get worse before it can get better. Having trump would create motivation to improve things for getting a better candidate next election, something like that?

Doesn't sound like a great option either. It's not like there's a 'good' option, just a 'slightly better' one.

[–] NoIWontPickAName@kbin.earth 1 points 4 months ago

People have to realize that things can get worse before they decide that it’s time to fix them instead of just treading water

[–] originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com 13 points 4 months ago (1 children)

dude has had years to fix what trump broke. biden is, ultimately, a conservative and his actions show it.

drug war. overblown military budget. lack of healthcare. letting dejoy just sit there destroying the post office. not pushing for expanding/changing the supreme court.

any movement on any of these things.

[–] Wes4Humanity@lemm.ee 9 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Aren't they rescheduling cannabis soon? Too little too late?

I can't believe dejoy is still in the post office! That's ridiculous

[–] originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com 7 points 4 months ago (1 children)

yeah, for me the rescheduling is very too little. it should be removed entirely and left to the states.

to put it in some perspective, alcohol.. one of the most dangerous things we do en masse, is not 'scheduled'.

Thy already said rescheduling isn't going to change any federal to state inconsistencies of MJ still being illegal so dispensarys will still be unable to use banks and things like CDLs will still ban you for life from them if you get caught with weed in your system.

[–] swiftcasty@kbin.social 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Reading up on him, he has implemented initiatives for employee safety during delivery, improved sorting machines, and implementing a 2 cent increase in the price of forever stamps to try to make the usps service lose less money, all of which I like.

But I do think the USPS not adopting a fleet of electric vehicles a few years back was a mistake.

Anyways, I think he’s a net positive. And Biden can’t remove him directly, he would have to be voted out by a committee board.

[–] NoIWontPickAName@kbin.earth 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Apparently decoy is actually doing a damn good job now

[–] Wes4Humanity@lemm.ee 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

How so? I haven't paid any attention to this

[–] NoIWontPickAName@kbin.earth 2 points 4 months ago

I don’t recall the details, I just remember readers by something about how he was shitty under trump, but rise to the position now

[–] snowday@sopuli.xyz 13 points 4 months ago

Stop funding genocide.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 11 points 4 months ago

Stopping genocide would be fantastic, for starters.

Pushing for workplace reform like workplace democracy, mandatory unionization, nationalizing industries like Healthcare, and so forth would be incredible, so getting started and getting the ball rolling on those would be much appreciated.

[–] argentcorvid@midwest.social 10 points 4 months ago (2 children)

do a little actual marketing/advertising on the things he actually has accomplished.

and he has done stuff.

[–] Wes4Humanity@lemm.ee 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

So he already has done enough to earn your vote. In that case what was it he did that earned your support? (Besides not being Trump)

[–] saigot@lemmy.ca 4 points 4 months ago

I'm not American but The Inflation Reduction Act is the biggest climate bill that's been passed ever. It has plenty of flaws, but it also has a lot of long term positive consequences, that can't be easily undone when the administration changes.

[–] TheGalacticVoid@lemm.ee 1 points 4 months ago

The problem with marketing is that conservatives will make a huge deal about it. It's better to keep things lesser known so that they actually happen.

[–] Gabadabs@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Nothing. I don't vote for people who fund genocide.

[–] livus@kbin.social 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Then if he stops funding genocide and takes real measures to try to halt the Gaza genocide, he would then earn your vote?

[–] Gabadabs@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 4 months ago

It's already too late, his inaction thus far has allowed everything that's happening in gaza. He can't take back the lives that have been lost and the suffering that has been caused.

[–] electric_nan@lemmy.ml 9 points 4 months ago

IMO, there is a single issue of any relative importance right now, and that is the genocide in Gaza. The longer Biden does nothing about it, the harder it will be to earn my vote. Already at this point, simply stopping all aid yo Israel is likely not enough. I would need to see the US voting for sanctions against Israel in the UN, for war crimes charges against the Israeli government and IDF command. I would also accept a decapitation strike on the Israeli government, and a UN peacekeeping force deployed to the region.

Stop funding a genocide

Abolish the police

Abolish prisons

Abolish the military

Reverse course on climate change

Open up the borders

Drop all student loans, pay back previous loans with interest

Free college

Drop the TikTok ban and replace it with a data privacy law

Cancel all defense contracts

Do any one of these for real and I'll vote for him. But I have my doubts...

[–] magnetosphere@fedia.io 6 points 4 months ago

He has to show us he has both a spine and a conscience. The funding of genocide must unconditionally end. Humanitarian aid must be allowed into Gaza.

[–] livus@kbin.social 6 points 4 months ago

You should probably also ask this in politics@lemmy.world.

It's an interesting case because studies have found that there are certain core issues where if a candidate doesn't match their stance on it, voters are unwilling to engage with that candidate's other policies.

Stuff like abortion, gun control. Genocide looks like one of those issues.

[–] janus2@lemmy.zip 6 points 4 months ago

do literally anything that suggests he's thinking about people's wellbeing rather than some lobbyist's agenda for 5 seconds

The two main things would be completely ending support for Israel and taking at least some meaningful steps toward ending border fascism and at the very least stop using the myth of a "border crisis" to pander to the ignorance of constituents.

If he'd do at least these two things, I'd at least feel hopeful that he'd do some more good going forward, but instead he's only thrown more and more fuel on these racist dumpster fires.

[–] TonyTonyChopper@mander.xyz 4 points 4 months ago

idk declare war on Israel. Put funding into public transit and healthcare. Die?

[–] mister_monster@monero.town 3 points 4 months ago

There's only one thing he could do to make me consider putting in effort to support him, and that's to stop giving all material aid to Israel.

he's been one of the most progressive presidents in recent history. he already has it... only the perpetually online twitter brigade would think otherwise.

[–] Lolman228@kbin.social 2 points 4 months ago