cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/12412218
Gretchen Whitmer responds to calls by some Democrats to vote āuncommittedā in Michiganās primary on Tuesday
Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan governor, pushed back on calls to not vote for Joe Biden over his handling of the Israel-Gaza conflict, saying on Sunday that could help Trump get re-elected.
āItās important not to lose sight of the fact that any vote thatās not cast for Joe Biden supports a second Trump term,ā she said on Sunday during an interview on CNNās State of the Union. āA second Trump term would be devastating. Not just on fundamental rights, not just on our democracy here at home, but also when it comes to foreign policy. This was a man who promoted a Muslim ban.ā
Whitmer, who is a co-chair of Bidenās 2024 campaign, also said she wasnāt sure what to expect when it came to the protest vote.
Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat who is the only Palestinian-American serving in Congress, urged Democrats last week to vote āuncommittedā in Michiganās 27 February primary.
āVote for me or the country gets it.ā How uplifting.
Meanwhile from The Freep: Whitmer, Tlaib represent Democratic divide on voting āuncommittedā instead of Biden (via archive.is)ā¦
āAt the end of the day, I am advocating that people cast an affirmative vote for Joe Biden because anything other than that makes it more likely we see a second Trump term and thatās bad for all the communities,ā she said in an interview on NBC News Monday. She noted the pain felt among Arab American, Muslim and Jewish communities in Michigan in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel followed by deadly Israeli counterattacks that have killed more than 29,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
And over at The News, broken clock Nolan Finley tells the correct time but, in true Finley style, for all the wrong reasons (via archive.is)ā¦
On the other side of the ballot, whatās left of the Republican Party has convinced itself it can make America great by reinstalling a buffoonish egomaniac who is only slightly younger and less incoherent than Biden. And theyāve rigged their primary system to assure a Trump victory.
Republicans have no excuse for marching toward disaster. They have another choice on the ballot in former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley. The Detroit News endorsed Haley because she is an energetic, forward-looking candidate with a hopeful chance of uniting Americans. Instead of welcoming Haley as their best bet for beating Biden in November, Republicans are treating her as a traitor.
That Democrats and Republicans passed by so much available talent and disregarded the expressed objection of voters to another Biden-Trump match-up demonstrates the uselessness of our partisan system.
Liberals think that Iām supporting Trump by not voting for Biden, but actually Iām supporting Biden by not voting for Trump.
Iām stealing this lol, love it
Wait. Is what youāre saying āIām a real progressive because Iād vote for Trumpā?
Iām voting for Trump exactly as much as Iām voting for Biden. Saying Bidenās lost my vote is like saying Trumpās lost my vote. They never had it. I donāt want a second Trump term or a second Biden term. I am making fun of this ridiculous black and white thinking, itās like the old āif you donāt worship christ you worship satanā claptrap. Itās the same kind of people who think Iām a republican because I complain about liberals. Republicans are liberals too, and democrats are right-wingers too. I refuse the either/or dichotomy between two capitalist nationalist corporatist pro-war pro-poverty anti-healthcare parties. I refuse to buy into the hysteria that your preferred corporate prostitute is going to lose. I already know whoās going to lose the 2024 election. The working class.
What Iāll say isnāt going to persuade you because itās the internet, but is this really the election you want to make a grand stand on? Not exactly like one side has a treasonous lecher being propped up and banking on people like you. I get where youāre coming from and usually Iād somewhat agree, but not with trump breathing down our necks like he is
I donāt know how I could make myself more clear. You wonāt do any persuading if you donāt understand where Iām coming from, read Lenin and Marx if you wanna do that.
Biden opened up two proxy wars in his presidency. What i really want is for neither of them to win.
And all youāll get is everybody losing.
Cutting off the nose to spite the face. Genius!
Even though Iām childless and have absolutely no stake in this dog shit reality tunnel, Iām still a little perturbed by how cavalier a lot of people are with gambling about their childrenās futures.
is this really the election
We hear that for every election. If every election is the most urgent then none of them are.
Yeah, imma hard disagree. The Republicans arenāt Liberals. The Republicans have embraced fascism and are actively trying to overthrow American Democracy. They just overturned roe v wade, they keep making workplaces less safe, our environment worse, consumer protections worse, they fight to repress trans rights, gay rights, etc. etc. Both sides are VERIFIABLY not the same, and I donāt understand how you can feel they both are. Just because both sides are capitalist, doesnāt make both sides liberal.
Republicans are economic liberals. Iām saying theyāre capitalists. I didnāt say both sides are the same. Both sides suck.
American democracy has been overthrown, if it ever existed. Remember citizens united? Corporate monopoly media dictates public opinions, the best-funded candidates win elections and then enact the policy of their donors instead of serving their constituents. This is the nature of bourgeois elections in a capitalist society. The purpose of fascism is to merge corporate and state power to suppress the working class, something that both capitalist parties are hard at work doing, and very well-accomplished.
For instance, both parties relentlessly raise the DoD budget because one of our countriesā biggest incomes is the arms trade. This provides a massive perverse incentive for the US to destabilize countries. Another example is how the DNC corporation will throw their own candidates under the bus if they try to challenge the private health insurance industry.
In terms of some social issues, it may be slightly better in some ways if a democrat wins, or it may not as they managed to whiff on a few supreme court seats during and after the Obama admin. In terms of being a bombable civilian outside the US, it may very well be better if Trump wins, as heās more of a non-interventionist.
The real solution is the overthrowing of capitalism through revolution and the idea that social progress is being made through elections is a dangerous illusion. There are fundamental problems with the structure of the country, and the causes of those problems fund both parties. Liberals have a bad track record of averting emerging fascism, as was the case in Germany, and as is the case today with Biden funding Netanyahuās genocide.
You understand your ideas have no influence if you donāt vote?
You understand voting isnt the only form of political action?
I look forward to helping with those, assuming theyāre non-violent, but if you arenāt voting your voice isnāt being heard by officials meaning you canāt influence change. Sorry if my previous comment came off as condescending that was not my intention.
