Kamala Harris is the reason I’m voting this year. I would have strongly considered Biden before if he would have been talking about Supreme Court reform before now. I have issues with Kamala Harris’ record, but it’s leagues above Biden’s and light years above Trump. It just doesn’t feel hopeless anymore to me.
How many of them were in counties that mattered?
You know those people who live in counties that don’t matter? Okay, not them. Obvs.
Enough for it to matter.
Decisions are made by those who show up. It’s as simple as that. It really is the very least you SHOULD do as a functional adult.
I get how not everyone wants to be active on campaigns, can donate, etc. But voting itself should definitely be a given. Same goes for small elections; if you don’t vote, someone else will decide for you. And you might not like what they decide.
Show the fuck up and vote.
I prefer “Pokemon Go To The Polls”, myself.
Either way, I’m not sure where OP’s “40 Million Registered Democrats” are coming from. Obama set a high water mark for Dem turnout in 2008 with 69M votes and still managed to carry out a win four years later with 65.9M votes. Hillary pulled in 65.8M votes four years after that. She just racked them in the wrong states this time around and lost to a guy who hit his own GOP high watermark of 62.9M.
Then, in 2020, the country implemented a temporary state of national mail-in voting. Turnout surged enormously. Republicans brought in 74M votes! Enough to win in a landslide in virtually any other year. But still not enough to beat the Dem 81M vote haul. An absolutely historic turnout by either party, all thanks to a change in the mechanism used to submit ballots.
But even using these very temporary figures, I have no idea where you’re finding a full 105.8M Democrats to vote for your candidate, relative to 2016. Set aside how much our antiquated and archaic machine-voting system suppresses turnout. Set aside the deliberate disenfranchisement by determined State Secretaries in democracy-hostile states and districts. Set aside voter disenfranchisement and intimidation, misinformation and scammy robocalls. Tell me which rock these 40M Democrats are hiding under.
And when you do, make sure there’s not another 40M Republicans hiding right alongside them. Because we played this game in Texas for nearly a decade. And what we discovered was a large surplus of lackadaisical conservatives, who came out to swamp the state in 2022. So much for simply being a “non-voting” state.
Never even fucking mind all the “Obama to Trump” voters who showed up in 2016 absolutely revolted by the ghoul Democrats put up as Obama’s replacement.
My friends and a lot of my coworkers I were Bernie supporters in 2016 – donated, attended events, etc. I made sure I was registered to vote and strongly encouraged my friends to as well. Talking to them after the primary was depressing as fuck … most of them didn’t vote, and had the lamest excuses you could imagine. It was eye opening.
Alright: whatever. Great work guys, now we get to vote for Hillary, since it was going to be either her or Trump as president. Shockingly almost none of the aforementioned friends/coworkers voted for her, and several that admitted they couldn’t get off their asses to vote for him in the primary complained about how it was “stolen” from Bernie.
It was hard not slapping the shit out of them.
I’ve shown up every year since 2000 and other people keep making the decisions anyway because the people I vote for lose so goddamn always.
Vote in every election, not just once every 4 years.
Gee it’s almost like I did that because it’s exactly what I said.
Have you tried voting harder?
Hillary Clinton is our best candidate let’s convince the whole primary field to drop out because the democrat donors want Hillary and it’s her turn. Said the democratic party.
Also my vote in Delaware didn’t lose her the election. We have popular vote on a state by state basis. Can’t blame 95% of the democrats or independents that didn’t vote for her. They should be polling in the areas that will decide the election. I think the stat was 20,000 or so votes in the middle of the country decided it.
True but what’s the 95% democrats number mean?
You can’t blame 95% of the democrats or independents that didn’t vote for Hillary because their vote didn’t decide the election.
Pennsylvania was lost by 46,765 votes Michigan was lost by 10,704 votes Wisconsin was lost by 22,748 votesThese states are what lost the election a total of 2.18% 80,217 votes out of 14,630,990 votes in these 3 states. 6.32% of the people in America decided that election as there was 231,556,662 eligible voters and 138,884,643 voted.
Wouldn’t they be required for the states she did win?
Let me phrase it the opposite way…she won the electoral votes in other states despite the democrats and independents in other states who didn’t vote for her. You didn’t lose delaware when I voted green party for president in 2016. I am talking about the 95% of people who didn’t vote her did nothing wrong only the 2-3% in these 3 states got Trump the win.
I was wrong to feel that way. Harris 2024
“Hillary is the best choice, she’s guaranteed to win!” - the democratic party in 2016.
“Well, she may not be the best choice, but it’s her turn.” – insiders.
She was never the best choice of the Democrats available, but you must admit we had no idea how goddamned stupid people were back then. She should have won. Turns out, yeah, russia was listening.
Al Gore should have won too, but here we are.
I don’t know who down voted you? They have proven several times that Trump’s inner circle was with Russian businesses that controlled advertising on Facebook. It’s not that far of a stretch.
They probably worked harder than they had to. She really is an unlikable piece of shit.
Ridiculously qualified, intelligent, experienced, liberal as we could hope for at the time.
Just so unlikable. And shrill!! Oh, and not even a man. Pfft.
She lost the most winnable election she could hope for. Must be the Russians.
She wasn’t running against Woodrow Wilson. That’s literally the most winnable race as long as Taft doesn’t spoil the vote.
The russians helped a lot.
*establishment democrat, not liberal
FUCK. Goddamn fucking liberal is not liberal is bad is left is bougie is FUCK.
Talking with a hallucinating AI in the form of a lemmy community. Is anyone here over 25 and a registered American voter? Anyone? Couple of people, okay. Just a couple huh. Well, makes sense.
Um… ok. You have a problem, bud.
Did we forget Bernie existed and got shafted that election?
Bernie lost. Even accounting for the shafting. I wish he didn’t. But it happens.
One thing not being mentioned here is that people were tired of establishment politicians who don’t change anything. So many people voted for Obama hoping for change, but then said “fuck it” and voted for Trump.
Yes. Very stupid, very gullible people. We have a lot of them. Because of reasons.
Hilary Clinton is an extremely condescending political elite that seems to have about as much humanity as a lizard.
She’s a perfect representation of the DNC.
Disagree. She’s spent the vast majority of her life in politics to do some good. As a woman, she broke a lot of rules and is still to this day mercilessly attacked for it.
Was she so perfect even the shitheaded communist idiots loved every single thing she did? Astoundingly, unbelievably, Nope. Was she the best choice for president of all the candidates on the ballot in 2016? Yes. Without a doubt
Is she forever going to be shit on for not being perfect in every way to all people? No. Just until the current living generations are dead.
Whatever. People need to shit on her, go for it. Shit yourselves a bust of Hillary you can shit on. You can meet all sorts of wonderful Limbaugh fans in there.
Lol I don’t think it’s a good thing if it takes everyone dying for your reputation to improve. That is a pretty wild argument.
Also, you’re just calling everyone that supports communism a shit headed idiot? For real?
And she was a terrible, weak candidate that brought nothing progressive to the table. That’s why she lost to Donald Trump.
It was painfully obvious that Bernie was the better candidate. He energized people. He would have stomped on Trump.
But instead the DNC had to give Hilary “her turn” and now we’re in this mess.
Being an angry Hilary supporter is ridiculous and honestly kind of funny.
I’m proud I didn’t vote Blue in 2016 and 2020. I’m not from the USA so it would be a voter fraud if I did.
That being said, dems are completely incompetent when it comes to elections, deliberately picking such terrible candidates like Hillary and Biden. I don’t believe there are actual people that voted Blue because of seeded candidate and not despite it.
How many of those were in the 5-6 states where their vote actually matters? Cuz I’m in a state thats been hard blue since like, Reagan.
We don’t have a true popular vote. If we did we’d never have a Republican president again.
I live in Utah. The difference in numbers in Utah is crazy. If everyone registered as other than Republican voted for Biden and just registered Republicans voted for Trump, Trump would still win by around 10%. Registered Democrats are outnumbered 2:1 by unaffiliated and 4:1 by Republicans.
In fact, “Unaffiliated” is the second largest group of active voters in Utah.
Yeah, you have a theocracy telling everyone how to vote. You think the populace will go against that when it means a fiery damnation for eternity?
Exactly. Mormonism is just as much a threat to the US (and any country they’re in) as the Evangelicals and fascists.
https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2024/03/15/byu-will-require-incoming-students/
How many of the 40 million votes were in locked-in blue states?
Edit: this was an honest question, not some kind of gotcha
Not that many. Guess why they’re locked-in blue states.
Do you have a source? California is locked in blue, but also just has a huge population.
Good thing the party learn d their lesson and stopped running uncharismatic elderly moderates with terrible approval ratings…
Right?
The only people who dont vote for the least bad option are the people who have the luxary not to.
We gotta get us some Approval Voting so people can vote for their true favorite without worrying if it’ll accidentally give them a worse election result.
Is this ever gonna happen, though? I see it like guaranteed under every single social media post that complains about how we don’t have a functional system and while I agree that fptp as a system is bad and horrible, it almost feels like a red herring at this point because it has such a low chance of ever being changed as each party in power, and any party that theoretically ever able to take power, would not stand to benefit from alternative voting. It’s like prison reform or free healthcare or making weed legal or any number of other things that has high levels of voter approval but conveniently never happen because it’s not in the best interest of the party, except this one is possibly more niche and easier to spread misinformation about.
Like I dunno, what’s the M.O. on getting this done? Get it approved in a couple local elections and then just hope it bubbles up from there? I know in oregon there’s supposed to be some referendum on it, but I kind of doubt it’s going to pass even though I’m gonna vote for it. I seriously don’t see it happening, at least on a federal level, without some extremely serious reform that basically completely reworks how the government currently functions.
Ranked choice voting has already been adopted for state elections in multiple states.
Sure but does my vote in a blue county in a blue state really matter? If elections were actually chosen by who won the popular vote, maybe people wouldn’t be so jaded about voting.
I don’t give a single solitary fuck how jaded some motherfuckers are - People died so we could vote! Fucking DO IT.
So many goddamn toddlers out here like “weaaah why can’t everything work like magic! Waahh i don’t like the politics! I know everything about government and I pronounce it a dumb stupid thing because i dont like it!” Christ in a bucket we got nazis walking up the goddamn driveway and shitheads in here are all “ewww biden might lose, i demand offers for my partici-“ VOTE you assholes! ffs
This attitude is what is alienating gen Z from voting. You’re basically saying “want freedom?? choose exactly who I say!!!”. I’m sure you can see how it’s bad optics. It plays well in the Lemmy echo chamber, but ffs pay attention to other people.
This attitude is what is alienating gen Z from voting.
Hey, y’know what alienated John Lewis from voting? THE KLAN. Y’know what alienated every woman from voting before 1920? All the asshole patriarchy your shitheaded tantrums continue to support.
So why don’t you take all the millions of Gen Z voters you represent, and your GRU playbook, and shut up. This is bullshit.
I’m not even Gen Z, I’m young millennial.
But also. Uhm. I don’t think that leftists were restricting voting rights. You’re coming across a lil like, Q-anon, chronically online here.
But yeah, telling people to shut up is exactly why people are like. Hm. Why support the party of “shut up”?
But also. Uhm. I don’t think that leftists were restricting voting rights.
What the fuck does that have to do with anything??
You’re coming across a lil like, Q-anon, chronically online here.
You’re coming across like a deliberately obtuse and ill-informed twit. Enjoy the reich you so cluelessly want.
Who spells Qanon with a hyphen??
my unhinged stranger in Christ, you brought up woman’s suffrage
You’re basically saying “want freedom?? choose exactly who I say!!!”. I’m sure you can see how it’s bad optics.
Holy fucking shit, our options are “Fascism” or “Not-fascism”, sorry for finding only one of those actually acceptable?
It plays well in the Lemmy echo chamber, but ffs pay attention to other people.
It plays much worse in Lemmy than it does in real life, since in Lemmy there are always a seemingly endless number of commenters ready to throw a fit over the idea that preventing fascism is necessary.
Oh you’re the guy who is pretending that fascist extremeism is a new phenomenon in the United States?
Look into the history of the Japanese Concentration camps. Or our modern-day legalized slavery system, as protected by the constitution.
No, I’m the guy who called you out for pretending that Trump is just “business as usual” and that your normalization of fascism was disgusting. You then descended into a series of non-sequiturs and tangents.
You’re mad at me for saying the United States is fascist, you should be mad at the United States for being fascist.
What other word would you use to describe a country with legalized slavery and concentration camps?
Hillary was and remains terrible. They should have given me someone who wasn’t repellant. I voted Dem in every election up until that one and then I stayed home. I will not apologize for them fucking up.
Whatever you gotta tell yourself. It’d be great if you’d help us not succumb to religious fascism as run by a sociopathic rapist, sir. Please, sir.
I’m so done with the Democrats. I’m not voting for Biden. I’ve voted for these guys for 10 years and at this point I feel like they do nothing with the power they are given when they do have it.
Oh okay so you’d rather let the country and all LGBT people be killed instead
What an unhinged false dichotomy. You really should make a normie conservative friend sometime. You’ll find that most of them aren’t the caricature depicted on Lemmy.
I’m independent but I can’t vote for a vegetable. Do better. I’m hoping some third party options appear. Doubtful. We’re locked into a two party shitshow. Don’t pretend Biden is a good option.
Third party “options” will fail in the electoral college. Because electoral votes (with very few exceptions) are all-or-nothing.
Non voting, third party voting, helps trump.
This is not complicated.
Cool, so you directly or indirectly help the fascist get elected. Smart.
That’s my problem with other liberals/independents. Everyone has to pass their bullshit purity test (candidates, friends, family, etc). That’s why Republicans win. They stick together no matter what.
I’d rather have a vegetable than a fat racist fuckhead
And because of that we got a better president than the one we have currently. Did you know that historically high voter turnout precedes bad times.
The answer isn’t to increase the democrat voter turnout. It’s to decrease republican voter turnout. The fewer people vote the more the voters are composed only of high information voters and the more politicians have to talk to the public like we are actual fucking adults. That’s good for the public no matter which party wins.
We are basically guaranteed to have about a 50:50 mix of republican and democrat control over time. The question is do you want them to be shit-tier democrats and republicans or high quality democrats and republicans?
