We don’t have much of a democracy as things stand considering the average person doesn’t influence policy lol. If all hope is on Biden clutching it out then we better brace for the end. Dems had 4 years to plan ahead.
This.
“Republicans are going to end democracy”
“Why would Joe Biden do this to us??”
What sort of plan do you think an incumbent president who has actually been doing policy should adopt?
We did plan ahead, I’m sorry you don’t like what we planned but you were also fully welcome to participate in the process the entire time.
If becoming less popular than when you beat Trump and enabling genocide is planning ahead, then I guess it is over.
Sorry to hear you’re giving up but I guess that makes it easier for me.
Damn you suck at planning lmao
Well, our guy is president and yours is not.
The same process that locked Bernie out?
The same one where biden literally promised he would be a one term president but now has turned around and is running again and there is no democratic challenger?
Yes that process. Sorry your internet comments didn’t work to stop us!
lmao schizophrenic
Oh brother… they say the same thing every time a Republican becomes President…if Trump becomes President, he’ll be exactly like he was before. This is just more fearmongering from the Left.
Well Trump did actively support an insurrection, I don’t know how you can’t see this as a threat to democracy in the US…
How did you get to this conclusion? What in the article makes you think that?
Bernie wants to continue to support israel.
And Bernie refuses to acknowledge israel commits Genocide.
His words ring hollow.
Nice try. Go back to Truth Social and/or Russia.
Gets linked evidence
Screams incoherently about Russia gate and pizzas
Who screamed incoherently about either of those things? Also, nice try. Go back to Truth Social and/or Russia.
Your linked evidence shows him saying that he wants to stop supporting Israel, contrary to the first sentence of your post.
It’s a bit difficult listening to the interview with that YouTube guy telling you what to think, but it’s there if you endure.
I got you MLH because there is clear need for help to explain what words mean and MLH explains it very well.
Sanders goes on to say that he wants to continue to give israel 3 Billion dollars per year and does not want to sanction israel. Even when pressed on the double standard with Apartheid south Africa.
There’s nothing “raw” about this video. It’s a fully produced and edited interview.
Did you just dodge the facts and respond with completely something irrelevant because you got proven wrong?
It is the raw video of the footage used by MLH so “raw” is the correct description here. Now respond to your claim of “Bernie not defending israel money.”
Thanks for the link. I watched it to the end and I don’t see the 3 billion claim, he kept saying he wants to stop money going to Israel. Feel free to timestamp where it is, maybe I missed it.
13:58. For more explanation you can watch the MLH video
Queue: “this is the most important election of our lifetime”
*Cue
He meant, queue up to cast your vote!
Sanders looks like Noam Chomsky in this picture.
Citizens United needs to be removed.
The massive polarisation in the media needs to be addressed and the outright blatant lies told by the Rightwing goons needs to be legally stopped. ‘Free Speech’ my ass. They need to be labelled ‘opinion’ or ‘entertainment’ or something other than pretending to be ‘fair’ or ‘news’.
I think an “equal air time” law that requires that corrections to misinformation and disinformation be provided at the same scope, scale and duration as the offending material. Since Fox news backed down on their dominion case, they ought to reprint every article, rehost every show and re-run every ribbon and banner on all of their platforms for next 3 years, admitting that they lied, linking sources to proof of their lies, and advising everyone that 2020 had no meaningful amounts of voter fraud on either side. Failure to do so should be fined at a rate of 1000 dollars per second of missed remediation time.
Unfortunately the law would’ve never applied to fox news, as it was broadcast only and cable was exempt. But even so nowadays so much of the information sphere is online, through Facebook, Twitter and the thousand different right wing blog news sites that you aren’t really going to be able to stop anything. The American system very dependent on the two parties having a bipartisan consensus. But after a few decades of the right wing media sphere whipping the base into frenzy after frenzy the ‘true believers’ are the ones in government now and the idea of compromise is done for.
The massive polarisation in the media needs to be addressed and the outright blatant lies told by the Rightwing goons needs to be legally stopped. ‘Free Speech’ my ass. They need to be labelled ‘opinion’ or ‘entertainment’ or something other than pretending to be ‘fair’ or ‘news’.
Replace “rightwing goons” with “leftwing commies” and this is exactly Trump’s plan lmao. Do you not see how that is a problem?
What left wing media empire has spread lies so much as to be sued for hundreds of millions of dollars? This is not a two sides issue.
For Trump Left wing commies = literally anyone who disagrees with him
I’m not pushing it as a two sides issue. I haven’t seen anyone in the Democratic establishment advocating for media censorship like this. I’m talking about you, as an individual. You’re not a side.
I’m not advocating ‘censorship’. I’m advocating for standards of truth in news media. Unless it’s laid out as the facts, it’s opinion.
This used to be the case until Murdoch and the GOP changed the law to allow bullshit.
If you’re talking about the fairness doctrine, it required broadcast networks to devote equal time to both sides of controversial issues. It never applied to opinion shows, which are like 2/3rds of the content on 24 hour cable news networks, and it never applied to cable. You could bring it back tomorrow and it wouldn’t change anything about Fox News.
There is not, nor has there ever been, a legal ‘standard of truth’ for news media. There shouldn’t be. If you trust the government to decide what is true and punish the media for reporting otherwise, what’s to stop trump or the next trump from weaponizing that? That is why the first amendment exists.
That’s what they said last time.
Good needs to win each time. Evil only needs to win once.
It was true last time. It’s true this time. That’s the funny thing about fascism - it is usually a one-way choice. You only need to let fascists win once to forever lose your right to choose your leaders.
And?
deleted by creator
- they are = they’re
- they’re too busy
deleted by creator
Communication is a two way street. You aren’t wrong about listeners making an effort to look past mistakes, but you’ll also find readers will appreciate you more if you take the time to use clear language.
deleted by creator
On Quora there was “suggest edits” - we need it everywhere. Commenting is an ugly way to correct grammar. Suggesting edits allowed all sorts of improvements impossible to explain in a comment. Then the visionaries got fired and Quora went to shit.
God you’re insufferable.
⚡Smites you⚡
Is there a real plan to shore up our “democracy” if the Democrats win this election? What is Biden going to do next term that he didn’t do this term?
I feel like people are so fixated on Trump that they can’t see past him. Trump is a giant, clown-shaped piece of shit-- absolutely. How does the opposing party fail at politics so hard that someone like Trump ever even had a shot?
I agree that it’s frustrating that Democrats use shitty Republicans as an excuse to be just a tiny bit less shitty. However, it’s getting really annoying that you can’t criticize Trump without someone chiming in with “whadabout Biden?!” and you can’t criticize Biden without getting a “whadabout Trump?!”
They’re both fucking awful. It’s a waste of time criticizing Trump because everybody knows who he is, and the people that like him don’t give a fuck what he does. They aren’t listening to your criticism. I’m don’t think Dem leadership really wants to actually help working class people, but they definitely don’t have much reason to start when people keep voting for the most “conservative” ones out of fear from the monsters which have mysteriously found a way to represent the other half of voters.
As far as Democrats go, Biden is amazing. He’s supported Israel no more than Obama or Clinton did. He’s forgiven tens of billions in oppressive student loans. He enacted a funding bill that will finally establish a HSR network in parts of America. He rolled back disastrous Trump era policies on immigration. He fixed Trump’s disastrous COVID response. He re-established relations among NATO countries and was paramount in alerting the world that Russia was about to invade Ukraine when we all knew Trump was trying to weaken their military with his quid pro quo scheme.
In your opinion, how has Biden failed America?
Obama didn’t even openly support gay marriage. I get that as the first black president he didn’t want to give the GOP anything to call “radical”, but Biden is doing so much progressives have been asking for in the past 30 years, it’s very hard for me to not be excited by that.
Cricket cricket
…
Blyat
To add to this. Biden has passed significant investments in growing manufacturing jobs in the US the results we won’t really see for years. Planting a tree that he will never enjoy the shade of. He has approved renewable energy projects and initiated much needed improvements to energy transmission so more renewable energy can be in the grid when they are built. Biden has done a lot to advance our infrastructure.
I feel like people are so fixated on Trump that they can’t see past him.
Well yeah, because if he wins there won’t be anything past him for much of the country.
But what can you really do? Not voting is beneficial to the open christo fascists, and the only person who has any real world shot at winning an election, for some mind melting reason Joe Biden. The same Joe Biden, who despite his kinda actually not terrible first term, is currently funding a genocide as the wold watches. It’s a shit choice, but this problem isnt going to be fixed this cycle. It’s like punching the clock.
Biden isn’t the only one who could win, and seems to be worse off than a generic dem in swing States, by a long shot. They’re choosing the candidate again, like they did with Hillary, from the ranks of the least popular people in the US. They’re shooting themselves and blaming the left and Muslims in MI already.
But what can you really do?
Not give into cynicism and participate in the democratic process? Democracy isn’t something that you can set and forget, it requires constant attention and participation or it breaks. We are where we’re at because the GOP and big corporations have been carefully engineering widespread burnout in a large percentage of the working class population.
OK? What if Biden wins, is my question. Is the Democrat value-proposition nothing more than “periodic intervals of slightly slower slide into total fascism”?
Yes, that’s correct. Slower slide means more of a chance to fix it.
Fix it how? Like what’s the plan? Is there a plan?
Democracy cannot be permanently “fixed”, it can only be preserved via endless education and participation.
Literally the only way to “fix” democracy is to participate in it.
OK? How does that happen? Is there a Dem plan to drive democratic engagement, because they obviously haven’t done a good job of it yet. It seems like fear of Repubs is the main selling point to voting Dem, and it isn’t exactly a thrilling strategy.
More people voted for Biden in the 2020 election than any other candidate in American history by a pretty significant margin, voter turnout in both midterms and general elections are at their highest points in 100 years, obviously something is working
How does that happen?
It happens when I go canvas and vote would you like to help or are you good with whatever it is you’re doing
No there is a lesser chance. The worse the conditions get for the more support fascism gets.
If Trump does not win this election, an even worse person will win the next one
This, so much, this, I feel like I’m taking crazy pills.
The Democrats are ideologically incapable of dealing with fascism, they will not address the root causes, America will have an authoritarian in office within 8 years.
Quite frankly if America can’t withstand trump’s decrepit, corrupt, senile version of fascism then we’re just going to fall to what ever ghoul the Republicans summon next.
So, what’s your suggestion then?
Fuck man, I’ve got a lot I guess. Like the kind of shit the Repubs do, but the Dems claim powerlessness to do. Trump has shown that the rule of law only matters if there is some consequence to breaking it. So break the law. Wield the power. Especially if you genuinely feel like this will be the last ever election. Fucking declare an emergency, arrest Trump and everyone else involved in J6. Send the military to reassert power over the national border in Texas. Break up media monopolies, and nationalize telecoms. Why the fuck would you risk losing an election to a criminal gang who want to end democracy?
The supreme Court is slow-rolling determining whether or not a president is liable for criminal activity in office until after the election. If they determine now, then either trump gets held accountable, or Biden has immunity from crimes in office, and can plainly jail or order a hit on trump and a good chunk of Congress.
Obviously though, the president is not immune from the consequences of crimes committed while in the office.
I just don’t understand how you can believe that the supreme court can’t or won’t just ignore precedent.
A this point, I think Judge Judy has more integrity than the SC. They are gonna do what they were put there to do, give cover for republicans to undermine human rights.
Your suggestions are very tempting, I must say. We don’t want to sleepwalk into fascism. It could be 1930s Germany all over again.
Trump and many of his gang were arrested already, though, and are facing trial. So far, the verdicts have shown that the justice system is still somewhat functional. I don’t think it makes sense to flip the table as long as the justice system continues to hold Trump and his ilk accountable. Taking it to the next level and declaring an emergency would accomplish what, exactly? He has already been charged, so would the point of the emergency declaration be to skip the trial phase and go straight to hanging? Essentially it means outlawing Trumpism, which means purging the GOP, which means civil war. No one wants civil war as long as there is a chance to beat Trump constitutionally.
We had a situation in Canada in the 90s where our second largest province had a very serious vote on whether to separate from Canada. It would have literally ended the country as we know it. It was certainly tempting to arrest the leaders for treason to save the country. However, that would certainly have led to either a civil war or the Quebecois equivalent of the IRA in Canada. So, we persevered through the vote and the remainers won by about 1%, as I recall. We saved the country by the skin of our teeth, but through legitimate democratic means, and so the result was respected.
Yeah, purge them. As absolutely awful as a civil war would be, I say that it is preferable to risk it now than cordially handing over the reins of power to these clowns from hell. For one, civil war is by no means guaranteed. For all our big talk, most Americans will go along with ‘the program’, whether it’s purges of fascists or purges of minorities. I’m afraid we have yo choose one, and I much prefer the former.
I wish I could confidently disagree with you, but I can’t.
All those possibilities pretty much went out the window when the Democrats nominated Biden. Even if Biden was as left as we would like him to be, he is a technocrat who sees the norms as vital to maintaining the legitimacy of government.
I don’t even necessarily disagree that maintaining legitimacy is vital, but I’d put representing the people over donors a notch higher than maintaining norms.
I don’t actually think they were ever possibilities. Even if Bernie had won, his own party would have trampled over the repubs in order to impeach him first lol.
I don’t think so. The more people actually hear Bernie speak, the more they like him. He wouldn’t be hiding from the public like Biden, he would be leading rallies on the Whitehouse lawn. If Bernie had access to the bully pulpit, impeaching him would be political suicide.
In what way have the Democrats advocated for sliding into fascism? They’re status quo politicians, not wannabe dictators like some other orange person.
Intervals of “status quo” between fascist administrations is slow-walking into full fascism.
I don’t think there really can be a plan. Like what would you want Biden to do to shore up democracy?
One of the inescapable, fundamental, bedrock concepts of democracy is that people will not vote for a corrupt, criminal, authoritarian, self serving demagogue.
If a society can’t achieve that basic state then they can not be a democracy.
Honestly, I suspect that the best thing Biden can do is to “grey rock” the American people and hope that Trump self combusts, which seems to be what’s happening.
That said, that’s just the best Biden can do. The dems need an actual leader that can inspire the american people to see a better version of themselves.
Did you mean to have the word “not” in your second paragraph? Because people absolutely vote for leaders like that all the time lol.
Oh I think I see. I agree that we’re not a real democracy.
Just ask about DC statehood and the Dems’ inability to enfranchise over a million US citizens.
As soon as you scratch this problem, you discover how shallow and unserious the party is in “protecting democracy”.
I agree, I’m just trying to get others to see how little “resistance” the Dems pose to the more naked fascism of the Repubs.
I think the case of DC Statehood is an obvious example. Whether we’re talking about Kennedy, Clinton, or Obama, we’re talking about a party that’s deliberately disenfranchised over a million people on their watch.
The more he loses the less likely he’ll be to win, plus he’s old as hell and not aging gracefully. Rebuking Trumpism is shoring up democracy.
Didn’t we rebuke Trumpism last election? I’m asking why the fuck is Trumpism alternating as the most popular political position for the American electorate. This is an indictment of the political acumen of the Democratic party.
We did but facism will never go away. Before they slunk away but now fascists can connect with each other online. Instead of it being a few people that happen to meet up and connect now they can seek each other out. It’s the same reason that racism has made such a dramatic resurgence. It will literally require eternal vigilance.
Is this how it is in all countries? An eternal choice between “whole fascism” and “skim fascism”?
It’s further ahead in the US but coming elsewhere. Even in parliamentary countries fascism is coming back although since they are not first past the post not as pronounced. As long as the internet is around and there’s no repurcissions for belonging to those groups they will be around.
Sometimes in life there is such a thing that is called: “Maybe there is no Good Vs. Bad just assholes all around”. Good luck with that
You know they don’t . Their strategy was, is, and will continue to be: “The other side is worse”.
Yep, and it is a shit strategy.
Because Trump is great for me fundraising and keeping party bigwigs at the trough
Many socialist’s heads just exploded in confusion.
VOTE DEMOCRAT OR WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!
Even for a politician who doesn’t mince his words, his assessment of a Trump victory in November is sobering. “It will be the end of democracy, functional democracy.”
It may not happen on day one, he says. Trump wouldn’t be as obvious as to abolish elections. But he would steadily weaken democracy, making it harder for young people and people of colour to vote, enervating political opposition, whipping up anger against minorities and immigrants.
This interview with Sanders is from January of this year, well before the recent CPAC and Trump’s open calls to end democracy. And it’s the only point upon which I disagree with him.
I think elections WILL be abolished, and Trump will have no reason to slow down or hide his real objectives, even on Day 1.
Just to remind people, Day 1 of Trump’s first term he used to begin opening up and even selling long-protected BLM lands to corporate mining and energy companies.
Trump has a horrific agenda. Dismantling anything that could be an obstacle for him later is at the top of the list, like democracy itself, and he’ll get to it as soon as his feet land in the Oval Office.
And it’s not just about Trump being weak, craven, and humiliated: Trump is, essentially, a demagogue and a puppet, one that is owned by foreign interests. His owners will ensure that all Trump’s days are spent dismantling democracy, ensuring places like Cop City get up and running on schedule, and returning us all to the company store economy as soon as it can be done.
Watch the VP pick closely. It won’t be Trump’s choice, it will be someone relatively unknown that his owners pick, in the same way that Mike Johnson came out of bumfuck nowhere to be Speaker of the House. Watch that second place very carefully, because that’s who will eventually be POTUS once the hamberders, tertiary syphilis, and/or dissatisfied foreign Trump debt owners finish with Trump.
This literally every.single.election.fuck off with this whole thing.
Socialism 2024. End the MIC. Vote 3rd party or enjoy Trump.
