Some people will be miserable no matter who is running

  • Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    5 months ago

    We’re electing a president, not a monarch. Nobody is above criticism, and there’s a weird segment of people who act like criticism from the left exists only to help the right.

    Like, I actually saw someone say we shouldn’t do it because it’s too nuanced for the average voter, and sorry but I don’t do paternalism like that. If reading criticism of how a candidate isn’t far enough left makes you vote further right, that’s a basic political literacy problem.

    • Zachariah@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      I mean, we could focus on defeating the GOP and the day after the election results come in start using social pressure to guide our elected officials. If the criticism risks the GOP seizing even more power, it might be counterproductive to your goals even if the criticism is valid.

      • Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        5 months ago

        Any good faith criticism of the Dem candidate should be obvious in its criticisms that R policies are inherently worse. For example, Harris’ record as DA is worth criticizing, but any bad decisions related to imprisoning people are going to be a million times worse under Trump, as Project 2025 shows.

        • ᗪᗩᗰᑎ@lemmy.ml
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          5 months ago

          Any good faith criticism of the Dem candidate should be obvious in its criticisms that R policies are inherently worse.

          Your argument would be great if we didn’t live in the reality presented below. There are too many people sitting on the fence who legitimately cannot discern between a mediocre candidate and a career conman, criminal rapist. Where you see nuance, others see “she’s no better than Trump”.

          Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20240721200927/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/us/elections/polls-president.html

          I like Harris as much as I like Biden, which is not at all, but the alternative is the very real possibility of the end of America.

          • Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            5 months ago

            For my money those charts will look very different after the next debate.

            There’s also not a combination of words that’s going to convince me leftists criticizing Dems are going to kill America. Even if Trump gets elected, you are missing every potential lesson if what you take away is “leftists too mean.”

        • Rentlar@lemmy.ca
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          5 months ago

          Exactly this. On this platform and elsewhere, there is a lot of well-meaning criticism but there are many agents of chaos or narrative pushers that disguise themselves as genuine criticism. I try to interact genuinely and give an opportunity to demonstrate that they are looking for a constructive path forward for the party.

      • Queue@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        5 months ago

        Well, last time we pushed Biden left it was called too soon after election, give them time to form a plan. Form a cabinet, figure out policies.

        Then it was midterms. Questioning the policies for misterm gives Republicans a win. They have to keep these conservative polices set by the last Republican to win over Republican voters.

        Then it’s 2024. Questioning policies is a win for Republicans. They need to win this election, and then we can push them left.

        I’m hoping it ends with a younger nominee.

      • Katana314@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        It’s a lot easier to criticize the Democratic Party if the GOP is first discarded as useless trash and gets no votes in an election. Then we can decide who among our progressive candidates actually has the best approach forward.

        Yet I keep seeing this thought assumed, that a 100% blue vote would “give them too much unchecked power”. This is the difference: We have a party while the GOP has a person. A bullet 2 inches to the right would have destroyed their whole movement.

    • Socsa@sh.itjust.works
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      5 months ago

      Because when all those people do is criticize Democrats, sabotage outreach efforts, and don’t put any time or effort into defeating fascists, then it is very obvious where they stand.

      Like I get it - huffing farts from time to time is great. But you gotta take a break and mix some productive advocacy and outreach if you actually care about Democracy instead of just smelling farts.

    • brucethemoose@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Maybe I’m super cynical, but does that really matter on Lemmy and the platforms connected to it?

      Like, who’s reading this comment section that’s actually on the fence about going out and voting for a Harris ticket? It has to be a miniscule fraction.