#Republicans policies suck for working Americans

[scottguy]

Republicans have had a terrible track record for the national economy (as well) since the 1980s and probably longer.

Their lies about "fiscal responsibility" ring so hollow 40 years later.

It's just an excuse to cut social programs that do real good and which save money because poverty is hard on the economy. Right-winger only want to free up money for give aways to their filthy rich donors.

Republicans steal from the poor and give to the rich. Republicans are the ones driving up our deficit.

It's truly a disgusting level of greed.

[ranwing]

The plan going forward (or The Resistance 2.0)

I'm still processing and digesting the results of the election, because it is beyond disheartening. I am aware that many American voters have very short attention spans, and they bought the argument that because the economy was better under Trump's first term that it made sense to return him to the White House. They conveniently forgot that he was a major reason why our economy went into the tank, or that Biden managed the nearly impossible of curbing inflation while not plunging the economy into a recession. That many of the same people who voted to secure reproductive health rights in their states also voted for the man who tore those rights away.

The reality is that we're going to have to deal with a second Trump presidency, coupled with a stacked Supreme Court that already ruled that he has unlimited power, and a Senate that will approve anything he asks for. We're going to have Elon Musk poking his fingers into all aspects of our government. We're going to have RFK Jr. meddling in our healthcare systems and making his conspiracy theories public policy. And it's going to suck.

So we've got a few weeks before the nightmare begins. Take some time to get yourself mentally strong again. Do some things that give you pleasure. Hold your family (the ones who haven't been sucked into the MAGA cult) close. Cuddle your pets. Cry if you need to. Because once January comes around, the work starts again.

If Republicans can ever be counted on to do anything, it's to overreach. That first year is going to be horrific. But knowing Trump and the Republicans, they can be counted on to go too far. And we will have to fight back. It's going to be hard and might seem pointless, but it's vital. That small percentage that shifted the election is going to suffer alongside us. They will have to hurt before they recognize that they made the wrong choice. And it's going to be marching and protesting again. It's going to mean confrontations and challenging the powers that be. And it's more important now than ever before.

After one year, we then have the midterm elections, where we can really turn things around. More Republicans in the Senate will be defending seats, giving us the opportunity to regain it. The House will also be up for grabs. In less than two years, we can completely hamstring Trump and curb his administration. But that's going to mean not giving into despair and fighting back. We have to hold fast.

We have history books full of what happens when citizens allow a tyrant to give in to his worst impulses without challenge. I refuse to be another example of that. I would rather fight and lose than have future generations wonder why I just gave in.

[qqueenofhades]

Hi Hilary I know you’re only replying to so many politics asks — I can only imagine how many are sitting in your inbox rn — and you’ve already been such a comfort to all us folks who’ve really appreciated your insight time and time again! But I did want to ask about all the posts I’ve seen more recently about signing petitions and reaching out to the White House for a recount. I feel like at this point we’re really reaching — everyone’s talking about how there’s evidence suggesting cheating on Trump’s part, and while I would never be surprised by that, I have yet to see any trusted sources backing those claims. It feels like we’re long past that point, even though the results came in so much faster than I ever expected, but I was wondering if you have an opinion on all that? Take care in the meantime, and thank you for all that you do!

I will make this the last politics ask for the night, and hopefully for at least a few days (no promises, though), but --

This, most unfortunately, is not going to work. For one, Biden/the White House cannot request a recount in state-level races. There are strict rules governing who can and cannot request those, it's usually either triggered by a certain percentage margin or requested by the candidate, and then it also has to be paid for. Kamala has given her concession speech and the Democrats are not going to go down election-denialism rabbit holes. It is hugely unfortunate that the worst people in the world who launched a coup after losing last time are the ones to benefit from it, but... yeah. It just sucks all the way around.

The election interference happened on the day with all the Russian-linked fake bomb threats in blue areas of swing states, the ballot boxes set afire, etc etc. I fear we have only begun to see how bad it will be in this and any future elections, as with many other things, and the reports of people's ballots disappearing or not being received etc are obviously disturbing. But there is, as you say, scant evidence aside from social media chatter backing this up, people are angry and hurt and looking for something to make it not be real (me too, man) and that's easier than thinking that half the country simply shrugged and chose fascism because of grocery prices and trans panic. And it sucks absolute shit, but this is what happened. It happened broadly consistently across the country and was a symbol of the anti-incumbency that's been going on since Covid (New Zealand's liberal government also fell victim to this and elected reactionary conservatives, so this is a thing). We can split hairs about this or that policy decision by the Democrats, and believe me there needs to be a messaging revamp and the firing of basically every Democratic Corporate Consultant TM, but we need to face up to the truth that many, many ordinary American people chose this. They wanted it. And if we are going to do anything about it, we have to reckon with that fact instead of looking for conspiratorial excuses. For one thing, that's what those assholes do constantly, and fuck them.

Likewise, results came in across the country much faster due to the fact that people once more voted largely in person on Election Day, and not early/by mail as they did in 2020. They came in largely matching the expected timelines given by election officials of both parties beforehand. If there is basis to all this missing-ballot stuff, then yes, obviously, it should be investigated (though I have very low confidence that it will be if they are already making preparations to close the federal cases against Trump). But at this point, as you say, this is not something that has logistical legs and is going to undermine a lot more. It sucks. Sometimes I wish we didn't have to be the adults in the room and could just be whiny cheating shitstains like the Republican Fascist Party -- it seems to work out for them that people want Democratic policies and then elect Republicans to punish Democrats for not instantly and perfectly implementing all of them. The exit polls largely matched with what the results turned out to be. It absolutely sucks almighty shit, but it's true.

I am old enough to remember George W. Bush getting reelected in 2004, and it sucked, though not as much as this just because Trump is so crazy and extreme and the GOP has abandoned even the basic pretence of democracy and decency. It's a race to the bottom and through to the center of the earth for them now, especially since they have literally no incentive to reform or do anything but double down on their extremism. Why would they? They just won a major election and got popular legitimacy, something the Republicans have lacked for a long time. This is only the second time they've won the popular AND electoral vote (the first likewise being 2004) in the 21st century. We got the blue trifecta in 2020 because we benefited from the same desire for reversal of course that the Republicans are getting now. In and of itself, this does not indicate fraud. Terrible things about America and the future, yes, but not fraud.

So: Yes. We need to focus on the things we can control and prepare ourselves for what is still to come. It will be hard and it will suck and as I keep saying, it was completely avoidable, but people didn't want to avoid it. They're now going to learn painfully why they should have, but we can't do anything about that either. It is very much going to be a case of picking your battles, drastically limiting your daily news consumption, and a lot of other protective measures, and that is where, at least IMHO, we should focus our effort.

Take care. ❤️

[traegorn]

hi! i'm a young leftist lives in a moderate household. i just turned 18 this year, so i'm really excited to vote for the very first time.

you popped up on my timeline and i wanted to say thank you for a breath of fresh air. i can't wrap my head around some of the arguments leftists are sharing that imply or outright say that trump and harris are equivalent, that to even choose between the two signifies moral failure. seeing people ignore any political victories and helpful policies democrats have created, suggesting that they won't cement roe v. wade or student debt forgiveness on purpose... i'm no political expert but it's just been a lot.

i hate their specific attack on voting, as if it's the only thing that makes you complicit, and the many products and services we use simply by being americans are morally clean. seeing so many leftist creators promote this idea and pretty much exclusively demean libs and harris, as if trump and the scary things the republican party are doing in certain states don't even exist, has been exhausting. don't get me wrong - we should be critical of politicians - but i'd expect the critique to at least be proportional.

i don't know how people can hear trump say kamala harris is anti-israel and not understand that things can get worse. it doesn't make the suffering happening now any better, but it can get worse. do people really think "oh well genocide is already happening, what more can trump do?"

and to act like caring about minorities and disadvantaged people in america is a privileged, selfish thing to do is absolutely insane. i live in a blue state, comfortably middle class - my life will be fine either way. but i still care about other people! explicitly giving zero fucks about any american at all doesn't seem productive. that's surely going to draw people towards us!

maybe i'm idealistic but voting works - look at everything that's happened after trump's presidency. look at what the republicans and magas, showing up for their candidate, did for them. i know so many moderates who hate trump who still support the republican party in every way they can, in the voting booth and outside, simply because it's more beneficial for their personal gains.

it's cynical, but we can do the same, can't we? suck it up, realize that one of these two will be elected no matter what, and do our best to push the actually reasonable candidate further to the left?

maybe i really am just a liberal, fake leftist lol.

No, you're a leftist. It's the people refusing to vote and actually do something about the real problems in the world who are the fake ones.

I'm glad you get to vote, and that you have your head on right. We're in this together, and we can get it done.

Hell yeah.

[rotzaprachim]

the answer is that I think that flipping back red counties blue and coming up with an election winning Democratic Party is going to both recognize that America and the American working class in particular are an incredibly heterogenous base with no one size fits all policy, AND it’s going to take complex moral negotiation of the likes that will be difficult and painful and definitely shoot vulnerable people in the foot because of the deep social conservatism of much of America that will require everyone from the center to the hard left to band together and suck it up in a way that fucking sucks because this is the country we live in and social progressivism is not popular.

There’s an awful lot of finger pointing from everyone to the center to the left going on right now and honestly much of it is justified even when it’s seemingly contradictory, but all of it displays a kind of refusal to face up to the key issues that much of the U.S. is socially, economically, and politically conservative in a way I think a lot of non-republicans of all stripes have made ourselves blind to because it fucking sucks. “This or this didn’t reach out to the median voter” “this or this wasn’t popular” you know somethings that really aren’t popular? Protecting trans children, recognizing the rights of trans individuals, not straight up shooting homeless people, not straight up deporting millions of undocumented workers. These are all seen as flakey liberal snowflake policies by mass portions of the American people and we need to fucking face it.

[mama-qwerty]

Okay, I'm gonna get political here.

I've been seeing some alarming posts going around, in which people seem to think that Biden is somehow as bad as, or worse than, Trump. And a lot of the reasoning seems to come down to how he's dealing with Israel. He's not doing enough to stop Israel and is actively supporting them. Which, he has to, because the US is Israel's ally.

Is it ideal? Is it great? NO. It absolutely sucks, and we really should not be involved, and be doing more to stop them.

But that seems to be the single issue most people mention when talking about not voting for him. And my question to them is, do you seriously think Trump will handle it any better??

And let's put Palestine aside right now. I know it's terrible, I know it's my privilege to look away for a moment, but I implore you, I fucking BEG you to remember that the US president affects laws and policies here, which affects each and every American who lives here.

This post lists, in a convenient little checkbox format, what each candidate is for and against. As you can see, Trump will support Israel, too. Moreso than Biden. But he will also remove rights and destroy protections for countless other groups.

Both candidates are absolutely NOT THE SAME. Biden, while not perfect, has done a lot of good for the country, it's just not reported because negative things get more views than positive. He had A LOT of cleanup to do after Trump finally dragged his ass out of the White House. And he's done what he could.

I get that Biden isn't ideal. He's not who I would want, either. But he's the Democratic candidate, and we absolutely cannot afford to "send Washington a lesson" by abstaining or voting third party. We are a two party system, and with Trump on the ballot, we cannot, CAN FUCKING NOT afford to split our forces.

Every Republican will be out in droves, casting their vote for Trump. One vote for a third party candidate, is a vote for Trump. If you do not vote for Biden, you are essentially handing Trump the victory.

This country will not survive another Trump presidency.

I sincerely believe that. The damage he did the first time around was bad enough, when he didn't know what he was doing. But now? Now he's had 4 years to scheme and plot and work behind the scenes with his cronies so that when/if he gets back into office, he can go all in on gutting the government, stacking the Supreme Court, enacting whatever laws he likes, and simply declaring himself dictator and never leaving office again.

And the Republicans will help him.

Every one of those spineless bootlickers will be trailing behind him, nodding like a fucking bobblehead, agreeing with whatever asinine idea tumbles out of his third grade brain.

"For the good of the country," they'll cry, as they gut support for the poor.

"For the helpless little babies," they'll weep, eliminating health care services for women and removing any help for families.

"Make America Great Again," they'll chant as they send the military to drag children away from parents and lock them in cages because they dared come to the US--a country that was founded on the backs of immigrants--for a better life.

Republicans only care about keeping themselves rich and in power. They don't care about the poor. They don't care about women or minorities or LGBTQ+ rights. They don't care about YOU. They only care about themselves. They've proven it time and time again, yet they always try to convince their base that it's really the Democrats and radical Left who are the bad guys. Because they constantly want to *checks notes* make sure people are safe, healthy, and cared for.

And that's not the America the Republicans want.

I am begging all US voters to look past Palestine, for just a moment, and realize that choosing the wrong man in November will have very, very, VERY long lasting repercussions for this country. We can't afford to "send a message". We can't afford to simply not vote. We can't afford to throw out the old "they're all the same" line.

THEY'RE NOT.

Please, please, please. Think about the people who will be hurt under another Trump administration. Think of those who will lose their support, lose their aid, lose their protections. Think of those who can't protect themselves.

The only message we need to send to Washington this November is NOT TRUMP. NEVER TRUMP.

[briannysey]

Something that I think a lot of American Leftists don't understand is that you as a citizen have a voting record. Not of who you voted for or how you voted, but which elections a person votes in are typically publicly available data.

So if you're say a young leftist and you want a certain party to move to the left, but you don't vote in any elections, campaigns look at that data and discount your voice, your letters, your phonecalls, etc. Why wouldn't they? You don't fucking vote!

But when you are someone who has been on record as voting, and voting consistently, campaigns tend to heed your voice a lot more. You get more election mail (especially around primary season) as candidates try to court your vote. This is part of the importance of voting in "local elections." They're the same goddamn election, they're just different spots on the ballot. And you don't have to vote in every category on the ballot, so if you find yourself unable to vote for a presidential candidate, there's still value in going into the booth and voting for the candidate who's not going to defund your local schools or public transit.

Part of the reason that establishment dems don't court leftist voting blocs, for the most part, is that leftist voting blocs don't exist. If you had a group in your community that all they did was educate themselves about candidates policies and distribute a recommended voting guide for elections then I can guarantee you local party officials and local campaign officials for national campaigns would work try to court your vote, with local candidates actually working to change their policies to meet the needs of your group.

Voting works. Voting matters. Obviously voting is not the end-all be-all of political or community work. But part of the reason that overton window continues to shift to the right is that republicans are very consistent voters. They've got church groups and rotary clubs and chambers of commerce that recommend to their folks how to vote, and they vote in every primary and every election. When a legislature is split between center-right and far-right candidates they're going to compromise and land on legislation packages that find middle ground between those two terrible poles.

If you are committed to justice, if you are committed to equity, if you are committed to things like free lunch programs, and maintained infrastructure, and legal protections for marginalized groups, then you should be fucking voting, and voting in every election. A moderate dem is always going to be better than a moderate republican. A moderate dem is always going to be better than a far-right demagogue.

A political landscape is not something you change in a year. It takes lifetimes of work. But many of you fuckers aren't doing any work, you're just going on to Tumblr or TikTok or Youtube comment sections to rant at people who understand that political change is a lifetime project with a million compromises along the way. If you don't have any way to achieve what you want today or tomorrow (and I know leftist revolutionaries don't), then you need to be strategic and make choices that are going to pay off in 4 or 20 or 40 years. And in the US that oftentimes looks like, and involves, voting for people who are morally repugnant and monstrous.

Anyways I'm writing that fucker Chuck Schumer all the time because his policies suck. And his office knows my name and hates me, but they write me back because I'm a registered dem and I vote in every election, even if I'm rarely checking a name for a senate candidate.

[wutheringmights]

Nightbane by Alex Aster opens with a quote from Cato, A Tragedy (1713) by Joseph Addison: “My bane and antidote are both before me.” Very important. Very cinematic. 

Quotes can rarely, if ever, be taken out of context without any loss of meaning. So I have a personal policy to research the origins of whatever quote an author opens their book with. After all, a good quote should provide important framing or context for the book you’re about to read.  

To summarize a very fascinating Wikipedia article: Cato, a Tragedy is an Enlightenment era play about Cato the Younger’s last days and his opposition to the reign of Julius Caesar. Cato was an icon of republicanism and, fittingly, the play deals with themes of “individual liberty versus government tyranny, republicanism versus monarchism, logic versus emotion, and Cato's personal struggle to hold to his beliefs in the face of death.” 

Nowadays, the play is obscure. Modern productions of the play are rare, if ever staged. The text is also not included in most academic curriculum. Yet, Addison’s work seems to have been highly inspirational for America’s Founding Fathers. According to Wikipedia, quotes like “give me liberty or give me death” are theorized to be references to Addison’s play that the founding fathers assumed their audience would understand. George Washington even attended a production of it while in Valley Forge in 1778.

With its considerable influence on the founding of this country, it’s mind-boggling to me that this play is not only not taught in school, but is largely forgotten. I even asked my father, who is almost 70 and is a giant history buff, if he knew anything about this play in the vain hope that maybe some previous generation learned about it. But, no; even he had no idea what it was until I told him.

My bane and antidote are both before me comes from a soliloquy from act 5, scene 1. In it, Cato contemplates the merits of committing suicide. The bane and antidote is a sword he places his hand on and a copy of Plato’s Immortality of the Soul. He does not want to kill himself. How could anyone? But if he does not die now, he will have to live in a world made for Caesar. But Plato’s writings provide reason to the universe, which gives him comfort: “the stars shall fade away, the sun himself / Grow dim with age, and Nature sink in years; / But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth, Unhurt amid the war of elements, / The wrecks of matter, and the crush of worlds!”

There’s something undeniably fascinating about pieces of art that were highly influential during a period of history that have been lost to the passage of time now. Cato, a Tragedy is a cornerstone in American history, yet that did not save it from being a victim of obscurity. It failed to flourish in immortal youth. 

Joseph Addison is best remembered as an essayist. His simple prose style was credited by John Julius Norwich as the marked end of the conventional, classical images of the 17th century.  You can hardly believe it with the ease of poetry in Cato’s words. 

What does this have to do with Nightbane? 

Absolutely nothing. I am ninety-five percent certain that Aster found this quote on an enemies-to-lovers moodboard and declared it good enough! Sure, the quote has nothing to do with romance, but hey! Who would go through the effort to research the original context? 

I spent so much time waxing poetry about Cato first because it's a funny bit; but mostly because it’s at least interesting. There’s nothing to say about Nightbane except that it’s bad. But you already knew that. That’s why you and everyone else in my life wanted me to read this book. It has to be bad to warrant any real attention. 

Hell, even I wanted to read this book because it’s bad. Aster’s books are my guilty pleasure, largely because she sucks. Aster writes like she has never written anything before and is quickly realizing that it’s not that easy. When I read Lightlark and Nightbane, I feel like I am thirteen years old and writing my first story all over again. It brings me joy and comfort in a way that’s completely unmarred by irony. 

That’s why I can almost forgive Nightbane for all the times the story goes out of its way to respond or correct a criticism from the first book. Aster definitely reads the comments, and it’s comical all the lengths she goes through to retcon bad ideas or retroactively add lore. It reminds me not only of how I wrote when I was a pre-teen, but how I write now with my way too long, just publish the first draft it’s fine, writing project. 

One of the somewhat interesting ideas Aster introduces is a plot line about the ethics of having your peasantry’s lives literally tied to their monarchs and Isla’s budding admiration for democracy. Of course, she only brings either up because these were among her critics’ common talking points. It’s obvious she has no real desire to explore either idea for all it’s worth.

The democracy plotline ends with a big slap to the face to Cato, A Tragedy’s legacy. Isla promises to make the Starling kingdom a democracy in the future. Why? She personally doesn’t want to be a ruler. She has no problem with the idea of the monarchy and has no real passion for self-determinism. She just doesn’t want to have any responsibility. It’s too much work. 

Plus, she only wants to make the Starlings a democracy. Not the Wildings. She may hate having any form of responsibility, but she’s not inclined to unseat herself from power. She can still be the Wildling’s shitty ruler. No democracy for them. Sorry. It’s so blatantly hypocritical that it turns comical, and I fall a little more in love with the absurdity of Aster’s storytelling. 

While there are a lot of flaws I can forgive, I can’t forgive when the plot “goes through the motions.” Aster clearly wanted to include scenes where Isla and Grimshaw (I still refuse to call him Grim) recite bog-standard dialogue and recreate tropey romantic moments. The lead up to these scenes are vaguely, choppy, and inconsequential. The why does not matter; only these scenes do. 

Except when these scenes happen, they are so generic that your eyes skim over them. Isla and Grim already do not feel like real people. I can hardly call them characters, or even concepts. To call them shadows suggests there is some kind of substance they spring from. I can’t even think of a good metaphor to describe them. 

They are nothing. The plot is nothing. The prose is nothing. There is nothing worth chewing on. It’s not even worth composing a long rant about it. 

It’s easy-bordering-pathetic to dissect a book everyone knows is bad, especially when your only purpose is to explain why it’s bad. Where is the critical thought? What effort are you actually putting into your analysis when everyone already agrees with your arguments? I will always prefer a critic who goes after works that are genuinely popular and well-liked. If you want to win an argument then, you have to work for it. 

Yet, I’m still here doing this. You’re still here reading it. Ultimately, we’re all victims to the smug pleasure of believing that we are not capable of producing trash like this. Obviously, we are all secretly the world’s greatest artistes. We are the next Great American Novelist. None of us are capable of writing anything thoughtless, absurd, or shallow. We are infallible, unlike the sinner Alex Aster. 

So, yeah. Bad book. Really wish someone will let me read a good one soon. 

--

Nightbane by Alex Aster

⭐/5 stars

--

Now that I have finished lording my moral superiority over all of you, here is a miscellaneous list of stupid shit that happened in Nightbane. Even I can’t resist kicking the dead horse:

Oro reveals that he is deeply traumatized from  accidentally killing someone by turning them into gold. Isla proceeds to demand a gilded blade of grass as a romantic tribute. He gives it to her. It’s romantic. 

Oro is rich, has a job, and a healthy group of friends, and is somehow still going to lose this love triangle. What bullshit. 

After emphasizing how traumatic if was for the Skylings to lose their ability to fly, the narrative tries to convince you that the Skylings would choose not to fight a war where them refusing to fight will lead to them losing the ability to fly again.

This is so stupid that when there’s a debate about it, Aster provides no examples as to why they shouldn’t fight; she just states she happens.

So much of the story is just told-- isla’s feelings and motivations, the lore, character relationships: it’s all just told to us. 

Isla is confronted with having to fix the social issues of both the Wildlings and Starlings; instead of solving them herself and learning something new, an extremely competent lesbian volunteers to fix everything for her.

One of said problems is that Wildings, who have plant-based magic, do not know how to grow crops.

Wildings have also never cooked the hearts they have been eating. Like, ever? Not once in five hundred years?

Isla shows prejudice towards the Vinderland because they are cannibals.

It’s increasingly unclear how the immortality rule works about the nobility

New lore reveals that the Nightshade have so many extra cool magic abilities because of lore reasons, and not because Aster likes them the best.

There’s a rebel group that got fed up with the rulers not fixing the curse; they also managed to make no progress in solving the very easy mystery in less than 500 years. 

During flashback time, Grimshaw saves Isla no less than 7 times

There is a night market on Nightshade that has to take place during the day time, due to the curse. They still call it a night market.

There are multiple Nightshade events where the dress code is on a scale from”instagram baddie” to actually just naked. Isla’s clothes are described in detail, but not Grimshaw. I can only assume that his dick and balls were out every time.

Grimshaw seems to also be the only unfun prude on an island of hedonistic extroverts. 

There is a sword that had been stolen no less than three times by different thieves.

New starstick lore clarifies it’s a device (not a wand!), and that Isla can’t use it to go anywhere she hasn’t been before; this renders her entire backstory impossible.

Instead of disengaging a bunch of traps, Grimshaw decides to Looney Tunes his ass and trigger each one by one.

There’s so much on and off screen cannibalism and flaying that neither are cool anymore. Sorry! We have to find new imagery for our toxic situationships.

The plot structure being a jump back and forth between the past and present made me question my own ability to write a storyline like that lmao

Isla and Grimshaw have been married the whole time, in a plot twist shoved in at the last second with very little thought put into it. 

Isla should divorce his ass. I hope Lightlark is a no-fault state. If not, she luckily has a fuckton of faults to bring up. 

[kojoty]

It's obviously a complex question and discussion and I'm certainly admitting to a level of blue-state privilege wherein my vote really only matters in so far as working towards getting funding for a third party, like green; not to mention the privilege of, being in such a blue swaddled state, my rights are not immediately at stake-- so I am including myself in this but.

I really, really, really, really wish people in blue states like Cali, new York, Illinois, etc-- heart of dem territory and the places where your rights are NOT at contest-- would sometimes shut the fuck up and listen to the extremely valid worries and fears and pleas of people in deep red states. I think saying 'it doesn't matter who is in office, they're basically two sides of the same coin', while true ideologically in the grand leftist scheme, it also does betray a certain level of handwaving to millions of Americans where who is in office DOES matter.

And I know this is the anti colonialism website, and so we don't really want to talk about domestic issues as much as foreign policies-- completely understandable given the current global conflict-- but consider America is a vile colonial project, that which we do to our domestic underclasses IS a colonial issue as well.

I am not going to say 'go vote!' because who am I, Hillary Clinton? But I guess I am trying to say... It is really frustrating as someone who does a lot of on-the-ground community resource work in his fairly privileged area and see how the difference in economic status between a democratic and a republican president really matters, and then come on here and see the ever present leftist issue of taking ideology over material. I cannot imagine the landscape of on the ground resource work in more impoverished areas.

(most Marxists in this website really obfuscate how much material work they actually do, and are, in fact, often pontificating on ideological castles in the sky, but that's another post)

The tldr here really is: the amount of deep red state southerners who are telling you with crystal clarity that someone like Harris in office is magnitudes safer than someone like Trump in office, and urging people in states where it matters to vote....... I mean. You don't have to listen to them (even though I think you should hear their perspective), but the least you could do is not completely ignore and shun the very real realities of millions of Americans who are with good reason scared shitless that one nominee will keep the liberal hegemony (also vile-- don't take this as me condoning it), and the other will systematically make their very existence illegal. That isn't to say it can't still happen-- roe v wade-- under a dem, but. You... You do realize that it does actually matter to some people in certain states whether the pres is red or blue, right? And that yes it sucks that we have to play by American rules to keep some folks safe but.

Idk. The amount of 'leftists' on this site who paradoxically care far more about their ideological purity than the actual people who need actual material work done is... Well, that's not my leftism tbh. The amount of condescension I see levied at people daily on here. It's not just a bad look. It's Imo betraying to me that your politics are more about signpostibg and being right than actual community and human care and connection . And it happens! Ideology is a tantalizing thing. I have to constantly divorce myself from it and reintegrate into the ground. But you can't make policy out of air. You can make policy out of soil. You have to remind yourself of the faces and the beating hearts your ideology is addressing. Even if you're RIGHT are you giving the infoemation in a way that actually cares?

Idk. I don't wanna tone police. But there's a very deep seated and real classism and privilege issue within the online left that is...... Distasteful to say the least. Idc if you go vote. But the least you could do is not bully people who are more scared for policy changes that will actively affect them. It is not betraying fear and outrage at what is happening outside of these borders-- the atrocity in Gaza-- to also be scared of your own living conditions. One can balance both.

[therealcocoshady]

how do u feel that ppl r saying Eminem is supporting a "genocide party" after the Kamala Harris rally? and that he shldnt even be involved in politics bc he hasnt said anything abt Palestine in any of his music or on social media this entire time?

Well… that’s a complex issue. As someone who is not from the US, hasn’t lived there and is not a specialist of American politics, I have a limited understanding of what is going on. So please feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

As far as I know, none of the parties are actively involved against the genocide that has been going on in Palestine. On the one hand, there is VP Harris, who worked alongside Biden, whose policies have supported Israel in many ways (though I believe a call for a ceasefire ended up being made at some point ?). On the other, we have Trump & the Republican Party, whose support for Israel is matched by their xenophobic and Islamophobic stances. So, anyone supporting any of the candidate is supporting a party who has not made a clear display of support for Palestine. As far as I know, none of them have expressed any intention of applying pressure on Netanyahu or recognizing Palestine… Then, by that logic, anyone supporting either candidate is supporting genocide, you know ?

As far as Marshall Mathers himself, he has not made any statement regarding his views on the matter. He hasn’t expressed any support for Palestine, nor has he expressed any for Israel after the events of 10-07-2023. I’ve seen people reaching, arguing that Paul Rosenberg might be a Zionist (as far as I know he hasn’t spoken either ?) which would mean Em is one too, or that some people he has worked in the past support Palestine, meaning that so does he. Honestly, there is no way to know what his views are.

Now, I assume there is a underlying question to your Ask, which would be : what do I think of the fact that he hasn’t spoken on the issue ?

Well… I’m not sure. To be clear : I am 100% supporting Palestine 🇵🇸. I am 100% AGAINST the killing of innocent people. And I am 100% AGAINST the expansionist policy of Netanyahu. This is how I feel as a human being, and as a Christian from Jewish descent.

Now, the issue of people with a tremendous platform having a duty to speak out on issues is a complex one. We could write tons of posts and probably a book about the arguments against or in favor of it. There are moral and ethical issues at play which, I believe, coincide with economical and reputational stakes.

I can understand why artists would be wary to speak out. Or why their management might advise against it. It sucks because the cause could use their platform, whether it is about spreading awareness or raising funds.

I wish more artists would speak up but I am also not someone who would cancel someone for not speaking. I don’t know people’s reasons to stay silent. At the end of the day, he is a grown man with his own moral compass, making his own decisions.

He often speaks about wanting to be on the right side of history, though. So I wish that, regardless of the candidate he chose to endorse, he had used his influence. But I’m not going to stop listening to his music or being a fan because he didn’t speak up, you know ?

I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again : I do not believe that him supporting Harris means he agrees with every single thing she stands for. I think this is him supporting the candidate who is the best option, and aligns with his views as much as possible.

I want to end with this : just because people are silent doesn’t mean that they aren’t doing good deeds. I believe that Eminem is a prime example of that, seeing as he doesn’t advertise everything he does for others. Who knows, maybe he is helping in other way ? 🤷‍♀️

Hope this answers your question !

[jyndor]

I'm not gonna punch left ever. like yes do I have both strategic and ideological disagreements with some leftists? yeah obviously since leftist infighting and disagreement is the feature not the bug.

I'm still not saying I'm voting for kamala but I do think she will be a better opponent than trump. I believe in strategic voting so tbh if your district is a swing district, if you are in a swing state, I think voting democratic is smart because they are at least able to be beaten into some concessions from the left when we are organized. one big issue is the liberals who see any criticism as support for the republicans, and they're gonna be annoying as hell but I do think more people are aware that the democrats suck now than they did during the obama years.

that said, it is totally understandable for people in the global south to be hostile to any us president. and it is reasonable for them to hate us for anything we do politically because all these freaks have done material harm to millions of people globally. so I'm not offended as a white queer us american woman that a third world maoist might hate that I am considering voting for kamala harris. it's cool, they're not wrong to be angry with us americans' selfish politics.

and at this same time imo there is no real path forward for a third party candidate in the us. and it's deeply frustrating to me that so many amazing activists use their time and resources on what is to me a herculean task, running for president as a third party candidate and not even for a party like the greens which has name recognition. I'd rather they focus on local politics and even statewide politics, where they have more of a chance. I also don't think they're wreckers though, I just don't agree with their strategies. and they can call me a liberal or whatever for saying that, that's fine whatever lol I'm not going to punch leftists doing important work.

it is one thing to disagree on strategy, even on ideology and politics. but to assume that they are not genuine in their politics... it's just gross and dismissive. you do not know what you're talking about. I don't love the PSL for a few different reasons but I respect the activism they do, and I'm not gonna disrespect leftist activists doing far more than I ever will, even if I don't agree with everything they do.

tumblr is full of white liberals who might in fact have access to financial resources that many others do not have, and that's important for us to understand because it does impact how we view politics. it does. it's so easy for you vote blue folks to call ANYONE who criticizes democrats bots or russian ops or whatever. it does you no favors politically. you do not want to negatively polarize potential allies by constantly treating them like they've got ulterior motives for not supporting the democratic party.

but most people who for instance supported the uncommitted campaign and who were working to get biden out of the race all these months are likely doing so because we WANT to vote against trump. not that everyone in the free palestine movement is a democratic voter or even is in favor of electoralism, but a lot are in the states. so... it's weird to me that liberals treated us like ignorant wreckers who don't care about abortion or queer rights or voting rights etc, or somehow PALESTINIAN RIGHTS LMFAO I mean I'm trying to stay nice and call these libs racist cunts for speaking down to voters of color in particular but that's what it is.

do you really think the people who are the most tapped into politics are not going to vote??? really???? some won't but most will. especially those in swing districts. do you think that someone like me, who has been politically active since I was TWELVE, does not understand the utility of voting???

as always, your job is not going to be speaking down to people so politically engaged that they are threatening to WITHHOLD THEIR VOTES BECAUSE OF FOREIGN POLICY. IN THE UNITED STATES OF NOBODY GIVES A FUCK ABOUT FOREIGN POLICY. they're doing the work you should have been doing this whole time. you will have to sit with your complacency at some point.

your job is going to be getting off your ass and convincing everyone you know who is not registered to vote because they don't care about politics or don't like politics or whatever that they need to be invested in our political system.

bad news: you will not do that by shaming them for being ignorant or apathetic.

good news: a lot of people are very easy to get on board with shit like rent caps (which biden was just talking about the other day, 5% caps on rent federally! that's amazing and would help so many people - we should pressure kamala to adopt that policy) and reproductive justice. a lot of apathetic people care about this shit, they just don't know how it impacts them or where to start engaging with this shit.

do not pull the smug liberal shit, do not speak down to them, meet them where they are at! ask them about the things that they are bothered about, things like potholes and shit. that matters to people. get them registered, drive them to the polls. you will do more good than shouting at lefties on tumblr dot com. otherwise you're just preaching to the choir.

[presidentalpaca]

the trend of people, all along the range of establishment dems to leftists, to call for trump to be replaced are so bizarre to me. like, yeah, i get the sentiment. we hate trump. he's a fascist and a liar and dangerous to democracy and yes, yes, yes agreed. but he is a WEAK candidate for the republican party.

up until this point we've had essentially a race to the bottom. biden should've sweeped trump, as an incumbent who did have some decent policies in motion, but he's a corpse who stans isnotreal and has an increasingly reactionary approach to immigration (this is something we NEED to push kamala on, btw). he also has historically low approval ratings, which has never rlly spelled out good news for incumbents.

well, okay, biden sucks, so trump should we sweeping him. well... sort of. trump, unlike biden, has a strong base of support. he has people who will only vote for him, while biden supporters are essentially just dem party supporters. the thing is though - much of his supporter base historically does not vote consistently. many of them don't believe in organized goverment at all, so they may not vote based on that.

but aside from that element, the bigger focus is the moderates. the people like my personal grandparents. white, wealthy, from the suburbs, lutheran, stans ronald reagan (named their boxer reagan). and trump freaks them out! they want normalcy. they want order. they're plenty racist, but they don't want an insurrection.

moderate voters are the ones you absolutely need to bag, regardless of party, and at the moment the dems (depending on how they move forward) could have a major advantage now that biden's out. they have a cop vs a criminal; a goofy laughbox vs a violent menace; a woman who connects with her stepchildren and seems happy with her husband vs the guy who called his own daughter hot and had the rnc commentators gossiping about his marriage. this is not a reflection of what matters to me personally, but rather of what generally matters to american voters. this dynamic is flimsy, because it takes work to push a narrative, and the dems have roughly a month til their convention, three til election day. they can push kamala and promote enticing policies, as long as they actually push kamala and promote enticing policies.

in addition, trump weirdly had a terrible pick for vp. jd vance is supposed to help trump's ticket appear less establishment, more in connection with the rust belt, but vance has been sucking up to the dems and pushing down his appalachian community for years.

and trump has maxed out on name recognition. it's pretty difficult for someone to not have a decently solid opinion on someone who has already been president for four years. red voters who know they don't like him - primarily moderates - can't really be all that psyched to vote him back into office.

now why, WHY, would we encourage the republican party to swap the trump-vance ticket for someone more competent, not so unruly and impolite? someone who can feign common decency, who can more effectively pretend to be better than they are?

please don't get sucked up in the "no you!" push, because (imo) that's all it is. it's just seeing the dems fuck up, be called out, then seeing the reps do the same thing, and wanting to call it out to get even. i don't think that's the move right now.

i think the move is to take the coconut pill for few months or so, pretend to get along, hope the dems do their part for once, and come jan 21st, we can go full throttle pushing kamala to fix everything.

oh, and vote august 6th!! multiple progressive state reps are up for re-election (shout out cori bush), as well as local reps and ballot measures. november 5th matters, but the next big one is only 2 weeks from today!

[civildisorderstream]

Good Guy vs Bad Guy is a lie

EDIT NOTE: This is a long post about Israel and Palestine. But here's a summation: If you can't figure out a way to protect Israel without doing war crimes and crimes against humanity, you need to rethink things.

We grow up these days seeing story after story, be it through TV or film or video games, that go through painstaking effort to frame the plots and characters as good guy vs bad guy. With enough conditioning, we're taught that's the way the world works. And the conditioning is reinforced in our adult lives with how news media tends to frame situations, regardless of outlet you go to. Every one of them is guilty of it at some point or another, and you have to really scour for which outlet is allowing what journalist to break that mold in order to get proper perspective, if not proper information.

And all of that is what makes the Israel / Palestine situation A COMPLETE HOT MESS TO SO MUCH AS MENTION ON THE INTERNET. It's been like this for decades, and the dismissal of nuance has been so frustrating.

"Nuance? What's that taste like?" Nuance is that thing where you can look at independent pieces of information within a larger framework and give them consideration, instead of trying to do a sweeping judgment. For example,

Hamas killing civilians is bad

Israel Defense Force killing civilians also bad

Israeli government denying humanitarian conditions to Gaza is bad

Hamas using people as human shields is REALLY BAD

Israeli government targeting international institutions like the AP and after the fact claiming with zero evidence "but Hamas" is bad

etc etc etc

People looking for the "who to blame" in the latest round of conflict are having the wrong discussion. They're justifying awful things while dismissing things the side they champion to be guilty of.

The key thing in this conflict, which has been true for many decades, is that Israel holds all the leverage in bringing a peaceful resolution to this. Israel simply has to decide to give the territory it has annexed back to Palestine. Israel has to decide to stop kicking Palestinians out of their homes. Israel has to decide to stop using Gaza as an open air prison. Why does Israel have the leverage? Because it has all the international backing and has all the official policy deciding power. Palestinian people are left with peaceful protests (which gets them shot) or some resorting to the "well my life sucks I may as well join Hamas" option. There is no compromise; that requires Palestine to give things up willingly to make peace. It has nothing TO give, and has only ever been taken from. Not just by Israel, but by the Allied Nations / UN when Israel was first founded (because they took the land from Palestine and said "too bad").

Another thing I want to say is, I take great strides to separate Israeli government from Israeli people. I do this with basically all political situations these days, because even in democracies governments do things that the people they govern are against. I wish this was a more mainstream thing people understood and participated in. It should also be noted that the Israeli government is the government of the people of Israel - it is not the government of all Jewish people on the planet. There are some, particularly Republicans, who try to frame Israel in that manner and MY GOODNESS that is wildly racist.

That likewise applies to Palestine. Hamas is an entity separate from the Palestinian officials which is separate from the people of Palestine. Anyone who lumps all three together is being no less racist than the above example. And they sure as hell wouldn't like it if that sort of thing was done to them. Imagine as an American being told "well you're a member of the Tea Party," or the NRA, or worse told you're a Kid Rock fan, simply on the basis of living in America. Countries and the factions thereof are incredibly diverse, and a government in power at any given time is only reflective of one particular faction having the power at that time - it does not mean all people have willingly conformed.

Hamas is making things worse with its terrorism / war crimes. But that is not justification for the Israeli government to continue its also war crimes.

[qqueenofhades]

I really think this republican culture war (terrorism) is going to implode on them. It isn't sustainable. Also what can they replace with it? Creativity and conservatism doesn't mix.

I mean, it's easy to think that they're on the rise, all-powerful, and totally unstoppable just from the amount of bullshit that they fling into the public sphere on a daily basis, but that's... not really true. Americans as a whole aren't behind their agenda, they aren't buying this whole "stamp out the social progress of the entire 20th century" as an urgent priority, and as noted in the post I reblogged earlier today, their batshit insane attacks on trans kids/LGBTQ issues generally are failing even in deep red states and when brought up before Trump-appointed judges, because they're legally nonsense and there's no plausible path to enforcing them. Even if, as is doubtless the case in several of them, all parties would really like to, they're just complete BS and fail the instant they encounter an actual hurdle. Which is good! And we should not take it for granted! But still!

Regardless of Ron DeSantis screaming WOKE WOKE WOKE DESTROY THE WOKE WOKE WOKE at every single moment, the backlash we're seeing now does not demonstrate that Republicans are popular, successful, seizing the zeitgeist, or whatever else. As ever, it means that they are shit scared, are trying desperately to establish their power before Ye Almighty Demographic Change takes it out for good, and attempting to enact what I hesitate very much to term "public policy" (because it's not, it's just performative cruelty) in the most underhanded and obscure ways possible, and not at the ballot box. (After all, we all know that Republicans hate voting, usually because it makes them lose.)

When you've sunk to absolute bottom-of-the-barrel culture war nonsense like this, it means you have nothing to offer in terms of actual policy, you know that you have nothing to appeal to mainstream voters (who are not, in fact, all mindless fascists like your cult members), and are desperately trying to stall and fill time before you get the boot. Which again, isn't guaranteed, and we WILL have to put in the work to defeat these nasty little cretins, but also means that they are ever shrinking, ever more on the defensive, and ever more out of ideas, because they're about to be on the very wrong end of a generational fuckstick, and it's only going to get worse. Sucks to suck, assholes.

[dig-jules]

what do you want people to do, not vote for her? you get harris or trump. it sucks but that's reality. the american experiment will keep breathing no matter who is steering the ship, and i don't think it's impossible that many people in the global south - who do not have the privilege of american citizenship, and who do not have the privilege of getting to vote in the american election, but will STILL be affected by its outcome - would prefer harris to trump. a trump presidency is not gonna usher in some great revolution and it's not gonna topple the empire, not while rich people have profit at stake. it's gonna make people exhausted and disenfranchised and POWERLESS, incapable of rallying and effecting change. people around the world are counting on american citizens to keep that guy out of office. do you really think kamala harris is gonna be worse for ukraine or palestine than donald trump? it sucks, i know it sucks, but people asking americans to vote for kamala harris aren't being pro-genocide or short-sighted, they're thinking of the long run and the bigger picture. it may not FEEL good to vote harris - it doesn't FEEL good to donate to palestinians when you know your cash is gonna end up in the pockets of the people at the border who are exploiting them - but part of being an adult and a responsible citizen is sucking it up and doing what you have to do even when you don't want to, because other people need you to. i am aware that as an american with the right to sway the election results i have a HUGE amount of privilege over the people that the american empire oppresses - why would anyone throw that power away? if our vote - for kamala harris - didn't matter SO much, republicans and facists wouldn't be trying so hard to convince us not to cast it. please don't be fooled by propaganda, and please don't forget perfect is the enemy of good. by turning people off from harris as a candidate, you're practically doing the republican party's work for them.

When did I say don’t vote for harris? I made an observation that this country is so fascistic that we are forced to gleefully vote for someone who is carrying out an ethnic cleansing campaign, and your response was… don’t criticize Harris lest Trump wins. Do you see where the problem is? Do you see where we’ve lost?

Does me pointing out that every American president in the past 3 decades has overseen a mass slaughter really offend you? Or is it just that I’m pointing out we should see that as a problem, and not just another “cost” of “freedom”?

This isn’t a 2024 issue. This is a “we are actively carrying out the evils we were warned of in the history books, and this forsaken nation is now marching towards its bitter end” issue. Project 2025 doesn’t magically go away in 2026. No, what we must reckon with are that half of this country are willing to support those policies, and the other half will decry them while systematically exploiting and slaughtering entire populations abroad- populations who they have taught the governed are worth less than 2 dollars off their groceries.

Do you understand that Kamala has changed her platform to be pro-fracking, that she believes trans people should follow the “rule of law” regarding access to necessary care, that she has platformed herself with the same law and order rhetoric that liberals decried Trump for? Because she knows she can get away with it. Because people so fear Trump that they do not care- will not speak up. Because she is too busy promising to add republicans to her cabinet, parading around Liz Cheney, and drafting her plan to fortify the border wall. Because she takes liberal votes as a given, thus she now panders her policies to those she isn’t sure of. But not the “left”. Never the “left”.

You cannot blame the Palestinian-Americans whose families have been murdered by this woman that they refuse to write her name on a ballot. You can only blame her unwillingness to promise a full arms embargo on Israel and materially support the Palestinian right to self determination. She has not earned their vote. That is how democracy works. And if you believe otherwise, well, take a look around at the system we have been forced into and reread my initial post. That is the problem.

And we are told that criticism is dangerous. We are told to applaud from in front of our TVs as our democratic representatives give Netanyahu his 18th standing ovation- and take it. We are told by Harris herself that the fate of the Palestinian people must be sealed in the name of American grocery prices.

[frankbelloriley]

I'm voting for Kamala Harris. I had to go through some hoops in order to vote in Texas, and I didn't do all that to either do nothing or vote for a rapist (and I sure as shit know that motherfucker doesn't need my vote in Texas). I'm saying that right out of the jump, so the following words do not get twisted.

Vote scolding doesn't work. Read those four words again, internalize them, then stop fucking doing it. I have neither the privilege nor the snobbery nor the lack of self-awareness to tell those directly affected by this administration's policy and are begging the Harris campaign for a reason to vote for her over the other guy and still being met with silence at best and outright hostility at worst to vote for her. "Oh, but he will be so much worse." Absolutely. And the lesser of two evils is really fucking evil right now, literally "allowing hospitals to be bombed" evil. And then there's the Harris campaign message of complete throwing of immigrants under the bus and catering to xenophobia. I'm old enough to remember the campaign of 2020 when Democrats were like, "Trump's border wall is bad," and now the message is, "Trump's wall sucks because he couldn't get it done"? What the absolute fuck. What the fuck are you talking about? Literally only bad things happen to political parties that decide immigrants can be used as scapegoats. "Slippery slopes" are a logistical fallacy, but that is a big red flag of where the party believes they should head next. That should be enough to lose my vote and sit out the election, and it would be if, well, the other guy wasn't on the other side.

Since I've already shown to be capable of compromising my ideals to push the can further down the road, let's get so cynical right now. The Harris campaign has demonstrated through actions that they care more about Republican moderates votes than leftists votes. They know catering to one will dispel the other, and they believe there are more of the former than the latter. That is their calculation and their risk. Let them fucking take it. If the Harris campaign loses (which I don't think they will, even though their campaign fucking baffles me, because I believe everyone underestimates just how boring Trump is by now to his non-stans and how hated all of his flunkies are. Dude got shot at and got absolutely no sympathy polling bump), it will be because of that assessment. If the leftist voting bloc was so strong in this country that it could affect state elections, then the Harris campaign should have made some minor concessions like, idk, letting a Palestinian-American Democrat from Georgia, now a swing state, speak at the DNC over a Republican because I don't recall a time where any Democrats spoke at the Republican National Convention. And if they're not, as the Harris campaign seemingly believes, then leftists sitting out on the vote does not matter. To say this again for clarity: I am not saying that your vote doesn't matter if you lean left, but I am saying the Harris campaign is sure acting like it. Let them find out.

And all of you vote scolds are vote scolding because you've seen this play out before in 2016, and I ask you this: why the fuck are you fine with the Harris campaign doing 2016 Part 2 of "what are you gonna do, not vote for me?" and why are you doing free fixer PR for dummy consultants getting paid 500 grand?