#Strategic Voting

[aliceundrground]

Excerpts are from CityNews , CBC News and Abacus Data

Alt text provided on each image

[kkglinka]

It's a shame that it would look bad for biden to take advantage of his newfound legal immunity to arrest and imprison his political rivals on charges of bribery and corruption. Really ram home the dangers of allowing an elected civil servant to behave like a tyrant.

[nicholas-the-paleomancer]

I usually don't like to post/vent about politics because the Internet is the worst place to change people's minds about anything, but there are exceptions to most rules. With the USA general election a week away and more-or-less a coin-toss, here's some good advice:

"But what about a third party?" you may ask. Politics is about power, and third parties have none. Even if they miraculously got elected, simply being elected isn't enough. An effective political organization has municipal, county, state, and federal actors that can use resources and forge alliances to move the system. Look me in the eyes and tell me that the tiny, fringe, and inexperienced Green or Libertarian parties can do that. Strategic voting is a virtue, voting your conscience is a luxury.

[athelind]

we didn’t build this system, we just live in it. we’re just trying to survive. a vote isn’t a statement of your values, it’s not an endorsement, it’s not a marriage contract, it’s a strategic play you make to keep alive.

drives me up a wall living in a very very red district, like “no democrat is ever going to win any local election, let alone a real leftist” district, like “our school board members ran on who was the most anti-mask” red, like “I pass white supremacist signs on the way to buy weed” red

and being in the local leftist community and the guy who runs the anarchist book club and the lady who helps keep the warming shelters open and the people who marched on city hall when a local business was getting death threats for having a drag show are all members of a discord and we get on this discord and have frank discussions about how best to vote

the people who do the protests and the mutual aid and all the real work

going “okay, they’re both fascists, but this one lacks ambition and seems happy to just glide in the position” or “they both suck, but this one can be reasoned with if you frame it patriotically enough” like we don’t even have a democrat to vote for. we know what a vote is. we know what we hope accomplish with it. we know what it can do, and we know what it can’t.

and going from those discussions to here where people think that your vote is some kind of fucking??? enabling maneuver??? as if someone isn’t going to end up in that seat regardless of what you do???

we didn’t build this system, we just live in it. we’re just trying to survive. a vote isn’t a statement of your values, it’s not an endorsement, it’s not a marriage contract, it’s a strategic play you make to keep alive.

the biggest mistake I see leftists making is overestimating their own popularity. “well but everyone would be leftist if they just-“ no, stop, 1) you can’t possibly know that 2) everyone will not just

[originalleftist]

The Liberals just lost another by-election, reportedly in a supposedly "safe" seat.

Fuck it, Trudeau needs to resign. He's clearly not electable, and his arrogant denial of reality is walking us headlong into a Poilievre (that is, Canadian MAGA) majority*.

He needs to go. Maybe we'll get half as lucky here as the Democrats did when Biden stepped down.

*I'm not kidding, Poilievre has literally marched with the MAGA-funded conveyors who blockaded our capital for weeks a couple years ago, he has dabbled in election conspiracy theorism, and he recently refused to reject an endorsement from Alex fucking Jones.

[thesaltyace]

Y'all I did NOT know this about Harris, and I think it's really critical that we all listen and understand as we approach this election. Video at the end.

This creator's video describes how progressive Harris was as a prosecutor -- actively going against the grain to the point she was accused of being soft on crime. Accused of being a social worker, not a prosecutor. She calls it being smart on crime. She's pushing for systemic changes to give real pathways to reintegrate incarcerated folks back into society and prevent their past from continuing to haunt them moving forward.

"Kamala's a cop" is a catchy dismissive response usually used to shut down conversation rather than add nuance. But this kind of reform is ESSENTIAL to work towards a present and future that treats incarcerated people with value.

I fell for it in 2020 and have thought "Kamala's a cop" without further inspection since - and I'm sobered by the realization that (you guessed it!) I'm not immune to propaganda.

A better system only follows liberal democracy, because library democracy allows for exploration of better systems. If authoritarianism takes hold, it will not allow for the exploration of better systems. We will have to fight tooth and nail just to try to get back to liberal democracy, and I suspect we could not achieve it in our lifetimes.

Harris isn't perfect. But she's a hell of a lot better than many leftists have led me to believe. Don't let perfection be the enemy of good. Don't let perfection be the enemy of harm reduction.

We can either help elect Trump and usher in authoritarian fascism, or we can help defeat him and pull things back in the direction we want to go. Not liking the choices doesn't absolve you from participating and doing the most good you can with the options available.

I'll link the original video in the replies. The original video has captions if you need them.

[alex51324]

"The bill – the Right to Contraception Act – would enshrine into federal law a right for individuals to buy and use contraceptives, as well as for health care providers to provide them. It would apply to birth control pills, the plan B pill, condoms and other forms of contraception."

One GOP member said:

“This is a show vote. It’s not serious,” GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said. “Plus, it’s a huge overreach. It doesn’t make any exceptions for conscience. … It’s a phony vote because contraception, to my knowledge, is not illegal. It’s not unavailable.”

So...you blocked the bill because it's unnecessary, ...and you also blocked it because it doesn't include a carve-out that will let you make contraception unavailable.

That is definitely not at all what someone would do and/or say if their party was planning to restrict access to contraception if they take power in 2025!

(PS: Per that same link, they also want to repeal the prescription drug pricing agreements that Biden negotiated, including the one that caps insulin at $35.)

[applesauce42069]

americans. y'all are fucking joking right. i WISH i could vote for kamala harris. my options are justin trudeau and pierre pollievre.

[moth-yknowtheartist]

hey guys that puppet history guest poll was a lot of fun!! really exciting to see substitute sweep haha. you know what other neat poll is going on soon if you're an eligible US citizen?

and speaking of, have you made a plan to vote?

voting can be safe and easy when you plan ahead!!!

(disclaimer that this is a personal fanwork and I am not affiliated with puppet history/watcher or anyone and all sentiments expressed are my own in case that wasn't clear. ok bye)

[lilac-set]

Reminder: even if trump wins, we’ll be ok. The presidency isnt the only political position that matters, he wont be a dictator, the president doesnt have the power to remove every other part of government that keeps the president’s power in check. Also politics isnt the only thing that matters. Even if we lose some rights (which he cant singlehandedly do) we still have community, we still have activism, we’ll always be ok. We survived one trump presidency, we can survive another. We survived before gay marriage or transitioning were legal, if we have to survive that again we will. Please, no matter what happens, promise to stay alive. Youre valuable, youre important, and youre going to be ok. Its better to be overprepared than underprepared. Im not asking you to lose hope (im doing the opposite of that), im asking you to practice coping ahead, get all your coping skills ready, determine now to stay alive, because i dont want any of you to make any rash decisions later in case we get bad news and emotions are high. Make a safety plan if you need to. Make sure you’re gonna be ok

[usindistress]

@beesandwasps Biden didn't actually "[demonstrate that] very thoroughly" Biden is one of the most right wing members of the Democratic party. The Democratic party encompasses the only credible anti-genocide politicians. Biden caucuses with the left end of the spectrum and at the very least can be budged on how fervent his support of Israel is. He also will NOT veto leftist policy like protecting reproductive rights, voting reforms and Trans healthcare. Trump will absolutely veto those those bills. TRUMP WON BY PEOPLE VOTING 3rd PARTY AGAINST CLINTON, JUST LIKE BUSH vs GORE. There are only 2 options. REPUBLICANS WANT YOU TO VOTE THIRD PARTY.

Go Left. Push everyone left. Push every issue left. For the rest of your life. 🌊💙

[thewingedwolf]

i’m just so annoyed with this idea that leah isn’t being intentional. she posts up in that hoh bed every week & it genuinely saved her with chelsie & quinn’s hoh weeks despite her being the clear & obvious target. she pulled enemy #1 off the block and everyone RESPECTS her for the movie, AND she got her two simps to forgive her within 24 hours. she seemed to notice mj loves physical affection and has ramped up the last week or so in touching her casually & has been pushing for them to be more in lock step. she has a great relationship with t’kor despite t’kor campaigning AGAINST her for a hot minute. she has been part of every vote flip but the very first and has landed in a better spot almost every single time.

do i think she doesn’t always realize how much she rambles? yeah absolutely. do i think she doesn’t always realize how mean some of her shit talking can be bc she just really loves to gossip? yes, i think that’s her biggest flaw in this game. but the thing is - her filibustering doesn’t turn people off in that house! even when she’s frustratingly quiet on strategy, t’kor mj rubina angela and chelsie all love listening to her ramble to a certain extent, bc she’s very personable! she Said going into the game that she wanted to align with women & maniplate men and she’s playing a very decent floater game and this constant “she’d be good if she was doing this on purpose” thing is so grating. she is clearly doing this on purpose!! everyone says they want a good floater game, they want a flirty player, but when leah does it AND has win equity she’s suddenly “not doing it on purpose” come on!

[katistrophe]

This fucking sucks. But please, don’t do the work of the fuckers who want you dead for them.

And to everyone in countries where elections are coming up: VOTE.

[lil-tumbles]

I need to say some stuff about the election. Voting is a choice. But it's not only a choice - it's a privilege. A privilege that may be taken from us if trump wins. Everyone should be free to vote for who they want to vote for, but this election isn't like other elections - more is at stake now than has ever been during my lifetime, and probably during yours, too. Millions of people across the world are depending on you to make the right decision, not just for yourself, but for them. I'm sorry if what I'm about to say would mean sacrificing your morals, I'm sorry that everything is so broken that this is the position we're in, but: it doesn't matter what you think. I don't care if you don't like Kamala. I don't care if you hate her pro-Israel nonsense. Vote anyway. Vote for her anyway. If you are a one-issue voter and this makes you not want to vote? You may never get the chance again. Kamala wants a ceasefire; trump wants to wipe every Palestinian from the face of the earth. Kamala won't strip away your rights; trump has done nothing but take things away from us. If you are gay and you want to keep the right to adopt, to marry, to work with protection from discrimination in the workplace, to get somewhere to live without being turned away because you're gay? Vote Kamala. If you wan tot get married to someone who's a different race than you? Vote Kamala. Because Trump is trying to take all of this away from us.

A vote for third party is a vote for trump. I know we all want to be able to vote for who we actually agree with, actually want running the country, and in a perfect world you'd be able to without risking so much, but this is not a perfect world. This is not an ordinary election. If Harris loses by one vote and I didn't vote, I would spend the next four years blaming myself for every loss, every death, every new genocide. And it might not only be four years - not if trump gets his way. He wants to rule forever. Don't let him. Vote Harris.

[aeillien]

Yeah with Biden you get the typical "best deal you can usually get" with Americans Presidents where he supports lots of good shit, wants to stop lots of bad ship, but also supports and enables some other bad shit.

Labour right now is basically telling leftists "my offer is to out Tory the Tories"

Also, the political strategy of voting in a parliamentary system, even one with first past the post, is wildly different than a Presidential system.

If I live in the UK and I vote for the Greens or whatever, I might get a Green representative elected and if Labour and the Greens have enough seats you might get a coalition government which will pull Labour left. If I get my green or whatnot elected but Labour and the Greens don't have enough to form a majority, I have lost nothing.

The one potential situation I might vote Labour is if in my local MoP election my vote for a Green might get a Tory elected. I don't know the demographics of UK seats all that well, but it strikes me as unlikely that any seat where a Green might win would be one where either Labour or a Tory might win.

In the US, I am either helping Biden by voting for him, or helping Trump get elected by doing literally anything else, so the calculus is different.

so obviously you've made clear your position on voting for Biden next year (which I agree with). my question is, do you think the same principle applies to Keir Starmer? obviously he hasn't been *funding* genocide in the same way as biden, but he has been very vocally supporting it

i think voting for biden is significantly more justifiable than voting for starmer considering how starmer keeps pledging to go to the right of the tory party on everything from immigration to welfare to trans rights