#we weren't voting for Trump and Kamala this year

[kitkins13]

shared from Click's subreddit:

Trump actually cheated and there's time for a recount but we need to act NOW!

https://www.reddit.com/r/TheClickOwO/s/KTdyrF1AdD

idk how accurate any of this is but if even some is true I really hope something can be done

(post text is below the cut)

Not enough people are talking about this and there's still time.

Trump did actually cheat and someone compiled all the evidence on twitter: https://x.com/Espaking2/status/1854287198331515005

Edit:

If you don't have twitter, this will show most of the thread but may not have the entire thing: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1854287198331515005.html

People are reposting and saving it because from what I saw in the comments, Elon has been deleting any evidence against trump tampering the election.

- Trump said a few weeks back that he didn't need anymore votes, that he had more than enough.

- Trump also said he had a 'trick up his sleeve' to win.

- A bomb scare was called into areas where voting was taking place, so people would flee the areas and not vote.

- Ballot boxes were then set on fire by trump supporters.

-20 MILLION Ballots went missing. People only just got emails today about their ballots going missing, their signatures suddenly not being accepted, or some outright being destroyed if they didn't vote for trump.

- Trump has a long history of lying, cheating, blackmailing and bribing people to get what he wants.

Kamala was in the lead to win but literally after these ballots were lost and after the russian bomb scare, somehow trump ended up with the highest republican vote in over 20+ years.

- Russian software used for rigging elections was found being used.

All of the evidence is in that tweet but I've also saved a copy of everything in case Elon attacks that post too. There's a link to contact the white house and to (politely) demand a refund due to the evidence of trump cheating:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

Submit directly to the president.

Click the first option, select your reasoning as election security.

State these pieces of information as a paragraph:

-32 fake bomb threats were called into democratic leaning poll places, rendering polls to be closed for at least an hour

- a lot of people reporting their ballots weren't counted for various reasons that are not very sound seeming (signature invalidation, information that vote counter could not have had)

This all occured in swing states (PA, Nevada, Georigia, ETC.)

- This is all too coincidental that these things happen and swing in his favor after months of hinting of foul play

- Directly state that an investigation for tampering/fraud is required, not just a recount

Again, there is not much time, please, please, please make this spread like wildfire, there's still time to do this!

(trigger warning, SA

(trump is not a good person. Aside from a history of the above and dodgy legal activities, he also has a long history of SA towards women and children. Trump is a convicted p*dophile and project 2025 will strip away the rights from anyone who isn't a cis white man.

Please, please, please spread this information, read through the twitter evidence thread and share it. There's still time to demand an investigation but we have to act NOW

[thalassianwaves]

THERE'S STILL TIME TO STOP TRUMP

Not enough people are talking about this and there's still time.

Trump did actually cheat and someone compiled all the evidence on twitter: https://x.com/Espaking2/status/1854287198331515005

Edit:

If you don't have twitter, this will show most of the thread but may not have the entire thing: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1854287198331515005.html

People are reposting and saving it because from what I saw in the comments, Elon has been deleting any evidence against trump tampering the election.

- Trump said a few weeks back that he didn't need anymore votes, that he had more than enough.

- Trump also said he 'had a trick up his sleeve' to win.

- A bomb scare was called into areas where voting was taking place, so people would flee the areas and not vote.

- Ballot boxes were then set on fire by trump supporters.

- 20 MILLION Ballots went missing. People only just got emails today about their ballots going missing, their signatures suddenly not being accepted, or some outright being destroyed if they didn't vote for trump.

- Trump has a long history of lying, cheating, blackmailing and bribing people to get what he wants.

- Kamala was in the lead to win but literally after these ballots were lost and after the russian bomb scare, somehow trump ended up with the highest republican vote in over 20+ years.

- Russian software used for rigging elections was found being used.

All of the evidence is in that tweet but I've also saved a copy of everything in case Elon attacks that post too. There's a link to contact the white house and to (politely) demand a refund due to the evidence of trump cheating:

Submit directly to the president.

Click the first option, select your reasoning as election security.

State these pieces of information as a paragraph:

- 32 fake bomb threats were called into democratic leaning poll places, rendering polls to be closed for at least an hour

- a lot of people reporting their ballots weren't counted for various reasons that are not very sound seeming (signature invalidation, information that vote counter could not have had)

- This all occured in swing states (PA, Nevada, Georigia, ETC.)

- This is all too coincidental that these things happen and swing in his favor after months of hinting of foul play

- Directly stat that an investigation for tampering/fraud is required, not just a recount.

Again, there is not much time, please, please, please make this spread like wildfire, there's still time to do this!

(trigger warning, SA

(trump is not a good person. Aside from a history of the above and dodgy legal activities, he also has a long history of SA towards women and children. Trump is a convicted p*dophile and project 2025 will strip away the rights from anyone who isn't a cis white man.

Please, please, please spread this information, read through the twitter evidence thread and share it. There's still time to demand an investigation but we have to act NOW

[impossibleprincess35]

Since you're an American, what are your thoughts on the comparisons of the Duchess and the Death Watch to the election? I read one of your stories and you compare them to alt-right politics in the U.S. Thx!

Heyoooooo, thanks for the ask! I'm going to go TL;DR, so please forgive me and feel free to wish you'd never asked. :)

So, I've never been a Trump voter. Never. It's been a major point of contention with close family and friends, and in the 8 years since his first campaign, it has been eye opening watching people blatantly fall for fascism in the guise of security and strength.

And so, during the pandemic, dealing with so much misinformation and seeing so many people subject others to danger to make a point about their "freedom," when I rewatched "The Clone Wars," the Mandalore storylines hit so much harder.

A lot of times, when people are hating on the Satine character and blaming her for Mandalore's fall, what I see is a lack of acknowledgement that Death Watch was so hell-bent on getting their way that they had to stage incidents to make her look weak and unfit as a ruler. They weren't starving. They weren't exiled from their system. They got a moon. They had political representation with a governor. They had resources. But instead of using everything at their disposal to do better and to evolve as a people, they used it to stage bombings, attacks, and incidents that only hurt their own people and undermined their own system.

But what Death Watch did so well was they spun a narrative that is so false that even FANS believe it.

Like, we're supposed to see that they're domestic terrorists.

But people are out here like, "Fuck Satine, she's the worst."

Oh, okay.

As an American, I've seen two viable, suitable female candidates who have lost to Donald Trump, a piece of shit grifter, a convicted felon, an impeached dirtbag of a human being, and BOTH of these women have lost.

The bar is so high for them, and it's so low for Trump.

And I see that with Satine Kryze and Pre Vizsla.

The damning theories about Satine committing genocide on her people and white-washing them of their history and culture are assumptions made from information given to us on the show by Almec, who turns out to be as corrupt as Pre Vizsla and Tal Merrik, and inferred from the animation choices made due to budget constraints; but those things are held over Satine's head and her reputation as though they are gospel. As though she herself confirmed them.

Meanwhile, Pre Vizsla is out here running an entire terrorist group that intends to destabilize Mandalore's peaceful government just to reassert themselves as strong warriors. He has shown us who he is. He shows us every time we see him on screen after his reveal as the leader of Death Watch. He commits himself to it. He has gaggles of lackeys behind him putting him up on a pedestal, enabling him.

But Satine's always the villain, and always to blame; nevermind the fact that she has proven herself to be a resilient leader who put her people above all else, including her own desires, and she fights to keep them out of the fray between the Republic and the Separatists. More than anything else, their stability and their independence is her top priority.

And I guess, for me, I see strength in Satine's diplomacy, strength in her kindness, strength in her restraint; so when I see people who only acknowledge strength in name calling, in divisiveness, in threats of violence, like Pre Vizsla and Death Watch, I'm instantly reminded of the crowd of American politics who believe that we must bully our way around the world.

The bar for women, especially women of color, is set so high that it's unattainable; but the bar for men is so low it's in hell.

And as an American who voted for Vice President Kamala Harris, and who was genuinely thrilled to imagine a Harris/Walz administration, I've found myself annoyed by the remarks about her that I've read. The claims that she's not tough. That she couldn't hold her own with a room of world leaders. Because I don't see that. And I'm heartbroken to see that the popular vote wanted brute force and displays of bully behavior instead of a steady, calm hand to bring us together as a nation.

Worst of all, I fear the very possible outcome that, much like Mandalore, Americans are sacrificing their liberties for what they believe is security (ie. the xenophobic hate and the border talking points, lower grocery prices, etc.), but like Ben Franklin said, they'll lose both and deserve neither.

And in Mandalore's case, the people were scammed into believing that Satine failed them, when really, the attack on Sundari was an inside job - and when the flames of fear were stoked, the people turned on Satine, on peace, for the safety they believed Death Watch was going to bring them.

And then their asses got glassed by the Empire.

I look at what's going on around me, and I'm disappointed because I'm a dumb optimistic bitch who believed Americans were better than this. And there's a lot of blame to go around, but the vibe is off and things do not feel right. My gut tells me that the game was rigged - that Madam VP Harris was meant to fail from the word go, because the right aligned themselves to win at all costs, even at the costs of their own nation.

But Jyn Erso said it best: Rebellions are built on hope.

So, hopefully we don't get glassed..?

Jesus, how do I even end this post?

I'm sorry. I know you're wishing you'd never asked. <3

[solvicrafts]

The USA is absolutely irredeemable as a country and let me be clear: even if Kamala somehow pulls a miraculous win out of thin air, I still very much mean what I just said.

Republicans are going to be in control of every aspect of our government. They've got the House and the Senate.

This country is DONE. It is over. We are past the point of no return.

We're not just fucking ourselves over, we're not just fucking our fellow countrymen over (you know, those who we think somehow DESERVE our hatred), we're fucking the entire world over.

I'm so tired, but so afraid to go to sleep because I don't want to face tomorrow. And I honestly can't imagine, as bad as I feel, how much WORSE a lot of people in this country and in Ukraine and Gaza are feeling right now.

Voters in the USA have proven that they are far more motivated by hate than by anything else.

68,028,208 people (as of right now) have shown that they hate:

Women <- this one is on top for a reason btw

The LGBT+ community

Anyone that is not white

People with disabilities

And for probably 99.9% of them... themselves!

more than they care about even staying alive (climate change, all of Project 2025, vaccines being fucking BANNED, etc.)

I don't even have the energy to hate all of those people. I just feel sad. Indescribably so.

My heart is mourning already for the millions of people that are going to die because of this election. And the millions more who will survive but at one hell of a cost.

[batboyblog]

My heart felt like it dropped to my stomach when I saw the news of Biden dropping out. I’m voting for Kamala of course, but I’m just so anxious about what could be the effects of this, and my anxiety disorder is not helping things. Do you think we’ll be able to win still?

Yes.

longer answer, Yes, we always have a chance to win, who Donald Trump is hasn't changed, in weeks of hellish coverage for Biden Trump stayed stuck at about 46% in the polls, the same amount he won in 2016 and 2020 (46.1% and 46.8% respectively) The media and a small group of dems weren't ever gonna give up on trying to push Biden out they were never gonna let him reset thats why he quit, now that we've ended this cycle we have a chance to force focus onto Trump and unite all the people who hate him, which is a majority of Americans, we just need them all to vote for the same person and not fuck it up like 2016 where just enough people voted for 3rd parties to bone it all up for everyone

if you're stressed, I'd say give Kamala a dollar, the media narrative will be driven in the coming days by fundraising strength (sad, but true) out the gate, she's raised over 5 million in an hour or so, what's more again, everyone, sign up to Volunteer now more than ever, everyone need to get out and do what they can, if we all pull in the same direction we can do it.

[ginnyrules27]

Ya'll.

Joe Biden has dropped out of the race. It most likely will be Kamala Harris as the nominee since he has endorsed her however there is still the chance of an open primary.

If Kamala is the nominee, I don't want to hear anything about her being a former DA or anything else. Those calling for Biden to drop out got what they wanted. The choice is now no longer between two 'olds'. The choice is now between Trump and whoever the Democrats choose for the nominee. And whoever that nominee is, the Democrats have to be behind them 100%.

Friendly reminder: The Democrats weren't behind Carter 100% in the 1980 election, which was one of the many reasons we got Reagan. And Reagan didn't come with the looming threat of Project 2025 and Plan 47 (or whatever it calls itself).

Side note: I don't fault Biden for stepping down. The man is 81 years old and is recovering from COVID. He even said in 2020 that he would be a transitional candidate.

Remember what is at stake in November. Remember that no matter what Trump claims about not knowing anything about Project 2025, he has met with members of the Heritage Foundation who are the ones behind 2025. Remember that Trump's team wants you not to vote (considering he and the RNC are suing Michigan gov Gretchen Whitmer for signing veterans up to vote when they go to visit the VA in Michigan.)

Hold your nose and vote Blue in November (or if you can vote earlier than that).

[anamericangirl]

For those who don't know, you can actually tell what kind of President a person will be if they have a recent history of being in office. So you can listen to whatever empty campaign promises they make or the fearmongering of the opposing side trying to tell you what they're *really* going to do or you can look at their track record of what they actually did.

Kamala Harris is not going to do anything she is telling you she will do as president because she has been in office for the last four years, is currently in office, and has done nothing.

Donald Trump has already been President and he made a lot of improvements to the country and we didn't have massive inflation and there weren't a bunch of wars and you could afford gas and groceries.

This is an election where we can make the choice based off actual knowledge of what the candidate is like and will do when holding office.

I just don't see how anyone can look at the way things have been for the last four years and vote for more of it.

[mikeysbride]

We Are Not Going Back

The 2024 U.S. presidential election has been anything but typical or boring, especially in the last month. Once President Joe Biden made the decision to remove himself from the race against Donald Trump in favor of endorsing VP Kamala Harris, everything changed. And it changed for the better if you're a Democrat. I was upset when he first withdrew, feeling that he was basically pushed into it by the media's insistence he is too old to run despite the record he's had as President the last 4 years. But then, within minutes, it seemed, my attitude changed to one of a sense of hope I hadn't felt in a while where the election is concerned. In reality, he made the ultimate selfless decision to put the country's interests above his own, and that is a remarkable quality, especially in a politician. It shows he's the real deal.

It appears I am not alone. The surge of excitement in the Democratic Party surrounding Kamala's nomination, which she'll officially accept this week, has been nothing short of amazing to watch. I have not seen anything like this since President Obama, and that says a lot. Her rallies are breaking attendance records, and even longtime Republicans are pledging to vote for her.

Of course, Kamala has already received the predictable criticism from the Trump cult about everything from her heritage to her laugh. Trump also still refuses to pronounce her name correctly, which is blatantly disrespectful but also typical behavior for him. If Kamala ("comma-la") is too hard for him to pronounce, Madame President will do just fine, I'm sure. But none if this should come as news to anyone. They have nothing else to go on, so of course they resort to the lowest rungs on the ladder when in reality, she has a stellar resume and record having served as a prosecuting attorney, District Attorney, Attorney General, Senator, and now Vice President of the United States. She is an actual prosecutor going up against Trump and his 34 felony convictions, and he's allowed to do that for the highest job in the country even though many jobs won't consider you if you have even 1 felony conviction. It's laughable really; it would be hilarious if it weren't also so sad and ridiculous. You can bet anyone of color would not be allowed the same leniency.

A few days before Kamala became the presumptive nominee, my 16-year-old daughter told me she felt apprehensive about her future if there were to be another Trump presidency. I told her that I feel the same way for myself. I actually feel that way about anyone who isn't a rich, straight white male because those are the only people Donald Trump cares about - those who look and think exactly like he does. But then, Joe passed the torch to Kamala, and it seemed the country awakened to a clearly better alternative and someone even the independents could get behind. Suddenly, there was hope that maybe, just maybe, things would be OK after all. That same daughter then came to me, just a few days after our previous conversation, and told me she is no longer fearful the way she was before. My 14-year-old daughter echoes her feelings, and the both of them have taken a greater interest in the election as a result. My teenage daughters are inspired and can see themselves in Kamala, and that is huge for them and for me.

I don't care who you are; this is historic and a big deal. It takes an incredible amount of privilege to see all this unfolding and not appreciate how significant this is in our history. Not only are we on the verge of having our first female U.S. President, but she's also Black. Not only that, but she's smart, successful, personable, and damn qualified. I can't help but think of my grandparents and how thrilled they would have been to live to see Barack Obama become President and now Kamala Harris. We came so close to a female President with Hillary Clinton in 2016, and I pray the election deniers and complacent people don't mess it up for us this time. I honestly don't think we can survive another Trump presidency and come out the same way ever again. He's already promised to be a dictator on his first day back in office and has alluded to doing away with elections...neither of which we need. And we certainly don't need him. He only wants to be President to avoid jail time, point blank. We can't let that happen.

We have a chance this November to save our democracy and keep moving forward - to make a hopeful future available to everyone and not just the rich, straight white males of the country. We can do this, and I have to believe we will. This is a test we absolutely cannot stand to fail. I understand the assignment. Do you?

[hero-israel]

I'm not Jewish, but it has been frustrating to talk about anything regarding the Israel-Gaza war and the rising antisemitism that came with it. Too many people I follow or know either share anti-Zionism propaganda (not even checking to see if it's correct), and if you so much state an obvious fact (Like Israel has been colonized by the Romans, and it's the land of the Jewish people), you get blocked without warning and then learn you're accused of "justifying settler colonialism" even though I said nothing about the modern problems that both Israelis and Palestinians faced. And I felt betrayed because I thought the person in question was reasonable enough to actually make their argument (especially when they claim to be Jewish).

I tried to be more considerate of my words, at the very least try to point out the pragmatic issues these "Free Palestine" people are causing, namely risking Donald Trump (who is much worse on Palestine than any other candidate by a long shot) being elected because they think they can vote blackmail Kamala Harris over US's ties with Israel. But even that leads to emotional accusations of me being "a Zionist" and then blocking even though I was for helping Palestinians through Kamala's plans to get a ceasefire. It's astonishingly tone-deaf and it only pushed me further into the Pro-Israel camp (which is not exactly friendly when it's filled with people supporting Trump) because at least they do listen.

I really wish for these people to watch The Wave (1981), since that was the TV special shown to me in high school warning us about the dangers of joining a "popular" movement. But would they ever admit their mistake or feel shame for tying themselves into a movement that caused more harm than good?

I greatly appreciate your speaking up for the truth, and for our humanity, especially when it is carrying a real price for you.

But the end of your message had me unconsciously push my chair back from my desk, it's like a mind-reading, grave-stepping remake of a conversation I had with a bunch of friends earlier this year.

After one of them innocently posted a "from the river to the sea" meme, and I got that person around to apologizing and removing it, there was a broader discussion of what happens when young people get their developing identities swept up in mass movements that are actually hateful. And I mentioned The Wave movie, which I too had been shown in school, and nobody else had ever heard of it. How is that possible? We are all the same age, they are highly politically engaged in general, if I had to watch and learn from that movie why weren't they shown it? Maybe it's different when people don't grow up in heavily Jewish suburbs....

[anarchywoofwoof]

do you guys think this actually bothers me or something??? i've repeatedly told people to vote for Harris if that's what they want to do on this blog and i've said numerous times i think Kamala is going to win.

btw how is this any different than some poor disadvantaged white guy from Alabama messaging me and saying "I'm voting for Trump die mad about it"? weren't we supposed to be on the "same side" like 2 years ago? lmao

[spaceguy44]

2024 US Election Post-mortem

I need to get my thoughts out about the election. I'll split it into a few main parts. (This will be long) 1. Why did Kamala lose/Trump win?

There's 2 main reasons for the result.

1. The biggest thing isn't that Trump gained a lot (he did somewhat), but that Kamala lost hugely. Kamala ran an "strong" but status-quo style center-lib campaign. This was not the right move to capture the electorate in today's America. It hasn't been since 2012. People at every part of the political spectrum have expressed disdain with the way establishment Democrats have run things. People want change! They have since 2008. Obama convinced everyone that he represented change. Hillary lost in 2016 because they didn't get that change after 8 years, and wanted something new no matter what. Biden did a good job in 2020 of being somewhat of a change candidate, but it was really COVID that allowed him to win. I do think Trump would've won in 2020 if it weren't for the pandemic. Kamala had momentum at first because she literally was "change." Biden was hugely unpopular, and people didn't like the return to liberal status quo, even if he did do more than even Obama to bring (domestic) left-wing policies to the forefront imo. Kamala represented hope at first that we could get away from the Biden that everyone hated, and bring in a whole new kind of politics and movement that would take us out of the neoliberal malaise that was the again Biden. What happened in stead was the establishment decided that there was a contingent of Americans that were allergic to left-wing politics, and they need to be captured.

THIS IS THE MAIN POINT OF FAILURE FOR BOTH HILLARY AND KAMALA. I do not believe there is a (large) population that is inherently right-wing, and another that is centrist, and another that is left-wing. I do think there are some that you could never convince one way or another, but it's just impossible that so many people could vote for Obama, and then turn around for Trump if people had some sort of weird internal political compass that they adhered to regardless of policy. No, Trump (and the right more broadly) MADE his base. This is the other reason Trump won.

2. Trump did make some gains, though I believe the right campaign from Harris could've overcome that. I think the Trump gains are more indicative of what Harris lacked. Kamala tried to adjust her campaign to match an electorate. Trump didn't give a fuck. He said what he wanted, and people liked that. They don't care about decorum. They don't care about "unity". They want someone they think will "fight" for them. People saw Kamala bringing in the Cheneys and just saw another neolib that would flake on any conviction to grab a vote. People don't want a policy. People want a candidate with conviction. Trump was also adept at playing on people's fears and insecurities. He MADE them into Trump supporters by playing on those fears. Harris did not try to make Harris supporters by playing on fears (at least enough). She was best with the abortion stuff, but that wasn't the issue that exit polls showed people care about. The top issue was the economy. Yes, "the economy" is objectively doing better if you look at the stats, but people don't feel like it because prices are still high despite the buying power of the dollar recovering (inflation was reduced!). People felt that because corporations kept prices at pre-inflation reduction levels. Harris briefly flirted with price capping, which would be the exact sort of populist policy that directly addresses people's fears/insecurities and breaks from the status quo that could excite a mythical "Harris base" that maybe existed for 2 weeks.

It's the same with immigration. Trump created a "big lie" about the border being in crisis, and played on the truly hurting average middle-American's insecurities. You have a population that is hurting for corporate consolidation destroying small local business, that has been devastated by opioids, and is seeing the towns and culture they grew up with decay and seemingly leave them behind. Are Trump's policies going to uplift them? Hell no! Does he talk to specifically them all and directly address their insecurities though? Absolutely. In stead of addressing these people (these are the ones on the red arrow map that's been going around), she accepted the lie about immigrants and rejected making any radical policy change from the system that threw middle America under the bus.

I should say I am literally living in a small rural city in a deep-red state, so I know what they're saying. These people aren't necessarily bigots. Some are, but I think most think they aren't. I think anyone can be prone to getting caught up in a hate movement if the right buttons are pressed, and Trump deftly presses those buttons. What needed to happen was pressing the right buttons to address their insecurities and fears that doesn't rely on hate and scapegoating. This is what I think Bernie Sanders does well in general polls, but there's too much movement within the Dems to preserve the liberal status quo. That needs to change or, the Dems die. LIBERALISM IS DEAD. We address the fears that made people Trump voters, or democracy dies! Here are 2.5 other smaller reasons: 3. Sexism, Racism, and Religiosity. I will not deny that these do play a part in certain parts of the electorate. However, I don't think they're insurmountable hurdles in a general election. I think Obama's campaign is proof of this. But we shouldn't deny that there are a significant portion that wouldn't vote for Kamala for purely bigotry reasons. Hell, I know some personally. But I do think it is a mistake to blame these for our failures. WE LEARN NOTHING OTHERWISE! 4. Believe it or not, but there's just a lot of people out there that just don't care or avoid politics all together. These people aren't bad or deficient, but they just don't include thinking about politics constantly as a part of their lives. They think about the election for a few days, and then get on with their lives for 4 years and tune out everything. Generally, these people are privileged, though there's also some that have been so hurt by our system and policies, that they tune out in pure nihilism about it all. These people vote on vibes, they vote based on what those they care about support, and many just sit out the whole thing. Voter apathy is definitely a thing, and it hurst especially the left imo. I do believe the majority of people would loath Trump's policies if they actually knew what they entailed, so this apathy only takes away from the left. 5. Kamala did NOT lose due to the Gaza protest. She might have lost a bit of support by not being an empathetic foil to Trump's "glass the whole strip" rhetoric, but I don't think it made a significant difference. And I'm gonna be real with y'all; Tumblr is mostly full of it if they think they can accomplish anything with a protest vote for Gaza. I learned this in 2016. That action won't do anything, and it's too risky when a literal fascist is on the other side of the ballot. Yes, I hate that Kamala did not oppose the current Biden policy of letting genocide happen, but Jill Stein/no vote can't pressure these people in the establishment without hurting their campaign financing. The votes are in, and 3rd party votes would not have saved Kamala.

2. What happens now? What is a 2nd Trump admin like?Maybe this is a bit of copium, but I do think that Trump will still be overall very incompetent and unable to enact the worst of his policies. Terrible things will still happen (and I'll get to that later), but I think some of the catastrophizing is a bit overblown. Let's take the mass deportation policy for example. This would be a horrible campaign on the level of the worst historical genocides. He would need to create an ICE apparatus so large that it would rival the fucking gestapo. Just think of all the agents and infrastructure that would need to be developed to round up ~20million people and transport them to the border and detention facilities. There's no practical way to deport that many people. The logical end point is concentration camps. Yes, we have them already to an extent (I mean the euphemistically named "immigrant detention facilities"), but we don't have anything that could handle "mass deportation." Building the facilities, hiring the agents, buying the buses and trains, and executing the warrants all takes a lot of time and money. None of this goes unnoticed, and it won't go without resistance today. Congress still controls the purse, despite what the supreme court says about Trump's immunity to do whatever he wants. SCOTUS said he can't be prosecuted for committing a crime, not that he can break a constitutional rule. The margins are too thin in the new congress, and I genuinely do not think that he has the political tact to navigate around how much resistance he'll get. My main evidence for this is the border wall. He had all the support he needed within congress and his base to try to "build that wall." The GOP even controlled both branches of congress, and shutdown the government multiple times to try to get his way. They had a majority in the house his first 2 years. It meant nothing! He got a regressive tax cut passed, and that's about it. I know there's a lot of bullshit he can pull to push terrible things through, and he'll have ghoulish cronies that will be the actual brains behind things, but honestly, they're dumb as shit too. They're too evil for their own good. They will eat themselves alive through infighting and liberal resistance before they can start a genocidal campaign on American soil. That's not to say there will be some horrible things. Here's what I do think he'll be able to do: - Ban abortion nationwide either through the Comstock Act or SCOTUS. - Completely fuck up half of our federal institutions that keep us informed and safe (ie. dismantling or gutting of Dept. of Education, EPA, FTC, NSA, HHS, and more). - Allow for more religious integration into our public institutions like schools - Essentially turn our government into an oligarchy (or more of one than it already is) - Reverse gay marriage rights (overturning obergefell) and restricting the rights of LGBTQ+ in the public sector overall. - Exacerbate the Gaza genocide - Let Putin have his way with Ukraine - Royally fuck up the economy with Tariffs - Probably get us into some kind of overseas war - If he survives to the end of his term, I do think that our democracy will be incredibly fucked. Like, I think they'll be able to push through so many bullshit rules that we won't be able to come back unless an actual leftist populist makes huge rounds.

Overall, it's gonna suck, especially if you're LGBT in a red state. I think he'll also continue targeting undocumented migrants, but I doubt he'll be able to put together the infrastructure to genocide them. Yes, Hitler and his regime were incompetent too, but it was really the enabling act post-Reichstag fire that allowed for him to start pushing the policies that would become the holocaust. It was only at that point that he had no more resistance, and could order whatever he wants. We're definite not there yet with Trump.

3. What do we (the left) do now?Honestly, just stay vigilant, be active within your community, make connections (even with Trump voters), and don't give in to the despair. Once you're hopeless, it will only make it easier for them to keep winning. We fight against the fascists until the bitter end. The only endpoint of fascism is self destruction. I am a leftist, but I am not a revolutionary. I think armed action rarely leads to good outcomes, and history shows that. However, if we get a Reichstag fire moment or an enabling act moment, that's not the point to lose hope. If people start turning their neighbors into the gestapo-fied ICE, that's not the point to hide. These represent the time where politics should be abandoned, and an actual violent fight for freedom and liberty should begin. I pray we never come to that point. Hopefully, these next four years will look like a continuation of 2016-2020. We'll have a slow degrading of our rights, but if too many of those we all care about are hurt, we can come together and help to reverse it. I know things are super polarized and we all have our own little bubbles in society, but there comes a breaking point where too many people are hurt, and even the biggest MAGA head will have someone they deeply care about that is very hurt by Trump. This is my hope, though it unfortunately relies on things getting worse first before becoming better. 

[wowbright]

At what point are we allowed to stop calling oppressors victims? At what point are we allowed to start holding them up to the same standards we hold ourselves?

I'm all for putting myself in other people's shoes. I understand that people are products of their circumstances. I understand that people are told lies and given misinformation, starting in in the home and public schools.

There may be people who truly do not have access to another point of view. But I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the majority have access, but just don't care to look. My highly educated father-in-law-in-law is a lawyer. He knows how to do research. But he watches OAN and FOX and says hateful things about immigrants even though he has "friends" who are immigrants because that's what he chooses to do. Because that is a little world of fear and hatred that he has decided to corner himself into. And no, you can't blame his religion for that (United Church of Christ, for crying out loud), or his social network.

There is something he gets out of being scared of the world and wanting to control other people. He is not a victim. I don't have to feel sorry for him because he voted to put a self-proclaimed dictator into office.

I don't need to feel sorry for the salt of the earth white guy at the bar who, after a long conversation where he acknowledged a litany of Trump's faults and Kamala Harris's superiority on questions of policy, settled on a defense of, "Well, I just don't like how Kamala Harris looks so I'm going to vote for Trump."

I don't have to feel sorry for the woman about my age who didn't bother looking into either candidate's policies because, "There are to many immigrants in [neighboring city] so I'm voting for Trump because he's gonna get rid of them."

I was born less than three decades after the Axis Powers willfully and gleefully massacred millions in the name of patriotism and "saving the economy." I learned to speak the same year that the dictator of the country where I was living, the person we thought was the last European holdover from those years, died. I started school in a country that had been occupied by Nazi Germany and where no one, absolutely no one, talked about how we just needed to understand that the average German who voted for Hitler back in the day was just a victim of ignorance, and also we really needed to sympathize even with the ones that weren't victims of ignorance and voted for him because of his economic policies, because obviously they were voting out of concern for their children's futures and not because they wanted to destroy people's lives.

My childhood was filled with nightmares of the Fascistis and SS coming to our house and taking us away.

I do not have to feel sorry for the people who are willing to stand by and let other people suffer. I do not have to see the people who shrug at declarations of dictatorship as deserving of my sympathy. I do not have to view people who dehumanize other people and pave the way for their destruction as victims.

They are not victims. They are perpetrators. And I will call them what they are.

[militantinremission]

Vivek Ramaswami: The Perils of 'Race Neutrality'

Vivek Ramaswami's interview w/ Ann Coulter killed many birds w/ One Stone. Her blatant Racism & his acceptance of it spoke Volumes. Vivek has been pushing an Anti- Black Narrative for several years; I have personally said that he WILL become a victim of the Institutionalized Racism that he marginalized & dismissed. Ann Coulter is NO DUMMY! She tested his 'Race Neutral' stance from the start of the Interview. When she told him Point Blank that she agrees w/ him on many issues, but won't vote for him because he's 'Indian', Vivek didn't blink. He later commented that he 'respected her Courage to speak honestly'(???). THIS is what separates Black Americans from 'Brownfolk', & why ANY Black & Brown Coalition is just a pipe dream.

I have said a few times that Black Immigrants & Brownfolk don't have the same experience as Black Americans. We have an American Experience of Institutionalized Systemic Racism that has endured for Centuries. From the American Constitution, to Local Law, legislation has been put in place w/ the intent of marginalizing Black America as a Collective. For example: Property Taxes are lower & Insurance Rates are higher in Black Communities, compared to similar situations (same Property Lot size, same Vehicle) in Non Black Communities. This is by legislative design. 'People Of Color' don't share that experience. Like Irish, Italian, & Eastern European Immigrants, these Folks experienced a Period of 'Social Hazing' by the Mainstream, but are eventually included into American Society. They know Discrimination & Prejudicial Bias, but few experience the level of Systemic Racism that Black America faces daily.

Vivek Ramaswami's Case is worth noting. He's a 2nd generation American- a child of Brahmin Parents; both w/ Post Graduate Degrees (like Nimrata 'Nikki' Haley & Kamala Harris). He was born & raised in Ohio, attended Private School, & was able to amass Hundreds of Millions of Dollars at QVT Financial (managing their Biotech Division). By all accounts, Vivek is living The American Dream. His brief Public School Experience in Cincinnati has obviously affected his view of Black Americans. He has gone out of his way to slander the Black American Experience; marginalizing Our History & Our Struggle, but his Family arrived in the 1980s. He positioned himself in Conservative Politics & rose to prominence spewing Anti- Black rhetoric. Conservative News Media Outlets gave him a wave to ride, but he Wiped Out in the Iowa Primary.

Despite visiting all 99 Counties, Ramaswami received a meager Return on his Investment. Iowans liked his talking points, but weren't comfortable w/ his Religion (Hinduism) or his 'Brown Skin'. The conversations that his Wife had w/ Iowan Voters were cringe worthy! Many looked her in the eye & stated their mistrust of his 'dark complexion' & questionable Christian Values; this despite Vivek touting his Jesuit Education non-stop on the Campaign Trail. Black Americans (other than Sen. Tim Scott) would've been insulted, but Vivek & his Wife apparently took it on the chin. He dropped out of the Race after Iowa, & predictably kissed the ring of Donald Trump. Throughout his Presidential Bid, Vivek Ramaswami sounded like he was auditioning for the Office of Vice President more than President.

Donald Trump recently had an Event at Mar A Lago that Media is calling a 'Vice Presidential Sweepstakes'. Ramaswami was among those being considered. It appears that his interview w/ Ann Coulter was an effort to beef up his Social Capital among MAGA Republicans, but Coulter deflated his Trial Balloon before he could reach a proper threshold. I personally find it comical. Vivek got so wrapped up in his perceived White Privilege, that he didn't realize what he REALLY had was Anti- Black Privilege. He thought that his wealth put him in the Ballpark, but didn't realize that most Americans don't know much about Hedge Funds or Biotech. Vivek literally flew beneath the radar, but his glaringly Non- White features overshadowed his rhetoric.

Like most 'People Of Color', Vivek Ramaswami failed to understand that AmeriKKKa sees him & his demographic as nothing more than a 'Buffer Group'. Their arrogance & smugness towards Us, blinds them to the fact that they are tools of Benign Neglect Policies; set up solely for the purpose of marginalizing Black American efforts to exercise a Right of Expression... Middle Class & Poor Whitefolk are becoming aware of just how much money this demographic earns; i'm anticipating a pushback at some point. AmeriKKKa IS NOT a Democracy, it's a White Supremacist Capitalist Republic. In This Land, The Wealthy Rule & Wealthy Whitefolk (i e. WASPS) are at the top of the Totem Pole... To date, the average Asian American Family earns more than the average White American Family. Black America knows FULL WELL what happens when Whitefolk begin to think that a Non- White Population may B outperforming them. For their own sake, Latinx & Black Immigrants should pay close attention.

When We factor in the Sabre Rattling between The U.S. & China over Commerce & Taiwan, plus rising tension between The U.S. & Hindustan/ Bharat over alleged Election Tampering, there may B some blow back on Asian Americans; especially during a Time of Economical Uncertainty- think Japanese Americans during WW2... Chattel Slavery has provided Black Americans w/ a unique perspective that Immigrants don't have. Whitefolk regarded Us as Sub Human (3/5ths of Humanity), so they weren't discrete about their actions around Us. This gives Us an intimate understanding of HOW AmeriKKKa moves. We warned these 'People of Color' about the folly of Race Neutrality, as We warned Poor Whitefolk about the folly of choosing White Privilege over Progressive Politics 135Yrs ago (i.e. The Populist Movement). NO ONE took heed to Our Prophecy- that American Capitalism WILL come for them, once We're neutralized. As always, it's Profit over People.

-The pendulum swings both ways.

[qqueenofhades]

Okay, I feel like I'm taking crazy pills and generally when I read your political takes it feels like you're showing the label on the pill bottle that explains why all this is happening, so I wanted to just come directly to the nearest available source of sanity.

Is there some kind of growing conspiracy theory that Kamala is secretly pulling the strings of an addled old man (Biden) and ruling the country? And that she's not qualified? (Pretty sure Obama was on par with her experience-wise but whatever.)

I ask because the dude portion of a couple my mom and I occasionally have get togethers with has gradually voiced more and more alarming views (hates reparations, can't stop bringing them up). He's getting up there in years and his wife ends up sitting there with this helpless expression like she doesn't know what's going on either. Last night he started in on Kamala and I knew from your posts that all the so-called 'concerns' about her were just nonsense but he gets worked up about demanding who would spread those stories if they weren't true and 'some people aren't impressed with her qualifications' and generally acting as though she hadn't already won an election as vice president. It was only later that I put together his repeated hypotheticals about Biden just dropping dead with the weird 'wearing the pants' comment. And this guy was incredibly liberal! Just... what.

Is this a thing that's happening? People out in the world are starting to believe this? If they are, how the hell are we supposed to counter that level of slow-boil delusion?

Again, mostly just looking for a sanity check because I can't seem to process this.

Honestly, it doesn't surprise me at all that an old white man, regardless of professed party affiliation, would easily be able to fall down the anti-Kamala rabbit hole (especially since it sounds like he’s increasingly taking in other right-wing/extremist content). That's precisely who those conspiracies are targeted at: people (often yes, white people and/or white men) who might be willing to vote for Biden but then come up with all kinds of excuses as to how they "don't trust" Kamala to take over if necessary. It's the same "I just don't like something about her" (viz. the decades of deliberate and targeted Republican smear campaigns) that stopped people from voting for HRC, even if they were otherwise Democrats (and actually voted, unlike the Online Left).

I will say that it does take a truly impressive level of delusion about the last several years in America have unfolded, and how the conservative smear machine has worked for said decades, to insist that "people wouldn't be saying things like that unless they were true." Yes, I'm totally sure there's no ulterior motive at all here related to smearing Kamala in the same HRC-destroying way in an attempt to undermine Biden and get Trump elected again. Sheesh.

[salty-socialist]

A Leftist's Opinion on Community Response to Hurricane Helene, Chappell Roan, and the 2024 Election

Context and request: I'm a white, queer leftist. I understand that I am coming from a place of privilege. This is written after I have looked into responses from BIPOC and communitiesI'm less involved with.

If you have a problem with something I said or something to contribute, feel free to open a (CIVIL) discussion with me.

I grew up in Alaska for the first 16 years of my life. I was lucky enough to be in almost a political bubble. Most of my family are democrats, and the ones who weren't still cared for me even though I was visibly queer. I have godparents who saved me from abuse, but also voted for Trump twice. My home is a red state filled with Libertarians. But it's also the home of my queer friends, of my indigenous friends, of some of the most leftist people I've had the honor to work with.

I moved to Seattle at 16. Again, I was privileged enough to live in an upper class neighborhood and my school was mostly white. I was living in Seattle during the height of the George Floyd protests and encampments.

I was liberal in Alaska, and it was that upbringing which paved the way for me to become fully leftist in Seattle. Because Alaska may be in support of Trump overwhelmingly, but Seattle showed me the pageantry of white liberals in blue states.

In Alaska I was on the marksmanship Rifle Team for my high school. The whole team went to the gun control protest in Sophomore year. We all staunchly believed in gun control (and for my part, I still do).

In 2020 I was living in Seattle and watched as registered democrats I knew said that BLM didn't make sense because All Lives Matter. I saw the white fear from liberals as protests became more aggravated.

All of this to say, watching some white democrats respond to Hurricane Helene and the devastation of south/midwest towns and lives has been absolutely horrific. To say that you care less about the devastation of peoples' lives because they live in a red state? How does it feel to take on the same stance of human life that Ronald Reagan perpetuated during the AIDs crisis? There is nothing to justify that level of destruction of human lives. It also shows a lack of understanding for the systematic oppression people in these areas face. They're gerrymandered and suppressed to hell, all while democrats often fully write off southern states so most active campaigning they're getting is republican.

For Chappell Roan I'll be more brief. Yes, her phrasing lacked the nuance it should have been delivered with. She needs PR help and you can tell that she became famous slightly too fast. But it is absolutely valid to refuse to endorse Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. I will be voting for Harris and Walz in the coming election, but I would never endorse them. We are witnessing a genocide as our government sanctions and funds the militaristic bombing of thousands of innocent lives. Chappell Roan has not been silent on her support of Palestine and for her to actively endorse Kamala would go against the beliefs she has perpetuated to the world.

I will be voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the coming election. We're not in a position at present to vote in a third party candidate. While there's policies and actions of the Biden, now Harris platform, that I will continue to speak out and fight against, I do believe that there is a clear difference in danger to US communities between the policies of the democrat and republican parties. Additionally, I will be voting with the knowledge that if Trump is elected he will likely be able to stack SCOTUS even more republican than he already has. His appointments to SCOTUS during his tenure as president are a huge reason why Roe V Wade was struck down.

Please remember to check your voting registration as well as deadlines, or please register here.

If you have $5 or more to spare, please consider donating to one of the GFM in this linktree to help a Palestinian family escape Genocide. There are also some who have escaped but are now without the resources to start their life. If you don't have the money please consider boosting the families. Each family listed is one I have personally donated to. Please also check out Operation Olive Branch and the good work they are doing.

[dgcatanisiri]

I need to grouse some out of my system, because... Well, I don't want these thoughts to stick around, cluttering up in my head.

Absolutely, let's acknowledge the fact that this was the combination of racism and sexism, that letting a black woman become president was so unpalatable, so many voted against their interests.

But there was also so much FAILURE on the part of the Democrats to really recognize the magnitude of the threat, and it was really only when Kamala Harris stepped forward as the nominee you could really see a change in their overall ground game. Unfortunately, that was too little too late.

Because the Democrats never let the threat sink in. Systemically, they could not accept that things weren't going to just go "back to normal," despite the obvious. They let things just sit, they didn't push back, and kept pushing the business of "when they go low, we go high."

They never fully accepted that the Republicans tossed the rulebook aside, swapped the ref with their guys who'd let them do whatever, and that if there was going to be any solution, it had to involve taking action. Unprecedented times call for unprecedented actions - Trump should have gotten thrown in jail the second he left the White House in 2021, all his trials should have been fast-tracked, and impeachments of sitting senators and judges should have been on the docket as of day one, but they just trusted in "the system," the system that had been gamed for YEARS already.

And now we're here.

And people will die.

And we may never see another election in this nation in our lives.

I'm scared. And I'm a lucky one in that I can probably survive, assuming I keep my head down - I'm a cis white guy, so long as I'm not spotted kissing another guy, I can make it out of this probably intact. But people I love and care about will be hurt, will likely die because of this.

I don't want to leave - if anything, I want those responsible to leave, since they're the ones who are saying that we need to "go back" to a time that never existed. Like... Go make your "greatness" somewhere else, while the rest of us aim to make things BETTER.

But I also want to just get out on MY terms, rather than let them destroy everything I love because they think that people not like them getting rights means they lose them.

Hell, I'm even hoping for a Hail Mary eleventh hour miracle, like a reveal of massive corruption making a recount happen and prove that the results were reversed, the Democrats growing a spine and saying "there's no way we're letting a convicted felon and his fascist traitorous cohort take charge," hell, God himself to get off his cosmic cloud and smite the bastard and everyone who supports him, SOMETHING that will say that this is not the world we will have to exist in going forward.

This shouldn't be reality.