#yes trump is horrible

[bookshelfdreams]

not a fucking day goes by without an american on this hellsite pondering whether they can justify voting for Biden, despite omg! he's supporting Israel!!!!11!

as if Trump didn't literally say just last week that he would not defend America's Nato partners and would in fact encourage Putin/Russia to "do whatever the hell they wanna do"

as if he hadn't been open about his disdain for Nato and his unwillingness to actually adhere to the treaty in case of aggression

as if Russia weren't currently waging a war of territorial expansion fueled by imperialistic delusions of grandeur the likes of which haven't been seen since fucking WWII

Putin has put out an arrest warrant against the Estonian head of state, as if she were a russian citizen. He recently said of course he wouldn't attack Poland unless they attack Russia first - hmm, I wonder if that could be an allusion to a historic precedent? Has anyone ever faked a polish attack on their territory to kick off a massive war???

Putin has all but explicitly stated that he does not want to stop after Ukraine. Now add to this a US president who would encourage - not just stand by, actively encourage - further russian aggression. The campaign for presidential election hasn't even fully kicked off yet, I shudder to imagine what Trump would do or say if he actually held office again.

Of course the situation in Gaza is horrible. Of course we need deescalation (and hey, if you weren't getting your news exclusively from ragebait you'd know that even its closest allies are criticizing Israel, that they will become isolated if they continue on like this. Support for Israel isn't nearly as unwavering and unanimous as you may think).

Please. I'm begging you. Another Trump term could be catastrophic in ways that can't be fully anticipated. Already his party has backed him on (or tried to downplay) his latest attempt to undermine Nato.

We are dealing with an very delicate and dangerous geopolitical situation right now. China observes Russia very carefully with one eye, and looks at Taiwan with the other. And they're far from the only global player with imperialist ambitions.

The US government unfortunately has a huge effect on the whole world, and making your vote hinge on a single issue (when that issue won't even be solved in a way you'd like by literally any imaginable US government! No US president will completely cease supporting Israel, like come on)

making your vote hinge on a single issue like that is incredibly irresponsible

[thedisdainfullysilentvisitor]

If you want to get inundated with some horrible news stuff, inundate yourself with how much life will fucking suck in America if Orange gets reelected.

[mima-sama]

If there's one good thing about the existential anxiety this election cycle is instilling in me, it's that I'm no longer having any trouble with constipation. Ough...

[salty-software-engineer]

I wonder if they're trying to set Trump up for an insanity defense or something. Seeing a lot of stuff about how he's not in his right mind. Not nearly enough about how he may not be in his right mind but he's also incredibly malicious and always has been.

[bioswear]

Idk hot take for a Saturday morning, but maybe people shouldn’t be SO quick to switch to a mentality of: “well I’m not voting at all” about American politics in regards to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict/genocide just bc America has had its dick in those affairs LONG BEFORE fucking Biden Presidecy and people are seemingly just NOW feeling publically vocally outraged about it bc it’s in the forefront news (as you should be), but maybe also let’s use our fucking brains for a moment if you are American:

we should, and can easily, also still focus on that which is in our own backyard, if you don’t vote fucking blue, because green/third parties are not actually viable in the deeply established two party system we have had for CENTURIES, we get fucking DeSantis or some other horrible Fascist Republican and then America is going to have its own genocide against LGBTQ+ people, fascism goes up, continued attacks against drag/immigrants/etc.

You also know damn well that any Republican, If one were president, would be doing the same fucking thing of providing aid to Israel, so I guess personally I’m just confused as to why everyone is surprised biden is doing the same.

You can and should support a free Palestine, and hold contempt for Israel and condemn their actions, AND also know that voting blue is Americas literal only chancE RIGHT CURRENTLY NOW this upcoming year, to remain somewhat of a democracy instead of a ChristoFascist regime, especially with Biden being one of the ONLY blue candidates like… our hands are TIED

Like YEAH it’s gonna fucking suck to vote for Biden but like you also gotta fucking Buck up sometimes and do things you don’t particularly WANT to do. It’s called duality and compromising in life and sometimes it’s fucking unavoidable.

But idk what the fuck do I know 🤪 I’m just a girl who thinks maybe you shouldn’t just fucking give up one of your only recognized rights in America just because some actions you can’t control from a crusty old moderate blue white man in a country whose affairs are more complicated than your messiest situationship is upsetting (rightfully so, I might add) you

[kerosene-saint]

I hate majority cis white rich gay men. You're not oppressed for voting for Trump you asshole. It's not funny and quirky for you to be gay and go to Chick-fil-A all the time. You're not better than trans people and we deserve a place in the community just as much if not more than you do.

[muninnhuginn]

Jack Horner is, at heart, a panto villain

[pulquedeguayaba]

So so so tired of the somersaults people are making abt the election as to why Trump is like Satan incarnate and...he fucking isn't? (Not saying he's not a piece of shit mind you), and people go like "Kamala hasn't raped anyone". Well she has violated dozens of human rights and with her imperialistic and cop policies she has allowed hundreds of people to be raped becos of said policies so I'm not so sure how free of the charge of rape she is.

[mass-convergence]

Honestly every time I hear about someone dying in the news I just feel a sense of grief and loss. Doesn’t matter who it is - if I knew who they were or not.

Like it’s not debilitating or anything? It’s just like “oh shit … that person’s not around anymore. That’s kind of really sad tbh.”

[tolkpopfan]

…

[anistarrose]

[Image description: screenshots of a headline from BBC, reading: "Ohio votes to enshrine abortion rights in state constitution," and a headline from the Guardian, reading: "Democrats gain control of Virginia state legislature in blow to Republican plans." End description.]

Some good news

[sunbeamedskies]

The left SUCKS at recruiting people. And so many of you are part of the problem.

The talk about centrists and moderates being the literal devil I see constantly in online leftist spaces is one great example of the left's failure. Yes, it sucks when the people don't see how horrible the right is. But centrists are some of the most open people to discussion- and some already lean left!!

You can't demonize moderates to such an extent that you close yourself off to them and then wonder why you're losing swing states.

Centrists aren't even always people with all the privileges- you will find plenty of people who are part of marginalized groups who are concerned about politicians on all sides.

You can be a smol radical leftist bean all you want who only talks to other smol socialist and communist beans, but you're never going to make the difference you want to in the world that way. It's the cold, hard truth. It doesn't mean you have to engage in discourse with everyone- some people have no real hope of changing and are emotionally draining- just more than your bubble.

I am tired of the left eating itself alive and deranged people like Trump winning.

[thefloatingstone]

Me: Someone tried to shoot Trump again

My mom: yes I heard. Regardless of circumstances, murder is such a horrible thing. Being a murderer is never good.

Me: both people who tried to kill him were Republican

My mom: *bursts out laughing*

[duxwontobey]

I think most people just forget that the only way to view this election in any way that's remotely positive is as a way of preventing Trump from winning, and therefore having an easier enemy to go up against. Like some people could say correctly that the dems sometimes do good things on occasion and sure, but the main thing is to keep the momentum up on actual change like the huge protest movements and unionization going on in america.

plus in theory if trump loses, altho it'll be tough for a few months with likely some level of jan 6 type activity, the right will potentially eat itself like it sort of has here in the uk, allowing for a greater period of time to do the actual work on the ground that needs doing.

vote for kamala because you lose nothing from doing so and don't have to deal with whatever extra problems that trump would implement.

completely insane, at this point, that someone thinks this is going to reduce voter apathy

[fangirltothefullest]

Yes we can laugh and say darn almost got him, but they didn't and him and his republican team are going to milk the fuck out of this. Don't let them fool you, don't let them mislead you because "oh boohoo poor trump" is gonna absolutely milk this fucking DRY and people are going to think this is some godly divine intervention, they're going to say democrats are weak, they're going to spin the shooter as a democrat, they'll throw EVERYTHING in the book at us to cause more mistrust and tear democratic votes to shreds.

They're going to support him harder than ever and it's going to fucking SUCK.

WE HAVE TO VOTE HIM AND HIS HORRIBLE REPUBLICAN ASSOCIATES OUT.

We HAVE TO VOTE DEMOCRAT EVERYWHERE WE CAN, INCLUDING CONGRESS

[qqueenofhades]

I think the veepstakes are going to continue for another week or so, both to increase the profile of her potential running mates and see how they do with the public, time to vet, and give everyone a little more incentive to be extra enthusiastic about campaigning for her, but ALSO because there's a nonzero chance Trump may drop Vance and they'll need to pivot their strategy, though I think most choices will be sound either way(I like Walz and Beshear the best). What do you think are the odds of Trump dropping Vance versus doubling down because he doesn't want to look weak or indecisive?

She is going to have to pick pretty quickly, because the Ohio GOP attempted some fuckery by putting their ballot deadline before the DNC (and refusing to grant an extension as they always did for Republicans, so you know). I expect she will pick by the middle of next week at the latest, because the virtual nomination has to be made by, iirc, August 6th in order to outwit the attempted Republican ratfuckery. The DNC is then August 19-22, where the whole thing will be made official and everyone will pledge/endorse/etc. That leaves a pretty compressed timeline to road-test Veep picks, see how they work with Harris, how they play with the public, etc. But they've been on top of it so far, so there's that. I saw someone suggest that she let it go on as long as possible in order to have 6-10 white guys hyping her up on TV every day -- which is valid, yes, but she will have to pick soon. There are really no bad options, though I too have ones that I would like in particular. I am really warming to Walz, as I think he has a great communication style and would shore her up in the white Midwest. Though I did get a fundraising email from Mark Kelly on behalf of Kamala Harris yesterday, and lbr if you can pick an astronaut, pick an astronaut.

As for Trump dropping Vance, he's in considerably more of a pickle (everyone together now: AHAHAAHHAH! HAHAHAH! HAAHHAHAHAHAHA!) because the RNC has already happened, Vance is legally and bindingly the VP nominee, and if they change it now, there are a ton of legal and procedural steps that take time and make the GOP look incredibly weak. They will also piss off the Project 2025 people (who were all over the Vance pick because obviously, Vance loves it and they are horrible) -- which, if they were at all sensible, they might do. But they're fascists and that's actually what they want to do, so they won't. Biden was able to step aside and put Harris in so easily because he was not actually the Democratic nominee yet -- he was just the presumptive nominee, delegates are technically free to vote for whoever they want and the nominee is not official until after this convention process has happened, and he wasn't locked in. But if the GOP tries to drop Vance now, it's going to be a lot of legal hassle, they'll look incredibly foolish, and they'll piss off the core fascists they have been rallying every step of the way. Too bad, so sad. No good choice, huh? Seems karmically fitting that they can't abort Vance. Oh no. They must carry his ass to term.