I don’t like Biden either, but anyone with half a brain knows there are two choices in the 2020 election. If we had a sane voting system, voting third party might be worth it, but as it stands, no one but you knows your favorite candidate exists and unless you want to become their campaign manager that will still be true in November. Even if you did, and even if you convinced two thirds of the people who would otherwise have voted for Biden to vote for your chosen candidate instead, Trump would still win because half the country voted for him and your guy only got a third. If you vote third party you might as well stay home.

Not voting isn’t going to stop the genocide in Gaza. The US will continue to funnel them arms no matter which candidate wins this November. Trump practically campaigns on how much he hates the Jews and he’s publicly told Israel to “finish up their war”. He’ll also make life a living hell for anyone who isn’t a straight cisgender male back here at home.

A vote for a candidate is not an endorsement of them or their policies, it’s a statement that you like their policies more than the other guy’s, and “sticking it to liberals” and “refusing to support genocide” (that’s not what voting for Biden is doing, by the way – a vote for either candidate is a vote for genocide and a vote for neither is an endorsement of both) is not more important than keeping the furthest right politician America has ever seen out of office.

How incredibly privileged do you have to be to see an entire national election as what will happen in the Middle East and ignore Trump’s campaign promises to wipe transgender Americans off the map, and further, to not realize that the same thing will happen in the Middle East regardless of which candidate wins?

I hate Biden as much as every other leftist here. But I’ll still vote for him because Trump is worse. If there’s a single bone in your body that cares about the lives of your trans friends you will too.

  • Bigfoot
    10·
    3 months ago

    It’s not an implication that’s literally how the American system is designed? I’m so confused as to how you think it works?

    • Cowbee@lemmy.ml
      4·
      3 months ago

      Does voting for Libertarians instead of Trump count as a vote for Biden?

        • Cowbee@lemmy.ml
          3·
          3 months ago

          Why do you assume the DNC deserves the Leftist vote, then?

          I ask this as a leftist planning on voting for Biden.

            • Cowbee@lemmy.ml
              2·
              3 months ago

              So then how do Leftists achieve leftist change? If the only obligation of the DNC is to be not quite as bad as the GOP, how do you expect there to be genuine, positive change, rather than the continued slow descent into fascism?

              Again, I will probably be voting for Biden, but I’m not so clueless as to give that to Biden so far out from Election day. He needs to actually feel pressure. If the DNC just expects leftists to concede at every chance regardless of what the DNC does just because they aren’t the GOP, why would any leftist expect positive change?

              • EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com
                1·
                3 months ago

                If the only obligation of the DNC is to be not quite as bad as the GOP, how do you expect there to be genuine, positive change, rather than the continued slow descent into fascism?

                That’s the problem, I don’t expect there to be genuine, positive change. Our system is such that I don’t see a way to break the cycle.

                Our shitty election system is such that if one side puts in a crazed lunatic, this gives the other side a license to be as shitty as they think they can get away with. And the people who have the ability to change it benefit from not doing so.

                The best we can probably do is chip away at states 1 at a time to get ranked choice voting or some other system that addresses our duopoly. That’s what we should be doing too, but it’s a long road (if it will succeed at all) and won’t help for 2024.

                We are essentially painted into a corner.

      • Bigfoot
        4·
        3 months ago

        That doesn’t answer the question.

        • Cowbee@lemmy.ml
          4·
          3 months ago

          I’m not the one you asked. You stated that not voting for Biden is a vote for Trump, but that’s not accurate, just like voting Libertarian is not a vote for Biden instead of Trump.

          I say this as someone currently planning on voting for Biden: try to work with Leftists, rather than trying to shame them, if you want their vote.

          • Bigfoot
            4·
            3 months ago

            That’s nice but still doesn’t answer my question.

            • Cowbee@lemmy.ml
              1·
              3 months ago

              What question are you asking me to answer? A vote for a person is a vote for a person, a lack of vote for a person is a lack of vote for a person.

              • Bigfoot
                2·
                3 months ago

                That’s nice but still doesn’t answer my question.

                • Cowbee@lemmy.ml
                  2·
                  3 months ago

                  It does, playing dense doesn’t make you right, nor does it avoid making you wrong.

                  Like I said: voting for a candidate is voting for a candidate, not voting for a candidate is not voting for a candidate.

                  I say this as someone likely voting for Biden: voting for third party isn’t a vote for Biden or Trump. Biden should do his best to win over more voters.

                  • Bigfoot
                    2·
                    3 months ago

                    That’s nice but still doesn’t answer my question.