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I have problems with people who abstained. The hard thing is, how do you change voter behavior?
this post was submitted on 06 Feb 2025
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The genocide(and poor national level performance) was the last straw for many people who have been lifelong democrat voters. After 30+ years of seeing dems bring ferocity and strategy and boldness to primaries only to sit in office, renege and fail on many of those promises even in times when they have a ~~supermajority~~ majority. Then to see only a few dems actually screaming on the floors of congress. As well biden refusing to use the bully pulpit.
I don't believe any of them wanted this outcome. I do believe they felt their vote was only going to promote a regime that would continue the trend of genocide and protecting wall street over the needs of desparate citizens. Billions to kill and profit then pennies to the people.
I believe the fault lies entirely on the DNC and not the voters who saw no benefit in promoting the party over the other.
It's wrong, a dem in power is worlds better, but i understand seeing it as pointless in the moment. There is no good answer, only a less wrong one...
To answer the question, pass useful legislation and don't promote genocide. Legislation like universal healthcare, constitutional abortion(and other women's healthcare), raising minimum wage, universal pre-k, Union support, decriminalize drugs(esp. Weed), and to reverse inflation to name only just a tiny few..
TLDR: 30yrs of "lesser of two evils" kills voter motivation. Blame the party not the people.
Edit: technically not a supermajority...
Bro, the Democratic party has not had a supermajority since 1979 - which by the way they did quite a lot with, including the last amendment to the constitution.
You're mad at a reality that doesn't exist.
Fixed lmao does it fucking matter? They couldn't make constitutional amendments OH NO! None of what they needed to do needed a constitutional amendment.
Filibuster is a thing
So is joe mansion and the bully pulpit. Fucking make a show of it at least. That's why people liked Bernie and the squad cause they did that shit.
I dont understand your line of reasoning... you are complaining that they did nothing with their majorities and claim the only thing they would need a supermajority for is a constitutional ammenmendt and could get everything else done. When i point out the filibuster (which in case it was not clear, means you still need a supermajority for cloture and proceed to voting in the senate), you complain that they didnt put on a show? Do you thini they shouldve spent alot of effort trying to pass legislation that would never be passed anyway for show? Or am i not understanding you?
edit: ok i was not aware of the meaning of bully pulpit. You mean they shouldve used the opportinity to advocate for better policies even though they wouldnt get the policies through?
I still can blame the voters who chose the more wrong option, either explicitly or implicitly through non voting. More than one can be blamed.
Sure. But if your brothers being killed either way why would you give a fuck?
For ref, i voted Harris...
This was NOT the time to do this. This election was about the end of fucking democracy in the face of fascism and these abstainers wanted to pull teenage shit and fucking ended the country as we know it.
Now Gaza is getting wiped out because these abstainers couldn't abstract what a p2025 theocracy was going to do?
People were screaming about this for months. THIS election was an existential fight right now at home, and they chose to pull idealist teenage shit.
Like they said, longtime Dems have been hearing this for at least the last few elections, if not longer than that. This messaging doesn't work anymore, it's crying wolf to many people
And now the wolf came.
The danger was real, unlike the dangers Republicans scream about. Why didn't anybody tell THEM they're crying wolf?
You never read that story, did you?
Did you?
Every time Republicans got elected they did terrible things. Every time the warning was correct
In the story people are warned when nothing bad was coming, but Republicans have been led by evil people since at least Reagan
Republicans are the ones who was really calling wolf with all their fake panics, but nobody ever calls them out for it
False flags mean nothing bad is happening, right?
I mean, I place more of the blame for "ending the country" on the fascists and the people who enthusiastically put them into power, but if you want to blame the handful of people who abstained then you do you I guess
Abstaining is an active choice. For someone eligible to vote, there doesn't exist an "I opt out of any accountability for the outcome" option.
I agree, and I don't care. It's a distraction. These people didn't move the needle an inch, and I think it's ridiculous to worry about probably 0.5% of the electorate when there are tens of millions who actively support all this shit. Where is their accountability? Where is the accountability for the billionaires who have spent their fortunes attacking democracy? Those people are grinning ear-to-ear when they see their enemies trying to fight each other like this.
It's not though. In many states you literally need to leave work to vote. A choice which can cost you your job.
I mean i agree and being angry is justified, just the time to do something for the dems was twice in the last couple decades when they had supermajorities...
Im pissed off too, i'm very likely losing my job because of all this federal fund fuckery. I'm stressed out and having pretty severe executive disorder over it. Work is on fire and i have to find a new job now. In terrified that the US will engage in an imperialist expansion again. That we'll have the night of long knives 2, or Auschwitz 2 or what the fuck other Nazi bullshit you want to reference.
I'm still not blaming the people who didn't vote. I'm blaming the people who did, the ones who voted FOR this. I'm blaming trump and elon and their cronies. I'm past disappointment in the Democratic party and i lay the choice of people not to vote at their feet.