The DM was a DM asking us to change our no tankies policy and remove the fuck tankies banner as it was apparently upsetting hexbear users. Apparently tankies view the word tankie as a form of slur. The admin wants us to ally as a form of "left solidarity"

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[–] ToastedPlanet@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 year ago (6 children)

Here in the US, the people rule. Since socialist policies are in the interest of the people, they will want to vote for politicians who support socialist policies.

[–] jack@hexbear.net 64 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Here in the US, the people rule.

This is literally objectively not true:

https://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/princeton-experts-say-us-no-longer-democracy

The US is not, and has never been, a democracy, because the people do not direct the actions of the government except on the margins. There is no democratic input on imperialism or capitalism. Those are invariate, and the system is designed to protect those from public influence.

[–] ToastedPlanet@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 year ago (3 children)

It's crazy to see a far left news source be used to try to convince people that the US has never been a democracy.

We have always been a democracy and we thankfully still are a democracy. We are in danger of losing our democracy to fascism however. If we don't fix the flaws in our democratic institutions we will end up in a fascist dictatorship.

I am well aware we are circling the fascist drain. I also know that the modern neoliberalism movement started by Regan and Thatcher is how we got here.

[–] iie@hexbear.net 16 points 1 year ago

70% of Americans want singlepayer healthcare
90% want universal background checks for firearm purchases
75% want Citizen's United repealed

and yet these and other popular policies remain politically impossible

[–] Grimble@hexbear.net 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Ok, you know things. Cool. So why are you being so dodgy about hyperspecific political tendencies? Why is such a precarious, controlled, center-left (by ur standard) system like the US worth balancing?

[–] AcidSmiley@hexbear.net 24 points 1 year ago

come on this has to be satire. you can't be serious about this shit.

[–] iie@hexbear.net 15 points 1 year ago

Study: Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens:

From the abstract:

Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence.

further down:

In the United States, our findings indicate, the majority does not rule — at least not in the causal sense of actually determining policy outcomes. When a majority of citizens disagrees with economic elites and/or with organized interests, they generally lose. Moreover, because of the strong status quo bias built into the U.S. political system, even when fairly large majorities of Americans favor policy change, they generally do not get it.

What is it, like, 70% of Americans want single payer healthcare?

[–] aaaaaaadjsf@hexbear.net 14 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

The people rule so effectively in the USA that the candidate with less votes has won 1/3 of presidential elections in the 21st century.

How can you be a "democracy" if the candidate with the most votes loses the election? I thought that was the number one rule of democracy, the person with the most votes wins.

[–] Grimble@hexbear.net 14 points 1 year ago

farquaad-point Department of Naval Intelligence