Forgot to put the portion where Reps try and block every single fucking thing that Dems try to accomplish.
Wanna know why abortion wasn’t enshrined into law when the Dems had the majority? Because they didn’t have a filibuster proof super majority for the handful of weeks they had all the power.
We got the ACA instead.
I’m not buying this anymore. Dems could do the same if they had balls. Enough of this when they go low we go high bs.
Here, have an actual teacher - who goes to insane lengths to find shit (including the fact that many Dems were quite conservative) - explain:
Also forget the portion where dems do not use their powers unless it is needed for Israel.
Yup the whole Republicans ignore the rules and Democrats don’t thing hurts extra hard when you watch Democrats throw the rules out the window to support a genocide.
Democrats very much followed the rules when supporting Israel’s settler-colonial genocide, that’s been a part of the rules since the settler-colonial project started.
They had the super majority at the start of that term. They couldn’t have pushed something as complicated as the ACA through, but they could have moved on something small like affirming Roe. Besides, the Republicans always find a way to ram through legislation without a super majority (and I’d suspect we’re about to see them abolish it entirely), but the Democrats never do.
For example, when the Senate parliamentarian tells the Democrats that they can’t pass a $15 minimum wage through a simple majority, the Democrats give up. When the parliamentarian tells the Republicans they can’t do something, they ignore them, and one time, they just flat our fired the guy.
You can argue about whether the Republicans are being unethical or underhanded, but at the end of the day, they achieve things, and the Democrats don’t. The Democrats will tell you that they need 60 votes to do anything and that the parliamentarian won’t allow them to pass non-budgetary items without one, but Senate filibuster rules can be changed, and the Parliamentarian has no real authority. Playing by the rules while your opponent cheats isn’t noble, it’s stupid.
The super majority at the start was those 4 weeks when Dems had any potential. When you get a time machine, go back and tell them to do Roe instead. Don’t listen when they absolutely disbelieve Roe is at risk. We all thought Roe was safe back then.
I mean, the fact that they only had any potential with the super majority is the problem. In 2001, the Senate Republicans just fired parliamentarian Robert Dove because they didn’t like the answers he was giving them. In 2010, Senate Democrats realized they only had four weeks to get their agenda through unimpeded, passed a single bill, and spent the rest of Obama’s presidency comprising with obstructionists. In 2021, Biden let immigration reform and a $15 minimum wage get killed by the parliamentarian despite his party begging him to ignore her. Now, in 2025, a literal fascist will be in the White House and his allies will control both houses of Congress; do you really think he’s going to care if someone in an advisory position gives a non-binding ruling saying he’s not allowed to do something? The fact that Democrats can’t get anything done without 60 Senate seats isn’t an excuse, it’s embarrassing.
There’s also just a massive element of the Democrats no longer functioning as a coherent political unit. It wouldn’t help in an instance needing a filibuster-proof majority, but since being a Democrat is mostly negatively defined as “We’re not the Republicans” these days, it has grown to encompass a range of views that prevents them from having a cohesive platform backed by all members in the way the GOP largely operates today.
Yes, Republican obstructionism is a major element in the dysfunction of our government at the moment, but even before you run into that, you have a party that embraces the Joe Manchins, Kyrsten Sinemas and Joe Liebermanns of US politics, while also having your Bernie Sanders and AOCs. Even before you encounter the obstructionist tendencies of Republicans, you have Democrats who don’t fall in line that can hold the party platform hostage, and no meaningful mechanisms to force them to do so.
The Democratic Party really needs to start defining itself positively, rather than the current “We’re not the other guy, so at least we aren’t so bad” stance, and presenting a unified front in the face of Republican obstinance. There should be a time a place for intellectual debate, but the Democratic status quo not only makes them look incompetent when they can’t hold members to task for failing to support major elements of the party platform (see Manchin’s stranglehold over Biden’s agenda that left quite a bit dead on arrival prior to Republican efforts), it also demotivates would-be voters.
republicans: we will shit on the working class
tankies: omg, dems so bad
Reps: we will crap on the working class
Dems: we will crap on the working class ✨
Leftists: The Dems don’t actually help the working class, both parties derive their power and legitimacy from their donors, wealthy Capitalists. They function as businesses that sell policy to the highest bidder. We need a revolution in order for the people to have a real say.
Liberals: Shut up, tankie!
“no, I don’t want slow progress, I’d rather have no progress at all”
“what do you mean voting is just a tiny part of making the world a better place, it is completely useless”
“what? ofc I support the working class! I called someone on lemmy a lib for saying trump bad yesterday”
The Democrats are not “slow progress,” nor are Republicans “no progress.” Both are decay, decline, dying Capitalism in a crumbling Empire. There is no progress to be had with either of them. Voting isn’t a tiny part of making the world a better place, it’s less than the bare minimum required to enact positive change.
If you understand that Capitalism must decay, and that the US is the world’s worst Empire, then you understand that the only way to progress is revolution. Pretending that Leftists “prefer Trump” just showcases that you don’t understand the core problem. That your profile banner is an Anarchist flag yet you argue against revolution means leftism is cosplay for you.
And thanks to non voters you will never have a chance to get a better candidate since now free elections in america are a thing of the past. Congrats. Because you do your “both sides” garbage you destroyed any hope of improvement.
American elections were never free, and the fact that the Harris campaign failed to bring out voters is the fault of the Democrats, not the voters.
Either way, revolution was always required to actually get meaningful change.
I don’t understand this.
Voting is easy and a basic civic duty we are taught about in middle school, in pretty much every state, you have weeks to do it, can drop off in mail boxes, ballot boxes, in person, early, etc.
Presidential elections only happen every four years, and there are going to be very very few people who would not be aware that it’s happening well in advance.
Not voting is just plain lazy, that’s all. It’s a responsibility that takes very little effort to do, there are multiple avenues provided to do it and you only have to do it two or three times a decade.
No one is forcing me to take a shower every morning or brush my teeth, or go to work everyday, but I do it because it’s important, and my overall health and life is affected by it.
Not voting is just plain lazy, that’s all.
You know I’d actually like to push back on this. The people who elected trump were white, uneducated, low information voters. I don’t think people who aren’t interested in politics, in the political system, who don’t care to look into the ideas that shape the economy, shape the policy, beyond a couple weeks every four years, I don’t think those people should be voting. I think it should be their choice, but I think their choice should probably be to not vote, because in that case, their votes are going to do damage. You could see thinkpieces floating all around before the election of people talking about how higher levels of voter turnout across the board, contrary to classical thought, would help republicans this time around, rather than democrats, mostly hinging on those same kinds of low-information voters, part of the younger generation which have aged into it. Your classic 22 year old joe rogan bro voters that like free weed, but don’t understand abortion rights because they’re not women, and think trump will give them some sort of economic opportunity.
Me personally, I would rather those probably just admit that they have no idea what the hell is going on, and choose not to vote.
Its easy to vote when you have the privilege (time) do it.
Many people work two or three jobs to make ends meet. Many others have kids in addition to wasting time commuting to work. In my situation, if I relied on public transport to get to work I’d waste nearly 5 additional hours per day for a total of 14 hours. That’s 88% (14/16 hours) of my waking hours (assuming 8 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period) dedicated to doing something that will primarily benefit a large corporation. If I had kids and had to cook a full meal + get them ready for anything I’d have zero hours to take care of anything for myself.
Not voting is just plain lazy
The people struggling to make end meet are working harder than you can even imagine, considering this is your perspective.
Voting is very deliberately made highly inconvenient depending on zip code, and additionally the parties are not different enough for many people to care. You get these people to vote by making it more convenient and quick, and promising popular policies like Medicare for All.
I was about to argue how you were wrong and then saw the lemmy.ml lmao A russian bootlicker talking about free elections is too ironic for me to take serious
Russian Bootlicker? In what way? Are you just trying to invent ways to not actually deal with Leftist analysis? Go for it, try to argue against a Leftist.
I don’t know what you’re talking about. There will be a 2026 mid term and a 2028 general elections. You should expect them too. Especially if you think Trump might cancel them. Loudly expecting him to cancel them normalizes it and mutes any protest. So they will happen, or we will be in the streets demanding them.
Oh my god how I wish to be so naive. There wont be a free election in 2028. I highly doubt even the mid terms will happen.
Any protest will be brutally knocked down and americans dont have the protest culture to keep at it. Especially not with more than half the voters, all Trump voters and all non voters, accepting the fascism to come.
So nope. 0 chance for a free election in 2028. Maybe you get the chance to decide which Trump or Trump ally you will have next lol
There will be a 2026 mid term and a 2028 general elections
oh sweet summer child.
Americans threw it all away for a man with a public history of failure, rape, cheating, lying, narcissism and incestuous ideology. If there’s a real election in 2026 and Americans learn from their mistake, things might eventually be okay. Unfortunately, it seems America is the land of the ignorant who equate higher education with brainwashing. I’m not sure how to fix stupid, the country seems lost.
I’ll be voting, but I have zero hopes my fellow americans will have learned anything. I’m also not sure, with lying and cheating republicans in place, we’ll even have a fair election.
So you’re choosing to normalize it. Great. Trump thanks you for dropping out and making it easier for him.
They all fuck us. Doesn’t matter what color tie they wear.
That’s a great take if you completely ignore that laws are written by congress, and in the last 30 years Democrats have only had both chambers and the executive, by a slim margin for 2 years and a wide margin for 2 years. In those 2 years of a wide margin (Obama) they passed the ACA, which was watered down by republicans because it was the only way to get it to pass because they still didn’t have a super majority.
The Democrats have utterly failed to appeal to workers, and as such fail to bring out the votes. The DNC is a business that sells policy to wealthy Capitalists, it doesn’t represent the working class.
The Democrats have utterly failed to appeal to workers, and as such fail to bring out the votes. The DNC is a business that sells policy to wealthy Capitalists, it doesn’t represent the working class.
Huh? Did you actually follow the election at all. Trump’s solution for the working class was “I’ll get you better jobs with more pay” and when asked for specific examples, he couldn’t provide anything of substance. But he was fond of talking about how he hated unions and paying overtime during his speeches and talking about killing the ACA. VERY pro worker.
On the flip side Kamala was offering up cutting taxes on the middle class, lowering food prices, expanding the ACA, assistance to first time home buyers, and more assistance around childcare.
I don’t know exactly what you think “appeals to workers” but she checked literally every box beyond promising “more pay” without any semblance of a way to do so. Is your idea of “appealing to workers”: you just need to lie more?
You’re talking about Kamala “means testing” Harris, who paraded around with Liz Cheney, and comparing it to Trump who ran a far-right populist campaign running on ideas like “no tax on tips.” Harris failed to run on popular programs like Medicare for All, and Trump did his usual awful schtick while exploiting the fact that Harris had no solid policy.
Neither party represents the workers, they both sell policy to wealthy Capitalists, and that’s it.
Everything you listed helps the ~10% of Americans that are still middle class, not the working class. Except lowering food prices which we know she’s not even attempt since it would require backstabbing her campaign financiers.
No working class person has delusions of owning a home at this point, that’s a pipe dream only the deranged and rich could ever hope for. The ACA is a failure that most people can’t afford, we need healthcare reform in totality. Everything you listed sounds like giving money to the rich so peasants can afford the Rich’s services.
