Gretchen Whitmer responds to calls by some Democrats to vote ‘uncommitted’ in Michigan’s primary on Tuesday
Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan governor, pushed back on calls to not vote for Joe Biden over his handling of the Israel-Gaza conflict, saying on Sunday that could help Trump get re-elected.
“It’s important not to lose sight of the fact that any vote that’s not cast for Joe Biden supports a second Trump term,” she said on Sunday during an interview on CNN’s State of the Union. “A second Trump term would be devastating. Not just on fundamental rights, not just on our democracy here at home, but also when it comes to foreign policy. This was a man who promoted a Muslim ban.”
Whitmer, who is a co-chair of Biden’s 2024 campaign, also said she wasn’t sure what to expect when it came to the protest vote.
Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat who is the only Palestinian-American serving in Congress, urged Democrats last week to vote “uncommitted” in Michigan’s 27 February primary.
Objectively correct take.
You can validly hate Biden for the handling of Gaza. But not voting for him is just helping the Fascists win.
Swallow your pride. Do your duty at the ballot and then make the real changes by organising and protests.
More objectively correct take:
Thanks to the political-parties highjacking governing-the-country,
they can commit any crime or abomination, whatsoever, and you only can choose between them, because the rigged-system won’t permit anyone to have any alternative to what the incumbent political-parties offer.
There: fixed it for you.
Okay, so then, do your duty, vote for biden, then work to support ranked choice voting?
Why do you think the neoliberals running the DNC will let ranked choice happen?
FPTP is the only reason neoliberals and Republicans can get elected, while they control both parties, we’ll never get rid of it.
To get ranked choice, progressives first have to replace neoliberals, and then win so many elections it doesn’t matter what Republicans want.
RCC isn’t the cure, it’s what we do after we win. Because it’s not going to happen until after we win.
Zionism can be equated to fascism. Biden has stated multiple times that he is a Zionist. Neo-liberal fascists are already in power and they are destroying the left. you are saying do your duty at the ballot by saying vote this way or you are wasting a vote (that doesn’t actually count anyway because the pop vote doesn’t decide the presidency). I will do my duty by not partaking in sham elections for a two party state that I don’t have any faith in whatsoever to deliver anything they promise. Because they have no obligation to fulfill anything they say they will do to get into office. That in itself is protest so I am doing the real changes, as you say.
They aren’t destroying the left, there just has never been a meaningful left in America.
Sure that’s why FDR never won in an absolute landslide.
It’s why none of the last successful Democrat presidency runs over the last 2+ decades have been based on progressive reform and no Democrat would run with a slogan like “Change we can believe in” with only one outlier being the most recent election based on a distinct aversion to fascism.
America has never created national parks, new deals for farmers, or held up a man who was against war during the Cold war.
Nah. Left just doesn’t exist.
You’ll just be forfeiting your vote. The same reasoning can be heard in any country come election time, but in truth you’re only making a gesture and its effects are contained in your mind. If you don’t vote, even though all you said is true, this election system is a sham, etc. you’re still helping Trump in the short term and the harm he will do to women, foreigners, anybody who’s not rich, and the american society at large. Gestures, symbols and statements are good, but not at this price. I live across the world but if I could vote in the american elections, I would, and I’m not even part of any of these endangered demographics. I suppose you aren’t either ?
And furthermore, it is not just a gesture. Or at least its as much of a gesture as voting. Its effects are demonstrably not just “contained in my mind” because it is having an obvious effect on you and judging by the 16 upvotes on the comment, perhaps I have inspired or emboldened people to be just as critical as I am being. But you will say we are stupid or foolish or whatever you need to say. I say the fool is the one that continues to perform the same behaviour with no results and then tries to convince people to not do anything different. Look how worried they are of losing their power that they have to tell people that if you don’t vote for us, its back to the trump. what a lovely threat from the people that supposedly care about us more than trump. i know they don’t, i know trump doesn’t care. they don’t answer to us and you know it.
I am an intersection of multiple demographics you mentioned and if you were any of them, you would know that biden and the democratic party has not done anything meaningful for any of them. Roe could’ve been codified, but he didn’t. biden could’ve expand the court and add new justices, but he didn’t. biden could’ve already secured a cease fire, but he hasn’t. biden spat on the rail workers asking for one week sick pay. said nope, fuck you. he also has done practically nothing about amazons union busting. biden didn’t give a shit about east palestine. flint michigan still doesn’t have clean water. he could be creating legislation to protect trans kids and adults, but doesn’t care. so what exactly is your argument about the oppressed demographics having better lives under democrats?
No. It’s not on the voters to show up no matter what. It’s on the politicians to be someone we want to vote for. We already did “vote blue no matter who and pressure them for change later.” And now we’re funding a genocide. That’s over. Now it’s pressure time.
Lol this tribalism is ridiculous. Biden had one job, to be different than the genocide guy. I don’t care about the complexity of the issue here, but when our choices are both establishment warmongers it’s not really a choice is it? Is it really that big of a ask not to fund the eradication of a group of people and a nationalist government? That should be the bare minimum for a “leftist” candidate IMHO and it’s depressing how the goalpost landed here of all places
And yet again, a concern troll boiling down both candidates to “genocide guy”.
I can’t see these kinds of comments as anything other than “both sides are the same” in an attempt to get people to not vote.
Let me ask a simple question: Will you vote for Biden in the next election, or do you choose to support Trump through not voting, or worse voting for him?
Both candidates are establismentarian ASF and represent the oligarchs FAR more than any everyday American. I am not a “concern troll” I’m a leftist with concerns and I’ll be voting third party, (most likely green) as a matter of principle. I’ve done this my entire adult life- you aren’t changing my mind in a million years. I legitimately think he’s too old, too right-wing, and too corrupt. Dude should just be running as a Republican tbqh.
You’re working against your own interests. Reminds me of the fake “walk away” movement that the right was trying to invent/push last cycle.
If they’re not the same on the topic of genocide, who do I vote for to stop genocide?
Your whole post, and that of most of the idiots pushing this “You have to vote for Biden” line of bullshit always seem to make the same mistake.
I can’t see these kinds of comments as anything other than “both sides are the same” in an attempt to get people to not vote.
I don’t give a shit how people vote, and I’m not going to try and influence anyone else’s vote. I’m not a Russian bot, and I don’t get money from the CCP.
Put simply, I’m an individual that won’t vote for genocide. It’s a red line. When I say that there are lots of others out there like me, I’m not trying to influence anything. I’m stating a very simple truth.
There a lots, probably enough to cost an election, of people that won’t cross that red line.
It’s especially true in Michigan where a requisite part of the coalition that is required for a Democratic win is of an ethnicity/religion that heavily identifies with the population being genocided.
When you read people stating this, stop thinking of it as some foreign operation trying to shape opinion, and recognize it for what it is. The simple truth, that people who don’t want Trump to be president, are trying to get the DNC to recognize.
Joe Biden loses. As a consequence of his own actions.
You can hate that fact. You can rail against the people who have genocide as a red line, and call them all sorts of things like purists, or idiots or whatever.
In the end, it’s just you blaming others for the consequences of one mans Hubris that they aren’t responsible for.
If you don’t want Trump to win, you’d better start pushing for a better Democratic candidate, rather than trying to justify genocide.
Yeah, all I’m hearing when I read this is “I won’t vote for either candidate, and I’m going to pretend that doesn’t help Trump.”
If shes so concerned about people turning on Biden, maybe she needs to head to the oval office and tell him to stop fucking funding and equiping a goddamn genocide.
Cause one thing you forget, Democrats are not cultists. We will not tie ourselves into knots trying to defend your bullshit. We will call out, and criticize you when its appropriate.
and supporting and equiping a fucking genocide is a pretty goddamn appropriate thing to be criticizing Biden on.
Its not on the voters to get over it.
Its on Biden to stop fucking doing it and to tell Israel to fuck off.
Is Israel apartheid and slaughtering the Palestinians really so important that you’d throw away the election for?
Turn it around.
Is being noble on Gaza worth risking Gaza being obliterated by Trump and the GOP?
Is being noble on Gaza worth risking Gaza being obliterated by Trump and the GOP?
I’m going to ignore the implication that “being noble on Gaza” is actually more risky for him and just assume that’s true. What the fuck kind of question is this?? Biden should absolutely change course to being noble on Gaza. Yes it is worth the risk, arguing that he shouldn’t take that risk is saying you’re okay with continuing to sacrifice Palestinian lives over the coming months if it means a better chance of beating Trump and saving them from a theoretical worse fate.
Sure, there’s a chance Biden will lose the election anyway, but I’m sure they’re capable of understanding how necessary their sacrifice was. I actually kind of hope that you’re one of the people who thinks we all should support Israel and that you’re making a bad attempt to play sympathetic here, because this this is an absolutely ludicrous contortion to justify continuing to fund a genocide.
No one makes the decision to continue funding the destruction of a people out of concern for what those people might go through if you don’t. Total horseshit.
Is being noble on Gaza worth risking Gaza being obliterated by Trump and the GOP?
I was talking about the voters, not Biden.
Is being noble on Gaza worth risking Gaza being obliterated by Trump and the GOP?
And Ukraine being destroyed by Russia? And women’s rights further eroding? And LGBTQ rights further eroding?
Even if you accept the premise that Biden and Trump are equally bad for Gaza, there’s so many other issues on the table.
Option 1) vote for the guy that we know with certainty supports the genocide - he sends money, bombs, and military aid (aircraft carriers, navy ships, squadrons of fighter jets) in order to defend Israel from other threats
He diplomatically shields Israel from consequences by vetoing any possible UNSC resolution that would stop the bloodshed.
Option 2) vote for the guy who probably would do all the same stuff.
So 100% versus 90%
90% is the rational decision. If Gaza is your one-issue that determines your voting, you should vote for Trump.
And you may say how unethical, Trump is racist and helped kill Roe V Wade and he’s a lunatic who wants to take over the country - and you’d be right.
But are you really going to tell a group of people that are being slaughtered with impunity that your issues are more important than the life and death of tens of thousands of people?
I refuse to vote for Trump because I’m a one-issue voter too… but likewise I do not want to vote for Biden because they are identical on that issue.
If shes so concerned about people turning on Biden, maybe she needs to head to the oval office and tell him to stop fucking funding and equiping a goddamn genocide.
Or, maybe, it’s more complicated than that. MAYBE supporting Israel in the middle-east helps keep some semblance of stability in a region that would otherwise be constantly at war, with Iran in particular doing their best to take over all of their neighbors. That’s ignoring the fact that unless you’re advocating us going to war WITH Israel - the second we pull all funding we also lose all leverage we have with them, and I would expect an almost immediate expansion into all Palestinian territory overnight given their current leadership.
Is the situation fucked? Yes. Is it going to be fixed by pulling funding? Absolutely not.
“semblance of stability in a region that would otherwise be constantly at war-” are you stupid? blind? just plain ignorant?
Oh thank god the middle east is at peace! And we owe it all to Biden’s unconditional support of Netanyahu’s genocide!
So your alternative is what? Other than brainless comments on social media that is, that really seems to be making a significant change in the situation so please keep at it. 50 years of the world’s thought leaders unable to come to an amicable resolution, I’m sure you’ve got all the answers. let’s hear your plan for peace in Gaza.
HURR DURR IF WE DONT VOTE FOR BIDEN ISRAEL WILL GET THE PICTURE, TRUMP 2024!!111
It’s a fucking primary.
This is literally the only point in time we can try to drag Biden too the left, will we get him far enough that he stops being pro-genocide? Probably not, dude is all in on Israel and always has been.
But telling people they don’t even get to vote “not committed” in a fucking meaningless primary is something so undemocratic if you told me it would happen this primary I’d have bet millions on it being republicans.
But then again, I’d have bet billions on them being the ones to pull delegates for something the state party had zero control over.
Not holding Dems to standards may have already fucked the country for good.
It’s a fucking primary
I don’t know why people don’t get this.
Since 2000 progressives have been told to vote for who you want in the primary and then hold your nose in the general.
Now we’re supposed to hold our nose in the primary, too?!
I don’t have enough clothespins for this bullshit.
Since 2000 progressives have been told to vote for who you want in the primary and then hold your nose in the general.
NH went progressive over party favorite moderate the last two primaries they had that counted…
So this party the DNC said their votes count for nothing, then Biden withdrew and threw money at a write in campaign so the headlines would be “Biden wins even as a write in!”
And not:
“DNC just made NH primary meaningless for something only NH republican officials could change!”
They know this is just a primary.
They’re just conservatives deep down and give zero fucks lying and destroying democracy if they win. And it’s not enough to win, they demand 100% loyalty.
Just like trumpers.
It’s why Dem standards can’t just be “better than a Republican”.
The problem is Progressives aren’t offering up any other option. Who am I supposed to vote FOR this time around? “No one” isn’t much of a rallying cry.
Why should they? the DNC will never allow a progressive to be the party candidate. which is why we didn’t have bernie in '16… like the VOTERS WANTED.
I cannot remember an election where the incumbent got primaried. And even if we tried we’d be accused of hurting the establishment candidate’s chances in the general.
There’s nothing in this article that indicates she’s talking about the primary vs the general election
you clearly have a pro-trump agenda, as evidenced by your comment history…
you’re spam, and pro-genocide
I think part of the problem is that people are so on edge with how close we are to democracy ending. And how fine, and even eager many are to move on to full fascism. It is a primary though. And what really matters is a commitment to defeat fascism in November.
However you don’t do yourself any favors acting like a teenage edge lord. Saying hyperbolic bs like pro-genocide etc etc etc. Biden’s actions on the front are absolutely questionable. Poor strategy wise considering Bibi isn’t going to listen to anyone. And just going to do whatever he wants. So all Biden is likely going to get out of it is a tarnished image. Even if we cut Israel off completely, something Biden can’t do himself. It wouldn’t stop Bibi the butcher. But then it’s always easier to call hyperbolic names than it is to come up with actual working solutions.
I’m not trying to defend the “pro genocide” thing at all, although I’m expecting to be down voted regardless, but…
Isn’t support for Israel over Gaza an American / western thing rather than specifically Biden?
Like is it reasonably possible to have a POTUS that wouldn’t support Israel?
I guess they could be more overt in their condemnation of Israel’s behaviour, but I’m not sure how meaningful that is.
Isn’t support for Israel over Gaza an American / western thing rather than specifically Biden?
Biden has spent 50 years calling himself a Zionist and saying nothing will ever make him stop supporting Israel.
It’s hard to think anyone believes that’s normal…
Like is it reasonably possible to have a POTUS that wouldn’t support Israel?
Bernie and every other progressive.
This is exactly what Putin wanted when he funded Iran’s proxy attack of Israel by Hamas.
It’s not some unsolvable conundrum, some Gordeon knot. Biden just has not to support a genocide and these people would support him.
Can you point to one piece of evidence that explicitly states that Biden supports genocide? Can you also point to one piece of evidence that Trump explicitly states he would NOT support genocide?
Biden going around Congress to give weapons and money to Israel. The US vetoing the ceasefire resolution In the UN. Him never saying any criticism about Netanyahu or Israel in public. His public comments previously of supporting Israel and saying that if one didn’t exist, the US would have to create one to defend her interests.
I’m sure Trump would definitely support this genocide, too, but he’s not President right now so it’s moot. Biden has the power to stop it so he’s the one that people need to pressure.
While nothing surprises me anymore, you got a source for the Putin funding Iran funding Hamas thing?
Support between Iran and Russia was flowing both ways, Kirby said, with Iran seeking billions of dollars worth of military equipment from Russia including helicopters and radars.
Iran ‘broadly complicit’ in supporting Palestinian militants, but no evidence seen of a direct role in slaughter, officials say
Curious why you aren’t familiar with this despite posting in a forum on geopolitics…
