Republican congressman Mike Johnson of Louisiana has been elected House speaker. Republicans eagerly voted to give Johnson the gavel on Wednesday. Johnson picked up an important nod of support ahead of the vote from Donald Trump.
It isn't enough to just argue that people shouldn't vote for Republicans. Being the least worst option won't work. We need to talk about why they should vote for Democrats. We need to convince people that their own personal lives will be tangibly better under Democrats. We need to make people more able to afford housing and food. Union support. Raising the minimum wage. Legislation restricting corporate renters. Legal actions on companies inflating their profits and blaming the pandemic. We need to make people believe that we are on their side against the people who are fucking them.
Trust me when I say that I always vote for the best option on the ballot. If Bernie or Liz Warren is there, they’re getting my vote as well as my donations.
But as a member of Team Rainbow, I also have an obligation to myself and my community to do my best to make sure we do not become illegal and persecuted. I will choose fucking anyone over someone who will promise to do actual harm. I feel the same about abortion rights and health care. Those are the bills we need to be ready to die on - and by die on I mean voting for whoever is going to not make it illegal to be gay or trans. I’m old enough (barely) to remember Anita Bryant, who worked to make it illegal for gay men to teach in California because of “grooming.” They called it “recruiting” back then.
I’ll take 40 years of Bidens and Clintons before I take four of the Christian and racist radicals that currently make up the entirety of the gop. When we elect an entire slate of democrats - when they can run the table - we can make things happen like in Michigan. We need enough of a margin of error that a Sinema or Manchin (or Lieberman) can’t hold us hostage.
There is no real chance of people like you or I voting GOP in any case. It's the people who don't have strong opinions either way about deal-breaker issues like LGBT rights or abortion. They are more likely to vote for who puts more money in their pocket or who they think protects them from what they fear.
Ehh… you can make a fence sitter into a Democrat, sure, but I really don't think you can convince anyone still willing to call themselves a Republican in 2023 to do more than stay home on election day.
Yes, which is why I was making a rebuttal to the guy saying we should be going the extra mile trying to convince them to vote dem, rather than just stay home. It's wasted effort better spent trying to convince another one of them to stay home, or an actual fence sitter to vote dem.
That only works if Dems actually support those things. The only policies Dems can run on are the things that the most conservative Dems support.
Basically - every Democratic policy is dictated by whatever Manchin and Sinema decide they're okay with. Otherwise the party is going to be known as the party of broken promises.
Unless we win enough seats that we can ignore party members that are holding the rest back. If we get enough seats, we can make rules that prevent one idiot from blocking my progress.
It isn't enough to just argue that people shouldn't vote for Republicans. Being the least worst option won't work. We need to talk about why they should vote for Democrats. We need to convince people that their own personal lives will be tangibly better under Democrats. We need to make people more able to afford housing and food. Union support. Raising the minimum wage. Legislation restricting corporate renters. Legal actions on companies inflating their profits and blaming the pandemic. We need to make people believe that we are on their side against the people who are fucking them.
Trust me when I say that I always vote for the best option on the ballot. If Bernie or Liz Warren is there, they’re getting my vote as well as my donations.
But as a member of Team Rainbow, I also have an obligation to myself and my community to do my best to make sure we do not become illegal and persecuted. I will choose fucking anyone over someone who will promise to do actual harm. I feel the same about abortion rights and health care. Those are the bills we need to be ready to die on - and by die on I mean voting for whoever is going to not make it illegal to be gay or trans. I’m old enough (barely) to remember Anita Bryant, who worked to make it illegal for gay men to teach in California because of “grooming.” They called it “recruiting” back then.
I’ll take 40 years of Bidens and Clintons before I take four of the Christian and racist radicals that currently make up the entirety of the gop. When we elect an entire slate of democrats - when they can run the table - we can make things happen like in Michigan. We need enough of a margin of error that a Sinema or Manchin (or Lieberman) can’t hold us hostage.
There is no real chance of people like you or I voting GOP in any case. It's the people who don't have strong opinions either way about deal-breaker issues like LGBT rights or abortion. They are more likely to vote for who puts more money in their pocket or who they think protects them from what they fear.
Ehh… you can make a fence sitter into a Democrat, sure, but I really don't think you can convince anyone still willing to call themselves a Republican in 2023 to do more than stay home on election day.
Staying home might be enough though, no?
Yes, which is why I was making a rebuttal to the guy saying we should be going the extra mile trying to convince them to vote dem, rather than just stay home. It's wasted effort better spent trying to convince another one of them to stay home, or an actual fence sitter to vote dem.
Yeah, you don't win by convincing the other side to vote for you. You win by inspiring your voters to vote.
Or by convincing the other side not to bother voting…
Exactly. At most 2/3 or eligible citizens vote. The biggest available voting bloc is the apathetic.
That only works if Dems actually support those things. The only policies Dems can run on are the things that the most conservative Dems support.
Basically - every Democratic policy is dictated by whatever Manchin and Sinema decide they're okay with. Otherwise the party is going to be known as the party of broken promises.
Unless we win enough seats that we can ignore party members that are holding the rest back. If we get enough seats, we can make rules that prevent one idiot from blocking my progress.