cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/12412218

Gretchen Whitmer responds to calls by some Democrats to vote ā€˜uncommittedā€™ in Michiganā€™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.

ā€œItā€™s important not to lose sight of the fact that any vote thatā€™s not cast for Joe Biden supports a second Trump term,ā€ she said on Sunday during an interview on CNNā€™s State of the Union. ā€œA 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.ā€

Whitmer, who is a co-chair of Bidenā€™s 2024 campaign, also said she wasnā€™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 ā€œuncommittedā€ in Michiganā€™s 27 February primary.

  • raoulraoul@midwest.socialOP
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    10 months ago

    Meanwhile from The Freep: Whitmer, Tlaib represent Democratic divide on voting ā€˜uncommittedā€™ instead of Biden (via archive.is)ā€¦

    ā€œAt the end of the day, I am advocating that people cast an affirmative vote for Joe Biden because anything other than that makes it more likely we see a second Trump term and thatā€™s bad for all the communities,ā€ she said in an interview on NBC News Monday. She noted the pain felt among Arab American, Muslim and Jewish communities in Michigan in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel followed by deadly Israeli counterattacks that have killed more than 29,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

    And over at The News, broken clock Nolan Finley tells the correct time but, in true Finley style, for all the wrong reasons (via archive.is)ā€¦

    On the other side of the ballot, whatā€™s left of the Republican Party has convinced itself it can make America great by reinstalling a buffoonish egomaniac who is only slightly younger and less incoherent than Biden. And theyā€™ve rigged their primary system to assure a Trump victory.

    Republicans have no excuse for marching toward disaster. They have another choice on the ballot in former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley. The Detroit News endorsed Haley because she is an energetic, forward-looking candidate with a hopeful chance of uniting Americans. Instead of welcoming Haley as their best bet for beating Biden in November, Republicans are treating her as a traitor.

    That Democrats and Republicans passed by so much available talent and disregarded the expressed objection of voters to another Biden-Trump match-up demonstrates the uselessness of our partisan system.

  • pudcollar@lemmy.ml
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    10 months ago

    Liberals think that Iā€™m supporting Trump by not voting for Biden, but actually Iā€™m supporting Biden by not voting for Trump.

    • popcap200@lemmy.ml
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      10 months ago

      Wait. Is what youā€™re saying ā€œIā€™m a real progressive because Iā€™d vote for Trumpā€?

      • pudcollar@lemmy.ml
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        10 months ago

        Iā€™m voting for Trump exactly as much as Iā€™m voting for Biden. Saying Bidenā€™s lost my vote is like saying Trumpā€™s lost my vote. They never had it. I donā€™t want a second Trump term or a second Biden term. I am making fun of this ridiculous black and white thinking, itā€™s like the old ā€œif you donā€™t worship christ you worship satanā€ claptrap. Itā€™s the same kind of people who think Iā€™m a republican because I complain about liberals. Republicans are liberals too, and democrats are right-wingers too. I refuse the either/or dichotomy between two capitalist nationalist corporatist pro-war pro-poverty anti-healthcare parties. I refuse to buy into the hysteria that your preferred corporate prostitute is going to lose. I already know whoā€™s going to lose the 2024 election. The working class.

        • qooqie@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          What Iā€™ll say isnā€™t going to persuade you because itā€™s the internet, but is this really the election you want to make a grand stand on? Not exactly like one side has a treasonous lecher being propped up and banking on people like you. I get where youā€™re coming from and usually Iā€™d somewhat agree, but not with trump breathing down our necks like he is

          • pudcollar@lemmy.ml
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            10 months ago

            I donā€™t know how I could make myself more clear. You wonā€™t do any persuading if you donā€™t understand where Iā€™m coming from, read Lenin and Marx if you wanna do that.

            Biden opened up two proxy wars in his presidency. What i really want is for neither of them to win.

            • kaosof@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              And all youā€™ll get is everybody losing.

              Cutting off the nose to spite the face. Genius!

              Even though Iā€™m childless and have absolutely no stake in this dog shit reality tunnel, Iā€™m still a little perturbed by how cavalier a lot of people are with gambling about their childrenā€™s futures.

          • atyaz@reddthat.com
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            10 months ago

            is this really the election

            We hear that for every election. If every election is the most urgent then none of them are.

        • popcap200@lemmy.ml
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          10 months ago

          Yeah, imma hard disagree. The Republicans arenā€™t Liberals. The Republicans have embraced fascism and are actively trying to overthrow American Democracy. They just overturned roe v wade, they keep making workplaces less safe, our environment worse, consumer protections worse, they fight to repress trans rights, gay rights, etc. etc. Both sides are VERIFIABLY not the same, and I donā€™t understand how you can feel they both are. Just because both sides are capitalist, doesnā€™t make both sides liberal.

          • pudcollar@lemmy.ml
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            10 months ago

            Republicans are economic liberals. Iā€™m saying theyā€™re capitalists. I didnā€™t say both sides are the same. Both sides suck.

            American democracy has been overthrown, if it ever existed. Remember citizens united? Corporate monopoly media dictates public opinions, the best-funded candidates win elections and then enact the policy of their donors instead of serving their constituents. This is the nature of bourgeois elections in a capitalist society. The purpose of fascism is to merge corporate and state power to suppress the working class, something that both capitalist parties are hard at work doing, and very well-accomplished.

            For instance, both parties relentlessly raise the DoD budget because one of our countriesā€™ biggest incomes is the arms trade. This provides a massive perverse incentive for the US to destabilize countries. Another example is how the DNC corporation will throw their own candidates under the bus if they try to challenge the private health insurance industry.

            In terms of some social issues, it may be slightly better in some ways if a democrat wins, or it may not as they managed to whiff on a few supreme court seats during and after the Obama admin. In terms of being a bombable civilian outside the US, it may very well be better if Trump wins, as heā€™s more of a non-interventionist.

            The real solution is the overthrowing of capitalism through revolution and the idea that social progress is being made through elections is a dangerous illusion. There are fundamental problems with the structure of the country, and the causes of those problems fund both parties. Liberals have a bad track record of averting emerging fascism, as was the case in Germany, and as is the case today with Biden funding Netanyahuā€™s genocide.

              • pudcollar@lemmy.ml
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                10 months ago

                You understand voting isnt the only form of political action?

                • Intelligence_Gap@beehaw.org
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                  10 months ago

                  I look forward to helping with those, assuming theyā€™re non-violent, but if you arenā€™t voting your voice isnā€™t being heard by officials meaning you canā€™t influence change. Sorry if my previous comment came off as condescending that was not my intention.