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Doesn't matter what polls say, doesn't matter what the media says, don't be complacent -- go vote. Go vote. Go vote. Go vote. I can't stress this enough, this kind of bullshit puff piece exists solely to keep people from voting by lulling into a false sense of security.
I don't care if there's a poll that says 100% of the country hates one or the other, GO VOTE. Ignore these bullshit polls, they are completely and utterly worthless.
Not only that, volunteer or donate if you can. Even if you only can spare 5 minutes or $5 a week, organizations like Vote Save America will help you direct your energy or 100% of your donations where they will do the most good.
I might donate if they didn't spam donation pleas at everyone who's donated in the past decade.
Political messages are not subject to the same spam limitations as regular marketing messages. It's "political speech", so for some reason they can shout it at you constantly.
I completely feel your pain.
https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/table-18-states-with-all-mail-elections
If you live in one of these 18 states, don't even bother going anywhere to vote. I get my primary ballot, and my general ballot in the mail just over one month before election day. As long as it has a postmark on or before election day, (don't wait till election day) it is a valid vote.
If you don't live in one of the 18, flood your state legislature with calls, emails, and visits to their office in support of mail in voting measures. This is so much better for everyone.
I don't have to stand in a line, I don't have to remember an exact day. I get the envelope and within a week or two I sit down with the ballot, and the ballot guide, and then start looking for news stories about the candidates that are not from the current campaign year. It helps remind me that, oh yeah, this Democrat decided to embezzle a bunch of money a couple years back, better check the competition out. It normally only takes me a few hours, but I have their vote history, and everything else I need to try to pick someone that isn't gonna screw anyone over.
Mail in voting is the best. I love it so much. It's a crime that not everyone has the option.
1000% this.
You are correct and this is why we never pay attention to polls. I dont even know why this one was posted.
Propaganda
Pokemon go fucking vote.
I'll vote when there's a candidate worth voting for, or they make "none of the above" an option that disbars the candidates from running again in the future.
With that statement we can ignore everything you say. If you don’t take part in the voting process you don’t have a voice and your opinion doesn’t matter.
With that statement they're also saying they don't give a shit about anyone other than themselves, and especially not of at-risk Americans
I don't live in a swing state, so that's already the case.
In my opinion this is flawed logic. Not voting doesn't accomplish any of the things you want, on the contrary it plays into goals of parties because they want voter apathy -- the less people voting the easier it is for an unpopular candidate to win. I'm definitely not voting for someone I like, I'm voting against the person I think will destroy democracy (and I similarly hate that this is the set of options we are given -- no one would have picked these candidates).
I can't argue with that logic, except that it relies on a false premise of what I want from the election and an unrealistic understanding of just how little influence I can have on it as a citizen of a non-swing state.
I don't want to see either of the major parties in the white house. Logic suggests that I should make an accelerationist vote for Trump, as his presidency would no doubt hasten the inevitable collapse of the American Empire, or at least its current political establishment. But I can't vote for Trump for the same reason that I can't vote for Biden, the active support for genocide.
I also see voting "against" as a corruption of the principles of democracy. Elections aren't a process by which leaders are selected, that's merely a secondary effect. The purpose of elections is to legitimize the State, a reification of the "implied consent of the governed" that entitles a government to act with authority. But I see our current government as fundamentally illegitimate (as evidenced by our abysmal voter turnout figures), and voting against the worst candidate is still placing a vote of confidence in the government itself.
So, until there's an option that doesn't want to arm rogue states in the middle east, I'll just save myself some time on voting day.
This is a terrible gamble and one you are not likely to win. You think things are almost as bad as they can get, that we're close to the brink of some glorious revolution. We are not. Things can get SO MUCH worse. The amount of misery can increase exponentially. Take a minute to process that word, "exponentially". As bad as it is now, it can get twice as bad. And then twice as bad as that, which is already worse than you're capable of imagining. But we're not nearly done yet. We have barely gotten started on our terrible journey. The depths of misery are deeper than the Mariana Trench. We have a loooooooong way to go.
It's not a path worth pursuing unless "things getting worse" is your desired ends, rather than just a means to an end. You will be dead (and likely not of old age) before things get bad enough to reach a tipping point.
The better path, the path involving less human suffering, is the slow and steady march of progress. This path may not excite the minds of heady teenagers, but it WORKS.
I'm not happy about it either, but I predicted Trump would win 2024 back in 2018 when the DNC pulled their shenanigans against Bernie and nothing that's happened since then suggests a change in course.
America isn't a Democracy, it merely pretends it isn't an oligarchy.
Like hell you're not. This mindset of yours very coincidentally requires absolutely no action on your part. That's what you're happy about.
You're not evil, you're just lazy and trying to justify it.
My state has universal mail-in voting, it literally requires no effort.
Pretend I'm happy and lazy if you want, I'll be over here making plans to GTFO the USA.
Coward
One seems to presume that I would care how some rando on the internet wants to judge my character when my right to continue existing as a trans person is under active threat by my own government...
The "Last Days of the Weimar Republic" vibe has never been stronger.
Can't argue with any of your points -- I can only commiserate with the way you feel as I share a lot of the same sentiments. I appreciate the open candor and willingness to have a dialogue about this!
Likewise! I love to argue about politics but so many people just get angry when presented with a different perspective. The occasional chat like this is such a treat. ^_^
I heard a piece of a speech by the head of Salem Media Group, and he absolutely said he does not want people to vote because they have a better chance of getting christofascists into power. Just so you're aware.
The only way that is happening is if the election system changes to ranked choice voting (or similar) and there is only one party that will allow that to happen.
Why would the Democrats voluntarily give up their edge over third parties?
Because many actually believe in democracy and want this country to be better.
Then why didn't they even try to do that last time they held all three branches of government?
Because that hasn't happened for Democrats since 1969.
Then vote for a third party. It’s better than not voting at all. I live in a state that has no chance of going blue but I still vote every year. Sometimes for third party candidates.
Maybe if the PSL or the Greens run somebody worthwhile, but I'm not holding my breath.