yes please
Well heck, why not a magical pony that shits free energy for all?
Mailed my ballot today. Screw the “High Road.” It’s time for the “Chicago Way.”
I voted No and am walking my ballot to the early ballot drop boxes shortly. Stuff like this is why I can say that the Democrats and the Republicans are basically the same thing (I always vote third party). If we believe what Texas is doing is wrong (and I think we can pretty much all agree that it is), then doing the same thing to our Republicans is wrong too. The Democrats already have 43 of 52 seats in California. We have a state of nearly 40% Republicans represented by 18% of the house members. The decision to further remove their representation by allowing them only 8% of the house members is not the right thing to do. It’s stuff like this that had people staying home instead of voting for Harris in 2024. If your only choices are both evil, it’s easy to rationalize not participating. Gavin Newsom is a sleezy politician even if I do respect some of the things he has tried to accomplish in the past.
I voted today, also choosing to bring a gun to a knife fight.
No argument there. I hope it doesn’t end up being about him in 2028.
Newsom is gross. So was Bill Clinton. I don’t care. Their policies much more align with mine that anyone in the GOP.
Back to the topic at hand, I got my ballot today and it will go out in tomorrow’s mail. I voted YES and I will sleep well tonight.
No, you said that empowering liberal politics gives Trump something to attack and energizes his base. Read your post: I quoted it again.
And I pointed out that doing anything they don’t like gives Trump something to attack and energizes his base. That would include putting in blocks that prevent his team from being able to run roughshod over anybody who opposes them; or for that matter who they just don’t like.
And we were supposed to have those blocks. They’re not working.
I like some of your proposals. They don’t have a hope in hell of passing in anything like the current situation. You’re doing the equivalent of telling somebody whose house is on fire that the real solution to the problem is to build all houses out of brick with slate roofs and unless the fire department is going to concentrate on that they’re entirely useless and shouldn’t be funded.
I did, too up until 2016. When you’re up to your ass in alligators…
How’s that working out for everyone? On the other hand, if one thinks the parties are the same amount of “evil”, perhaps they’re not up to the mental task of voting.
Once you toss out that sense of proportion, it is much easier to toss any thought of responsibility for what is going on right out the window, I guess. The perfect is the enemy of the good, of course.
If people that were not up to the mental task of voting didn’t vote, we wouldn’t have this problem to begin with. The Democrats have been trying to get every moron out to vote for decades now, because they assume dumb people will vote Democrat, but, as you said, “How’s that working out for everyone?”
Moderating:
@Procacious - the first piece I quoted, as well as the second are noticeably off topic and heading towards a hijack. Your opinion of the intelligence of voters is yours to make, but it seems out of place in this thread - more of a rant, especially when it comes to refighting the 2024 Election. Let’s keep the focus just on California Prop. 50 for the moment. This applies to all the posters in thread - we have several threads on voting (or choosing not to) for the lesser of evils, or third party votes. If you want to revisit those arguments, there are more appropriate threads to do so:
Being one of the most recent, and also being a P&E thread, not a Pit thread.
I just got an email that my vote has already been counted.
Personally, I think that the No Kings rally shows the support among Democratic voters for change.
But the voters are not the politicians. Saying that you can’t trust this particular group of leaders isn’t maligning the people who want health care and to provide opportunities to immigrants.
It’s just pointing out that hundreds of thousands of citizens marched to say that they want to restore lawfulness, they want a functioning government, the re-establishment of norms, etc. And there isn’t one Democratic leader who is offering that as a party platform.
If that’s what you want - what you’re willing to go outside and march up and down the street for - I’m just pointing out that there’s more than one political leader who’s ignoring what you’re asking for.
So when it comes to No Kings, I’m out here looking for someone who is also No Kings. What happens on voting day is what matters, not on October 18. If you all got all your energy out by walking up and down the street, and now you’re willing to rubber stamp anyone who will take the vote away from people and who refuses to pass, promote, or even mention any true No Kings legislation - well, I can’t control any of you.
But you should really consider the deafening silence.
Where is the No Kings movement among the leaders? Why is it only you in the street demanding it? Why is there no echo up above?
Why can’t priority one be to fix America. I don’t think there’s a path to health care, passionate care for immigrants, or anything else if you don’t do that. Maybe you’ll get the occasional reprieve from madness every few years. But the only way to get sane government is to have government structured for sanity.
Sometimes you have to do the planning and measuring before you can get building. It’s slow and boring, but it’s the reality. Sane, non-authoritarian government is the path to everything you all want. If you listen for the person who is willing to give that to you and cut out the people who fear it, you’re going to start doing a lot better at achieving your dreams.
The current strategy of just beating that dead horse even stronger ain’t the path. Doubling down on protests and following people like Eric Adams, assuming that no person could ever put a D over their name and not have the same passions and beliefs as you, and trusting their political strategy has gotten you nowhere.
What if I’m right? What if you don’t get what you want by voting for people who simply assure you that to trust them, despite any evidence that you should do so.
This is an evidence-based forum. What’s wrong with mistrusting those who the evidence says to doubt?
You’re not alone in looking for leadership, Sage Rat.
I’m sorry you have such a low opinion of the rest of us. In my opinion, though, it isn’t all or nothing. It’s everything you can do, then maybe do a little more. I don’t suppose that if we all sit at home instead of doing protests that leadership will suddenly appear where there was none before.
Then do everything.
Demand No Kings legislation or give me the reason why not.
I don’t see that reason why not.
Why not? Why march if that don’t matter?
I saw Nancy Pelosi at the No Kings in San Francisco.
Our Member of Congress was at my local one.
The thing is, we have that legislation. What we’re not doing is using it by holding power to account. We have the system, but we don’t have leaders with the courage to stand up and (for example) jail felons even after they win elections.