Agreed.
Hitler is understandably used in these discussions because most of us here, including me, know a fair amount about German history. But I favor comparing with historical democratic backsliding in other presidential republics, including Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico:
Democratic backsliding in Mexico: Lessons for opponents of authoritarian populism
One lesson: Do not give up.
You make it sound so easy. In reality, politics is hard, and winning elections is hard. Beating fascist populists is hard, not easy. It wasn’t the Jews (or German liberals) fault that Hitler gained power in Germany. It wasn’t the kulaks (or Russian anti communists) fault that Stalin gained power in the USSR. It’s not liberals’ fault that Trump gained power, or that he might win again.
Biden beat an incumbent fascist populist – that’s not an easy task. He may have been the only one in 2020 who could have done it. He’s far from a perfect candidate, but since Obama is ineligible (and Michelle uninterested), I see no evidence that anyone would necessarily be any better.
I haven’t concluded anything.
But are you so blind that you can’t see that he’s old and corrupt? /s
Extrapolation from known values. 
It’s amazing how many people have convinced themselves that living according to ‘cut off my nose to spite my face’ is the way to achieve a safe, happy, and prosperous life.
The trouble is, of course, that the choice (in this case, to throw their support from Biden to Trump) that will teach them how wrong they’ve been, will also punish all the rest of us.
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It’s not just the vote–the choice to decline to vote for Biden–that will entitle the chooser to a share of the blame. It’s the advocacy. Not only on a message board like this one, but in personal interactions or elsewhere on the internet.
Of course there are professionals engaged in this advocacy on behalf of…whoever. (American billionaires and foreign autocrats alike, in addition to ‘chaos is good’ nutbars of the Steve Bannon ilk.) Not that I’m claiming to see such professionalism here in particular. But we have to expect a lot of it in coming months throughout the entire media landscape.
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I notice that this reasonable question has been studiously ignored by the ‘don’t vote for Biden’ advocates.
I’d say the voters are to blame. Specifically me. Specifically a lack of effort.
I compare it to the Christian religion…if you really believed you would go to hell if you didn’t do x, y, z, then you would not act so casual about how you go through life. Like that, if I truly believed a Trump presidency would be the “end of the world” then I would not be so casual and un-proactive about how I treat the election and a Biden loss.
I do think a Trump presidency would be the “end of the world” and yet I’m fairly passive about it. There are a lot (or enough) of eligible voters who won’t vote, for whatever reason, and if they did vote for Biden, he would win.
The difference between the sky will fall if Trump wins and me doing something proactive that requires real energy and effort to prevent it is what is to blame…or rather, I hear Shogun is good, I might give it a watch. Maybe Sugar. Probably both.
Voting is so low effort in the first place that I think the blame falls entirely on voters.
You have three clear choices. The two main candidates or third party throwaway aka not voting at all.
If you have a choice between a full tyrant and a half tyrant you vote for the half tyrant. Because the half tyrant is comparatively better. Even if the half tyrant is the second worst person in the country, the tyrant is the worst. You vote because you can make lives measurably better for the unit of the election.
You don’t throw your tantrum about “the half tyrant must earn my vote.” You make the vote that measurably is better among your choices. If you don’t, you are indeed a bad person.
An aphorism from industry keeps coming to mind: Don’t make the perfect the enemy of the good.
ISTM there are lots of ways to protest Biden’s actions, policies or mannerisms – from quaint old-fashioned letters to the editor to social media diatribes to actual, in-person protests.
But voting 3rd party (or not voting at all) shouldn’t be one of them.
*Oh sure, someone may still look at all the 3rd party votes and say, Gee, I wonder what caused that. Let’s knuckle down and find out what those voters want. But I wouldn’t count on it.
Talking about propaganda, on MSNBC.
Even if what she’s saying is true, (which was said to have been “disingenuous” professor of history and Middle East expert at Syracuse University in TNYT), does she have to be so condescending? Does she want more young people to refrain from voting? She’s not doing Biden any favors, in my humble opinion.
This one statement is so true and it is so mind-boggling that some people find voting to be such an effort (though in the US it certainly seems to be).
But regardless of everything else, I believe that this ultimately falls on the voters (or non-voters as the case may be) until the deterrence levels reach a danger point.
IMHO, what Trump and the GOP do is so egregious that it rises clearly above the random, ambient noise generated by the various media.
But, if half of the electorate is that spectacularly stupid and ignorant (as it seems to be), then whose fault is that?
I’ve disagreed with almost everything you’ve written in this thread – but here, you’re right on.
Things in Gaza seem to have gotten to a point were it shouldn’t matter.
What she said has been contested.
And she acts as if kids are just stupid. You’re too dumb if your that young, unless we need you for WW3.
The replies here show that Democrats will just continue to blame us third party voters once again. I’ve gotten used to them calling voters like me stupid and uninformed, like many people on this thread are doing, and I just don’t care anymore. Keep alienating leftist voters and continue to be surprised when we don’t come out and vote for your candidates.
And every time Hillary has decided to chime in with her condescending and elitist attitude it just further reinforces my decision not to vote for her. That was one of the reasons she ended up losing in the first place.
I don’t know. I don’t see protests in the way you see them, I guess. Right now, I think a lot of peeps are pissed off at people dying in our name with our money. HRC, How did Iraq turn out? How did Libya turn out? But it’s THEM who need to be educated?
It’s all bullshit, and once again, I’m voting for Biden. I don’t see how you can defend Hillary here. If it weren’t for the protests, no one would know that anyone over here actually cares. What else can they do?
I’m kinda doubting that anyone in Gaza (et al) is really making an effort to keep up on protests in America . . . I’m betting they’ve got other, far more important, things to do like not getting killed.
So, you don’t think they can learn when all is done? Some already do, so…
Americans, protesting an American war, in America got . . . Nixon elected, twice.
Everyone’s to blame but the rule makers.
Exactly. I challenged them that if I voted my protest vote it’s because Biden (nor Trump) convinced me to vote for them. Their reply is effectively I’m an ahole for not voting for a Dem or Pub. I’m guessing their point is that twice as many choices as Russia or North Korea give you so yay America? It’s important to vote, as long you vote for who we want you to because rights?