this post was submitted on 26 Aug 2023
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Don't vote Conservative
Next year will mark my 16th year voting for democrats, all they do is kick the can and move the line. While I don't think there is anything wrong with saying don't vote conservative, I do think it's a bit like saying "CLOSE YOUR WINDOWS" when a tornado is coming. We're screwed regardless of who we vote for, the only thing that changes is the rate at which we're screwed; that is why Anon is sick of life.
Democrats are also conservatives. If you allow the oligarchs and aristocrats to choose who represents you then they will always choose candidates who rule in their interest. You can't change this system by playing within the ruleset you're given. Democratic power can only ever be wielded by unions of workers and communes of citizens. Those organizations combine and concentrate the power of regular people and can effectively wield this against the ruling class.
It’s not even a matter of “Democrat vs Republican” - do you know what they all have in common? They’re all part of the same ruling class you mentioned, and they’re all also helping the corporate owners of America push their agendas.
Like… it’s pretty damn blatant who the GOP are rooting for when you consider what rich asshats like Elongated Muskrat want, and then look at some of the policies they passed and go “oh shit.”
The FPTP voting system means everyone is held hostage voting for the party they hate the least. If you vote for a third party you just make it more likely the party you hate most will win because the vote is split.
Obviously things still wouldn't be perfect with a proportional voting system but I think it would take some power away from capitalist oligarchs because we will be able to vote for a party we like without just making the fascists more likely to win. The issue is the only two parties you can realistically vote for are highly incentivised to not change the voting system because they will lose a lot of the power they have.
Or how about everyone who wants to vote 3rd party, votes 3rd party?
I know it's a little different because my country has proportional voting system, but the first two elections the party I vote for was below the limit to be in a parliament. I still voted for them as did others and now it's one of the stronger parties.
If everyone who doesn't like both the parties starts voting 3rd party, you have a chance.
I made the mistake of voting 3rd party in 2016. Massive fucking mistake.
That's the good 'ol spoiler effect in action lol
Think about it on the constituency level, say you have a constituency with 100,000 people. One year, 60k people vote for party A and 40k for party B so party A wins. But during during the years before the next election people become disenfranchised with party A so they start voting for party C who they like more. In the following election, party A gets 30k votes, party B gets 40k votes again and party C gets 30k votes. Because FPTP is a "winner takes all" system, party B is now takes that constituency which is the the party A and C voters dislike most, even though party B got less votes than those other two. This is called the spoiler effect. When this is happening all over a country, sure maybe some constituencies will flip but for each that does like 30 will have the vote split leading to a probable landslide victory for party B.
Sure in your country, your vote was also "wasted" if your party of choice never entered parliament I suppose (although if you get to choose multiple parties in order of preference where it defaults to your second if the first doesn't get enough votes then it isn't wasted) but the ecosystem will be much more favourable to new parties growing because the way the voting system works makes it actually possible for them to do so. So the vote isn't wasted like it is in FPTP.
CGP Grey has some great videos about FPTP on his channel if you're interested in a better explanation that I can provide.
The spoiler effect was very evident when Ross Perot ran during the 1992 presidential election which put Clinton in office.
Well yes, that and the epic sax skills effect haha.
Well, at least you've got a heads-up and some choice on how fast you get screwed.
We just got a guy we didnt choose who just suddenly and royally f🇷🇺ks everyone over every few years or so
The Dems can't do anything without a majority. Give them a true majority where Sinema and Man Chin can't hold things up. Then stand the fuck back.
Give the Democrats a 4 person majority then 5 conservative Democrats will Hum and Haw about fiscal responsibility to their voters.
It is really up to hard progressives to get in and vote as a block to keep the Dems from passing watered down policy by forcing them to earn the blocks vote with real policies the public already want.
Medicare for all, free college, 20 dollar minimum wage and more all all supported by way more than 50 percent of the country.
The Dems want to lose these fights for their donors they need to be forced to do their job against their donors wishes.
America is the world.
Lots of places have conservatives for which one should not vote
Can say the same for progressives! They progressed us so far, we ended up going backwards!
Ohh that would almost be clever if it weren't conservatives dragging the world through their unga bunga bullshit.
We started with hating the gays, then we accepted gays, now we hate straights. See, backwards. "Conservitves", have been progressing in their own direction, which is not actually conservative but a branch of liberalism that focuses on things like anti abortion and more government control over that as well as border control and anti lgbt. One side of liberalism wants more government control over social things, the other wants government control over economic and state things. By things I mean.....whatever those retards are bickering about ATM I'm not sure, thats just my own conclusion.
No one cares about straight people enough to hate us. Spare me your fox news talking points about why we're actually the most persecuted group in the universe. It's old hat bullshit.
who the fuck is we? why do you hate the straights? explain how this is progressive's fault that you 'hate the straights'
No idea who hates straight people, but that line alone is telling me you need to touch grass.
No, no, I’m fairly certain you do. Please elaborate on what things you’re talking about in this context.
Some people think of politics as a circle instead of a spectrum, if that's what you mean.
From what I can tell gay people are getting a lot of hate sent their way lately. Didn't someone just get shot and killed for having a pride flag.
Yes, an old granny who ran an art gallery.
Progressive to me means fair wages, medicare for all, tackling climate change, defending civil rights, protecting against authoritarianism, tackling the wage gap, making government work for all people, etc.
Conservative means insurrection, praising authoritarianism, banning books, attacking public education, idolizing the ultra wealthy, culture wars, gerrymandering, preventing fair elections, etc.
I know what I prefer.
Can you? Examples, please.