politics

It's also not just voting against Trump.

Biden on climate is an A student. The inflation reduction act, according to basically every climate wonk, gives us a real chance at achieving necessary goals both under its regime and thanks to further future legislation it certainly unlocks. Things are looking less bad right now than they have for a long time in spite of all the worsening indicators. And it's written with intense virtuous cycles built-in that will make it VERY sticky policy once it builds up a couple of years worth of inertia. The fact that he got it past an overtly hostile senate that had at least 51 anti-science, anti-climate, fossil fuel shills turning up to vote is nothing short of a policy miracle.

Trump, on the other hand, has vowed to reverse everything that could still be reversed about the IRA (a frustratingly large amount, unfortunately, could still be undone by executive fiat thanks to its still-developing political base). He's vowed to double down on every kind of fossil fuel subsidy. He's vowed to restore coal power even though it's horrible for everyone involved and the most expensive kind of energy production. He's vowed to fight windmills just because he doesn't like their aesthetics -- literal quixotic shit.

I won't defend Biden on Israel for even one millisecond. His position is heinous. It's evil. And if he loses in November, it will almost certainly be the reason why and he'll deserve it. But it will probably also spell actual global war and apocalypse fueled by climate within all of our lifetimes. It may sound dramatic, but a Trump win will bring us from feast to famine and may spell the actual end of our civilization.

Who could have possibly seen that coming 🤔

That’s how it is. You wouldn’t think so the way some members of the left attack other members of the left on Lemmy, but it’s always been mostly Republican support.

Republicans refused to sign the aid bill for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. They then tried to create a standalone bill for Israel, but Biden said he’d veto it. They only came around to signing it after the Iran retaliation.

When Biden paused shipment of arms in order to conduct a State Department investigation of Israel’s acts, House Republicans drafted legislation in an attempt to force the President’s hand to release the shipment.

Republicans have been the primary antagonists in the Israel-Iran proxy war since it started under Reagan. It’s about money and power, nothing else.

It’s also worth noting that 79% of Jewish-Americans are Democrats.

People who follow polling have been saying this since December.

Liberals on Lemmy like to live in a self-deluded bubble where their blind support for Biden means he stands a chance in November. The fact is he basically can't win with his stance on Gaza. He's not exactly doing great in other regards, but he literally can't win if he doesn't about face.

If he can't win with the policy position, and he won't change the policy position, your only option as a voter is to take your vote elsewhere. Democrats lose the election if they stick with Biden.

Its not too late. We haven't had a convention. Everything can still change. Larger mountains have been moved. If enough likely-Democratic voters show they won't vote for Biden with this position, we can move him, but you have to voice your position now while there is still time for him to pivot.

Likewise, going into the convention, if Biden was smart and cared about the future of our democracy, he could assign his delegates to another candidate. This would allow Biden to bear the burden of the Israeli genocide as being enabled through his foreign policy, allowing the rest of the Democrats to pivot to a policy position that actually sets them up to win in November.

Here is an article from January that explains it:

Democratic delegates are "pledged" rather than "bound" to a candidate, and while party rules say that delegates "shall in all good conscience" reflect the views of those who elected them, Kamarck said there is no penalty if a delegate votes differently. This could make it easier for Democrats to adjust to a highly fraught situation in which the incumbent president has unexpectedly left the picture.

It wouldn't be that different if he suddenly croaked (which is a real possibility for an octogenarian.). Effectively the delegates would go to the convention unpledged, and the decision gets made at the convention.

Smartest move politically would be for Biden to step down now and designate a successor. Its what he should have done instead of running again, but by continuing to run a non-viable candidate, Democrats are giving blue ocean for Trump to win.