Thank you for this very important advice/reminder of how much worse the situation will be if Trump gains the presidency. We really have no choice but to vote for Biden at this time. And in the event that Biden wins, public pressure might thereafter be more effective. Having this issue in an election year with a possible Trump/GOP victory makes voting for Biden absolutely necessary. There is no alternative. This hurts but we have to do it.
Just stumbled across this article and couldn't agree more. One thing I would urge you to consider promoting to your network in these last two days to help prevent a Donald Trump presidency is the organization SwapYourVote (which I'm not affiliated with but have found to be very effective). They aim to help voters in swing states who plan to vote for 3rd party candidates with a way to vote their conscience and defeat Trump at the same time. A voter in a swing state who wants to vote third-party votes for Harris instead. In return, two Harris supporters in solidly Democratic states vote for the third-party candidate. The result is twice as many "protest" votes, while Harris secures the swing state votes, effectively blocking Trump's path to power, which is most urgent to prevent the humanitarian crisis in Gaza from worsening. At the same time, this puts pressure on the Democrats. It might be worth spreading the word about this, as it could tip the balance against Trump while doubling the power of "conscience" 3rd party votes, but in deep blue states. It's a win-win-win for such voters.
I saw a piece earlier today that persuasively argued that 100% of the problems in the Middle East can be traced to Trump. He killed the Iran deal. He moved the embassy to Jerusalem. Kushner's Abraham Accords ignored the Palestinians. And Hamas got more powerful in no small part because Bibi funded them to marginalize the PLO. Iran got in bed with Russia and China. The West Bank became a killing ground as ultra right wing Israelis murdered Palestinians. And the list goes on...
Saying that there’s no difference between Biden and Trump is lazy, cheap cynicism.
Paul, I don’t see Joe Biden as this endlessly malleable creature subject to activist pressure. He’s a Democratic willing to accept the greater wisdom the party—a key element of party identity that progressives miss or dismiss. In that light, activists should working to persuade me, not Joe Biden. Frankly, they are doing a poor job of it, whether with tepid “grieve for all lives lost” statements* in response to October 7, counterproductive tactics (blocking roads and heckling 90-year Holocaust survivors doesn’t win many people over), denial of sexual violence committed by Hamas, and the muddled messages that have emerged from the campus protests at mostly elite schools.
* If I thought that “All Lives Matter” was a bullshit response BLM, which I did, why would I think any differently about “grieving for all lives lost”?
This is not a war on Gaza. This is a war on the terrorist group Hamas. This is a war in Gaza that Hamas uses as a terrorist base and its residents as pawns.
Thank you for this very important advice/reminder of how much worse the situation will be if Trump gains the presidency. We really have no choice but to vote for Biden at this time. And in the event that Biden wins, public pressure might thereafter be more effective. Having this issue in an election year with a possible Trump/GOP victory makes voting for Biden absolutely necessary. There is no alternative. This hurts but we have to do it.
Just stumbled across this article and couldn't agree more. One thing I would urge you to consider promoting to your network in these last two days to help prevent a Donald Trump presidency is the organization SwapYourVote (which I'm not affiliated with but have found to be very effective). They aim to help voters in swing states who plan to vote for 3rd party candidates with a way to vote their conscience and defeat Trump at the same time. A voter in a swing state who wants to vote third-party votes for Harris instead. In return, two Harris supporters in solidly Democratic states vote for the third-party candidate. The result is twice as many "protest" votes, while Harris secures the swing state votes, effectively blocking Trump's path to power, which is most urgent to prevent the humanitarian crisis in Gaza from worsening. At the same time, this puts pressure on the Democrats. It might be worth spreading the word about this, as it could tip the balance against Trump while doubling the power of "conscience" 3rd party votes, but in deep blue states. It's a win-win-win for such voters.
If folks like you would stop making this a two-way race (for President) things might actually change.
There are alternatives and those are the paths which will actually produce substantive change.
Recall Vidal: "there is one party, the property party with two right wings . . . ." (paraphrase)
People of conscience cannot vote for thieves and murderers.
I’ve recently come to a similar conclusion, the reason to vote Biden is to rake him and his war crimes gang over coals.
I saw a piece earlier today that persuasively argued that 100% of the problems in the Middle East can be traced to Trump. He killed the Iran deal. He moved the embassy to Jerusalem. Kushner's Abraham Accords ignored the Palestinians. And Hamas got more powerful in no small part because Bibi funded them to marginalize the PLO. Iran got in bed with Russia and China. The West Bank became a killing ground as ultra right wing Israelis murdered Palestinians. And the list goes on...
Saying that there’s no difference between Biden and Trump is lazy, cheap cynicism.
Paul, I don’t see Joe Biden as this endlessly malleable creature subject to activist pressure. He’s a Democratic willing to accept the greater wisdom the party—a key element of party identity that progressives miss or dismiss. In that light, activists should working to persuade me, not Joe Biden. Frankly, they are doing a poor job of it, whether with tepid “grieve for all lives lost” statements* in response to October 7, counterproductive tactics (blocking roads and heckling 90-year Holocaust survivors doesn’t win many people over), denial of sexual violence committed by Hamas, and the muddled messages that have emerged from the campus protests at mostly elite schools.
* If I thought that “All Lives Matter” was a bullshit response BLM, which I did, why would I think any differently about “grieving for all lives lost”?
This is not a war on Gaza. This is a war on the terrorist group Hamas. This is a war in Gaza that Hamas uses as a terrorist base and its residents as pawns.
Not any more. The ICC has now issued arrest warrants for both the Hamas leader and Bibi, saying one injustice cannot be the basis of another