i dont think we talk enough about how the senate as a whole concept is steaming hot garbage
james madison literally said the senate exists to protect the opulent lol
just. in what universe should wyoming get the same amt of representation as new york. the founding fathers didnt even know what a million was. that number wasnt out yet
Tag: us pol
listen.
don’t vote for the best candidate.
vote for the one most likely to remove a republican.
it’s that simple.
Vote them out.
Vote for the candidate that sees every person as a human being.
not if they can’t win, buddy. i’m serious. LISTEN. VOTE OUT THE REPUBLICANS. EVEN IF THAT MEANS VOTING IN SOME REGULAR ASSHOLES.
if the candidate who sees every person as a human being is green party, then you vote for the democrat who sees every person as a stepping stone, because unless we get rid of the republican who sees every person as a target a lot of us are going to goddamn die. people are dying already. like, not to guilt you, but if we don’t get a democratic majority in the house and senate ASAP we’re screwed.
it doesn’t fucking matter if you voted for Jesus Actual Christ if he was running on a penny ante party ticket. we need you to vote for Joe Slick Bastard Democrat instead, because there is no such thing as a green party majority in the senate, do you understand? there will not be a green party speaker of the house. green party will not get to put up supreme court nominees.
if you vote for the Good People instead of the democrats, we’re gonna end up back in this toilet bowl again, only deeper this time because the republicans will take it as a mandate to do whatever they want.
take a deep breath, put on rubber gloves, and touch the poop. don’t be precious.
In the primary you vote for the best candidate. In the general you vote for the person who can remove the Republican. You have your chance to do both.
In the primary you vote for the best candidate. In the general you vote for the person who can remove the Republican.
I read on another post “this is about setting the difficulty of our boss battle for the next two years” and that is absolutely true. You’re not voting for someone you agree with, you’re not voting for someone who is perfect or great or even good.
You are voting for the person who is a) going to get elected and b) is easiest to fight for what you need. Until we move the needle, the best we can expect is ‘the best of all enemies’ and not ‘an ally’.
Something to remember, as the election approaches:
The work is never wasted.
Even if the Republicans keep control of Congress–yes, that would be terrible, yes, I would be furious and frustrated and sad and it would hurt like hell–EVEN SO: the work we have done to get here was not wasted.
I was part of the previous “biggest worldwide protest ever,” the global protests against the Iraq War in February 2003.
We lost. The war happened. Is still happening.
But some of the people who got involved then worked for Obama’s campaigns, a lot of them are part of the resistance now, and all of us learned something. The work was not wasted.
Even if we lose. There were Democratic primary debates in my hometown for the first time I can remember. Even if our terrible Republican Congresswoman gets re-elected, there’s still a broader and stronger Democratic Party organization in Mike Fucking Pence’s home state.
The election can’t be an end. It will only be an end if we win and get complacent, or if we lose and give in to hopelessness. We cannot afford either. We do the job that is in front of us. No matter what.
The work is never wasted.
Hey so friendly reminder about voting and elections that I haven’t seen going around yet but is SUPER IMPORTANT.
Watch what you wear and say while you’re waiting in line for the voting booth/at the polls. It is against federal law to do anything that might be considered campaigning once you’re there, and since we know that voter suppression is the name of the game this election, there will be people looking for ANY reason to remove you from the polling place. And they will nitpick. You have a shirt with a artistic picture of donkey on it? You’re visibly supporting the Democrats, you’re disqualified from voting. Want to wear a Black Lives Matter shirt? Not there you don’t. They’ll call it intimidation and kick you out. Pins, buttons, stickers, none of it. Wear the most bland, plain clothes you can imagine.
And then keep your mouth shut. Even the slightest hint of discussion about which candidate you’re voting for can get used against you. Don’t assume the people around you are safe to discuss it with. You might be overheard. There WILL people watching for these things, hoping to get rid of anyone they can. Voter suppression isn’t just about making registration impossible. It happens at the polling stations too. Be smart, be bland, be quiet, and make sure your vote gets in.
Also- and I have seen this mentioned but it bears repeating- DO NOT TAKE A PICTURE OF YOUR BALLOT. EVER. It’ll also disqualify your vote. Take a selfie when you’re out of their with your fun little sticker.
The ballot selfie thing is sort of true, but it depends where you live.
Here’s a list that was updated in 2016. (I didn’t see one for 2018, sorry.)
Are Voting Selfies Legal? We Have the Answer in All 50 States
a lot of my friends have been noting that none of the “get out there and vote!” posts actually have any resources attached to them, so they’re great for motivation but if you don’t know how to vote they can really stress you out. so i compiled a list of resources that hopefully can help!
Step 1: Registration
- ‘Can I Vote’ is a nonpartisan website that has resources to check if you’re registered to vote. Just click ‘voter registration’ on the front page and input your state.
- If you find out you need to register, Vote.gov can tell you your options. Some states will let you do it online!
Step 2: Preparation
- Once you know you’re registered, you need to find out where to go on election day (this is important!). Can I vote also has a tool for this.
- Different states have different requirements for ID. You can check what you need to bring with you here.
- Here’s the most confusing bit! Figuring out who you’re voting for. Don’t know who’s running? Ballotpedia is a godsend. The page in the link looks very confusing, but all you have to do is click your state in each of the right-hand boxes. Those will take you to a page that will explain who from each party is running for the Senate and the House. Ballotpedia will also tell you if your state has same-day voter registration. If you’ve missed the cutoff to register, you might still be able to do it on election day, so check that on your state’s voting page!
- Preview your ballot online so you’ll know what it looks like on the day. Most ballots will also have yes/no votes on important issues, so it’s good to know what that’s about before you go. Ballotpedia has a ballot preview tool; just give it your state and it will give you a rundown of all the questions your ballot will throw at you.
Step 3: Voting!
- Polling places can be crowded and the wait can be long to vote. Don’t freak out! Bring a book or some music/podcasts to listen to while you wait.
- If you can’t make it on the day, you still have options! Find your state on this Ballotpedia page and click to learn more. The page it takes you to will have links and information on how to get an absentee ballot in your state. If you plan on absentee voting, hurry! The deadlines to apply and vote are usually sooner than the actual election day.
Most of all, remember: this election could swing the house and the senate, giving Democrats more control over new laws and legislation for years to come. You’re not a bad person if you can’t vote, but it’s a lot easier than you might think!
Let’s get out there and change the world!
unless you’re planning on starting and completing a socialist revolution by november 6th there is absolutely no reason to abstain from voting. it is not a blood pact. you are not beholden to democrats when you vote for them over abstaining. there IS a lesser of two evils and it’s not inaction. every republican voted in kavanaugh and only one democrat did. statistically we are literally safer with democrats in office.
and no, i’m not planning on relinquishing communist ideals in deference to dems. i just don’t think as black and white as “anything short of a communist revolution is useless.” roe v wade is in jeopardy and women WILL die if it gets overturned. leftists sitting on their asses are about as useful as the thoughts and prayers of school shootings
me sitting here two weeks before the midterm elections watching my twitter and tumblr feeds fill up w/ memes and discourse about how voting is useless and democrats aren’t gonna save us: uh guys? guys? hey guys? guys? you guys? guys? hey you guys? you guys? guys? uh guys? guys? guys? guys?
one of the most common tactics of the right isn’t to change who you vote for. they know that’s unlikely to work. it’s to do everything in their power to make sure you decide to stay home.
republican turnout wasn’t actually that high in the last election. democratic turnout was just fucking abysmal, because of attitudes like this.
Because I remember disinformation being spread around the last election and I’m sure Russia will bring it back:
- YOU CAN’T VOTE ONLINE.
- YOU CAN’T VOTE FROM YOUR PHONE.
- IN MANY STATES THERE ARE LEGAL CONSEQUENCES FOR PHOTOGRAPHING YOUR BALLOT.
- DO NOT WEAR CAMPAIGN GEAR TO THE POLLS.
- DO NOT TRY TO PERSUADE PEOPLE TO VOTE FOR A CANDIDATE AT THE POLLS.
- DO NOT ENGAGE IN ANY KIND OF POLITICAL DISCOURSE AT THE POLLS.
- NO ELECTION IS EVER A SURE THING, EVEN IF YOU’RE IN THE BLUEST OR REDDEST OF STATES. IF SOMEONE TRIES TO TELL YOU THAT YOU CAN SIT THIS ONE OUT, THEY ARE EITHER IGNORANT OR MALICIOUS.
- VOTE.
Seeing some people on Tumblr still bitching about how it’s too late for voting and the only thing that will fix things is revolution.
How about you fucking vote anyway? It’s not going to seriously cut into your “sitting on the couch waiting for a revolution to start” time.
There’s no “none of the above” option here. You want a revolution, fine, but there’s still little shit to do in the meantime.
You can vote AND protest. They’re not exclusive. Hell, you can even protest the person you voted for when they fuck up. You’re not signing a blood oath with your ballot. But a desire for an ideologically pure candidate or nothing only serves the status quo right now.
it is extremely difficult to express my fear and terror toward the GOP and the prospects of a GOP rigged SCOTUS to non-Americans when non-Americans are idiots who casually compare their milquetoast center-right liberal conservative parties to the GOP.
Like, it really did dawn on me when I was watching Canadians wantonly compare Doug Ford to Trump for scrapping a sex ed curriculum and lamenting that the Progressive Conservatives is no better than the GOP that many non-American westerners genuinely don’t comprehend how authoritarian, demagogueic and powerful the GOP is. Like, they just kinda see them as goofy christ loving gun nuts and not like, a far-right ultranationalist party that directly associates with multiple Christian extremist cults, a very strong history of disenfranchising nonwhite citizens, a tendency towards authoritarian policies that have gradually turned several states into borderline hybrid regimes, and has dehumanized its opposition as being part of a radical communist fifth column that is secretly destroying the country through the help of the FBI, Antifa and corporations. And now has control over the country’s judicial system.
Though I guess Americans kinda share the blame. Since I am seeing more than a few who are acting as if we could take back SCOTUS if we just elected a few GOP senators out of office and made Susan Collins rue the day she messed with the #Resistance or whatever.
i’ve been told multiple times by europeans that i am exaggerating the GOP’s extremism when they are told of it because ‘that doesnt happen in the first world anymore, we arent like that anymore’ and comments like that
it rly be like that sometimes
valerian house archive 