Biden’s Gaza problems are deeper than just being interrupted in public
Biden’s Gaza problems are deeper than just being interrupted in public
The silence from Muslim leaders on the president’s 2024 reelection bid is speaking volumes as Biden continues to back Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza.
Trump is even worse than Biden on Gaza. I get trying to push Biden to do better, but let’s all keep the truth in mind. The actual truth, not the click bait bullshit horse race covered by the media.
Electoral pressure is literally the only lever we have to push Biden to do better. There's no other way. Biden's team is making a bet that we aren't serious and that they can just use Trump to hold us hostage in the party.
So! No ceasefire, no votes. If this war is still going on by November, and Netanyahu has been saying it will, I will not vote for Biden.
It's so easy to earn our votes! Why is Biden sabotaging his own campaign?
While I have serious issues with Biden on Israel, he really has no ability to force a ceasefire. (Short of sending US troops in to enforce it, and that would be a terrible idea.).
Biden could pull all US support for Israel, but that would create a power vacuum that China or (more likely) Russia would gladly fill. It still wouldn't end the genocide, but it would put a wedge between Iran and the Palestinians. (Iran is their only powerful ally.)
Biden's rhetoric needs to change, and we need Israel to feel some real heat for their actions, but the US doesn't have Israel on a leash.
Trump is worse than Biden on anything and everything. But if any president can get away with supporting a genocide campaign, is this not the way they get away with it? By simply claiming it will ruin their campaign efforts?
A president has already gotten away with it. Trying to selectively punish Biden now is actually a bit of hypocrisy. We should have done it in the first place. But we largely got in that position because of people who couldn't bring themselves to vote for Clinton, etc.
Biden's moves are optically bad. But make a lot of sense as far as strategy goes. Traditionally. You have a much more powerful position to bargain as an ally than as an enemy. But that does not stop people like yourself from making hyperbolic claims.
Don't get me wrong. Eileen, libertarian and communist. I have no real investment in Biden. I'm simply intelligent enough to know that he or Trump are going to win. And that he is by far the better choice. Which you yourself said. You just want to make some example of him despite your own face etc.
Unfortunately, the Democrats keep going back to the well of "what are you going to do, vote for the other guy?" Their success on this has been hit or miss the last few cycles. In fairness, it's been a viable strategy in the past, if Democrats can get those few persuadable voters in the middle of the political spectrum to vote Democratic and not Republican, that's a net win for the Democratic candidate. But, that begs the question of "are there enough persuadable voters left to offset losses when parts of your base stay home?" With Biden's continued support for Israel's actions, it seems that their political calculus says, "yes".
However, we've seen this go both ways in the last few cycles. Clinton deployed the tactic in 2016 and commenters were out in force to brow-beat any of the deplorables who offered anything less than a full-thoated support of her turn. It got her the popular vote, but that has never mattered, she lost the election. The "vote blue no matter who" force was on full display again in 2020 and managed to eek out a win. And here you are again, ramping up for 2024. It's going to be interesting to see how it works out this time.
Biden in 2020 had the advantage of being somewhat unknown. Everyone knew him as Obama's Vice President and that provided him some of Obama's popularity. This time around, he's much more of a known quantity and he's going to be running on his own record. Brow-beating people with "anyone but Trump" seems less likely to work when voters may be looking at specific policies and actions which they find at odds with their beliefs. When Biden was more of an unknown, it was easy for voters to map their own views onto him. We see this with polls which include "generic Democrat/Republican" as an option. People map their own views onto the "generic" view and so are more supportive. When a candidate becomes a known quantity, support can drop off, as the voters know which areas they agree and disagree with a particular politician. In the same way, Biden's policies are now more understood by the voters and people may be less inclined to support him based on those policies.
Personally, I'm doubtful this sort of brow-beating is going to work this cycle. Biden's popularity isn't fantastic and he's too well known for people to map their views onto him. Moreover, responding to people being upset with his actions with a brow-beating seems like a poor response to peoples' legitimate issues. It seems more likely to convince them to disengage or push back even harder. Sure, what are they going to do, vote for the other guy? No, probably not, but they may also not show up on election day. And with the closely divided state of the US electorate, that might just be enough to swing things the other way.
I get trying to push Biden to do better
Do you, as a group, though?
Every time someone posts an article about how it's a bad thing that Biden is actively contributing to a genocide, the top comment is Trump whataboutism.
Yes, Trump is much worse, both on Israel and in general, but that's not the fucking point!
Biden ain't doing shit. He's gonna go to Michigan and lie, then he's going to maintain the same policies the US has for decades. It's silly to think otherwise. And so it goes.
Trump is much worse, both on Israel and in general, but that's not the fucking point!
Except that the only two actual choices for the next 4 year cycle are Trump and Biden. Do that really us the point.
Putting your progressive politics focus on the president is a losing game, anyway. Praxis is local.
On foreign policy the US remains a genocidal bully with questionable morals and alliances. But domestically the Democrats present a veneer of somewhat moral, inclusive values. So with the presented choice I would recommend to go with the seemingly moral guy and try to hold him accountable, rather than vote for the fascist maniac that acts the same domestically and foreign.
Just hope you get locally active to organize a stronger left for the future.
The thing is: Without threatening their ability to get reelected you have no ability to hold them accountable.
The Canadian Conservative party is the one that usually runs on "imagine/look at how bad the other guy would be" as a party platform. It's a bad look and a sign that you have nothing better. It's politicking for the sake of politicking.
It is a bad look and a sign of a lack of good options, but that's the situation.
Also, all Canadian parties run like that except for the Greens and the Bloc, and it's probably because they know they won't form a government
Guys. Vote in your interests. Sure Biden might be a complicit war criminal but the other guy is a domestic criminal who would be an enthusiastic war criminal given half a chance.
Secure your country from the Putin's pet orangutan for another four years, then rake Biden across the coals.
If we're lucky, we won't have to deal with either of them in 2028.
So... When your choices are between two war criminals, your first thought isn't that the system needs change but that we should vote for the war criminal with a track record of war crimes?
When will sweet death take them?
Hopefully before it takes us
Why does CNN put genocide in quotes in the article after the international court has already ruled that the actions in Gaza meet the definition?
"Journalistic integrity"
PS: but also what the other person said.
Technically, they only ruled that genocide is plausible enough to hear the case (and that South Africa has a right to bring the case).
Imagine thinking you'll even be able to legally protest if Trump is president.
Is this what we can expect for every criticism of the Biden administration for the next year? All you are really telling swing voters is that their opinion is irrelevant. What do you think that will do for turnout? Why do you think the administration itself isn't making use of this brilliant electoral strategy? When Trump wins, you can thank the guy in the mirror.
Trump would probably bomb the shit out of Palestine.
Then the result is the same. Thanks, Biden.
Biden isn't sending drones to bomb Palestine, to my knowledge. I'm saying that Trump would do that. If Trump were in power, it would probably be worse.
Not to excuse Biden, and his complete apathy for this ongoing genocide. It is unexcusable, and no one who tolerates genocide should be allowed anywhere near politics.
It’s already been decimated. By Joe Biden.
If you think that’s a good enough argument, you are severely mistaken.
Yeah so vote for the guy that will bomb them even more AND ALSO fuck our own country and our own people.
Biden and his staff keep going on about conversations and listening; do they not realize conversations are meaningless if you don't intend to put what you hear into action? He's like that guy who just keeps nodding while not paying attention and is wondering why nobody appreciates his "listening".