You must log in or # to comment.
It really isn’t leftists’ fault, though. Trump easily won the popular vote and flipped georgia, pennsylvania, and wisconsin from their dem vote in 2020. Low voter turnout/voter suppression are the real culprits - along with dems failing to do almost any of the things that could’ve changed this outcome. Leftist memes did not lose dems the election. Voter apathy and the sheer popularity of fascism did.
Leftist memes did not lose dems the election. Voter apathy and the sheer popularity of fascism did.
I’m not necessarily attributing blame here, but I’m pretty sure that OP is suggesting that leftist memes helped lead to this apathy. Say what you will, Trump voters were excited for their candidate… somehow, despite the list of reasons not to being far too long to be listed here. But many on the left either were just lukewarm on her, just considered her the lesser of two evils, or were protest voting third party or abstaining for one reason or another, mostly over Palestine. And there were memes galore to make clear to everyone what the general mood was. It doesn’t exactly inspire enthusiasm to those that need that a lot of enthusiasm to even bother (those people are frustrating, btw). I don’t know how much it actually contributed to or propogated the apathy versus how much it just reflected the apathy already there, but a case could be made either way.
They didn’t lead to the apathy - they pointed out the existing apathy would cost Dems the election. It’s like saying the person who said you need to wear a seatbelt caused the wreck.
You’re exactly right about people being excited for Trump and lukewarm on Harris, but that’s entirely on the Democrats for picking the platform and strategy that lost to Trump in 2016.
Harris had a notable and surprising lead when they announced Biden was out - then they changed nothing else. People didn’t just not like the candidate, they didn’t like the policies. They only changed the candidate and thought Trump was a big enough cudgel to bully people into voting even though that demonstrably doesn’t work.
Why do you think the turnout was so low? Millions of idiots were pressuring people to withhold their vote over Palestine in a colossal self-fuck. That is if you assume these people spreading that are really that stupid. Some were, but I think a large percentage were paid trolls. And their campaigning worked. Russia owns the United States now
It can’t possibly be because that’s a real concern. They had to be paid actors. You sound like Infowars after a school shooting.
yeah because cambridge analytica was also a hoax
Are you seriously comparing a fucking genocide to an info op?
Removed by mod
You still don’t get it do you? Blaming the people you need to persuade is not a winning strategy. They aren’t going to magically like you suddenly.
Holding people accountable for their actions that affect you is an entirely just and necessary thing to do.
Removed by mod
Another contributor to low turnout was massive voter suppression. It’d be interesting to see that quantified. Hundreds of thousands of voters were being purged in each of several states. The single-issue Gaza vote was lost in the noise of those gross examples of electoral manipulation.
I’m sure you’re right. It’s hard to know where to focus the blame most, but I am livid that this country is worse than my worst fears. On a certain level I am losing any desire to even care specifically how/why. I wouldn’t have considered not voting before this but now I honestly am 99.9% of the way to saying fuck it all.
I distinctly remember hearing about unusually high voter turnout.
It just wasn’t blue voters.
If Harris had campaigned on the issues she would have had so many Republican women jump ship. Just look at how many of them voted for abortion in Missouri.
There’s a million reasons people have given me for voting Trump, none of them rational. But the classic tropes of fear and disgust won out again. I’m old enough to remember the 2004 election, then it was gay people. Now it’s trans people and dark-skinned migrants. I really didn’t think those old tropes would work this time, but it just keeps working. Americans will just keep falling for it, apparently.
While it’s depressing that we’re reminded of the power of dumb at hateful people yet again, we should remember that nothing actually changed in that regard this election. We’re just discovering what’s always been there beneath the surface. I don’t think the malaise we’re feeling now is so much about what Trump will do - sure scores of people will die from bad policy, but that’s nothing new. Rather, we’re upset about what this reveals about ourselves. But we shouldn’t be upset about the act of revelation, because it tells us what we need to fix.
Removed by mod
It wasn’t ‘voter apathy’ it was a misplaced sense of voter moral superiority. It’s the thing leftist rhetoric has been weak to for a very long time. That love of withholding support except for perfection. The idea that compromise or chosing a lesser evil from two bad options dirties you. It doesn’t matter what you lost if you personally took “the high ground”.
This cutting of our noses to spite our face was exploited all to shit this election. They lulled people by appealing to the same zeal of righteousness that they know divides us fundamentally knowing that when push comes to shove people will turn up their noses on principle of not being personally catered to and forget that their ability to help at all is contingent on the freedoms that one party was explicitly putting on the chopping block.
It will be a while before people can admit that they were duped and there’s a lot of fault to go around, particularly in those funded astroturf campaigns designed to bait the hook… The right have been watching us for the past decade they knew how to divide us and it is on US that so many of us fell for it.
Dude, wow okay. let me inform you how voting works.
- a person (or group) has ideas, and says ‘hey friends, support me so I can implement these ideas’
- people then look at your ideas and say ‘oh that sounds grand!’ or ‘No thanks, pass’
- the person who gets the most people to say ‘oh that sounds grand!’ wins.
now here is the thing. harris ‘grand idea’ was a fucking genocide, and no support for labor. this isn’t about fucking moral superiority. its about a complete fucking lack of morals by harris across the board.
If you walk into a fucking room of people and tell them to ‘join you for some genocide’ dear fucking god do I hope they tell you to fuck right off. Now unfortunately 30% of the population is down for genocide. another 30% are willing to go along with it if you threaten them enough (or won’t impact them personally). and a final 30% is like ‘lulz newp’. Why the democrats thought it would be good policy to try to out compete genocidal fucks at their own game for votes is beyond me.
Removed by mod
Do you remember the number on this “incumbent advantage”? The establishment didn’t just switch out Biden on a whim. Biden literally fucked his chances at winning at the debate. You are barking up the wrong tree
Removed by mod
Biden was never going to win. He is actively losing his marbles. It was so painfully obvious even Democrats had to accept it.
Yes incumbent advantage is real, but Biden had so many other disadvantages that he’d have never won.
It sucks but it is what it is.
Biden was never going to win. He is actively losing his marbles. It was so painfully obvious even Democrats had to accept it.
And yet now everyone has to pretend that a single coherent thought comes out of Trumps mouth in any given 5 minutes.
Did I say I’m happy about trump either? No. It just is what it is. The democrat party knew that pushing for Biden last election had a chance for this to happen.
Can I borrow your crystal ball sometime?
Sure, it makes for a great lens. You can use it to read the writing on the wall.
Oh, I misunderstood. I thought what you were saying is that you can somehow magically know all possible realities for sure despite that being impossible. My bad.
It is an advantage useful when it’s not enough to win? Do you not remember the numbers at the time?! For all the pro genocide and ignoring of his base, going on TV and having a senior moment for an hour ended all discussion on the matter. The fact that the internal fighting in its aftermath is proof that Biden did not have the confidence of his base. Harris is the current vice president, if you wanted an incumbent advantage that it’s what you had. And to argue that “burden would have won i told you so!” Is to argue from ignorance. You don’t know, and all evidence pointed to it not being so.
I mean, if they really really really wanted that incumbent advantage, Biden could have stepped out.
Removed by mod
What i do know is that confidence in Biden was in the shitter. Wile republicans have never had any consideration about trumps mental decline as long as he was their monster, left wing voters are fractional based on attaining left ideals, of which Biden did not achieve. Add on to that where Biden was in Obvious decline, it’s no wonder that there was infighting on his viability. The fact that there was even a discussion means that the incumbency was worth fuck and all.
You should be angry but all evidence points to your “i told you so!” Is incorrect. Trump won the popular vote, end of.
Hey, I know you don’t know me, but I want you to know that depriving us of what you can bring will only make it worse. I’ve found that I can keep myself alive by living for the people around me. Right now what’s keeping me going is touching base with everyone, seeing how they’re doing, asking them if they’ve made any plans, and telling them about my plans to move forward. Direct action just got a whole lot harder and more dangerous, but giving up now only makes the problem worse. One foot in front of the other, until you get the rhythm, Then follow it. I believe in you.
Removed by mod
If you’re able to move and see a Dr you’re doing better than most.
I was suicidal for other reasons and found my way out of the hole I dug myself in. I honestly hope you can too. It sounds like you’re a passionate person and you can place that passion somewhere that does good for the world.
Hey, chasing republican votes didn’t work this time, but I’m sure it will next time. Definitely don’t try appealing to the left.
Do you think we’ll get primaries back? And not the fake ones we’re use to.
No way, the rabble might ask for someone that doesn’t allow Nancy Pelosi to openly do insider trading.
Then the rabble wont show up for elections. No better way to drain the energy out of a voter base then to make their voices feel unheard.
Then the rabble wont show up for elections. No better way to drain the energy out of a voter base then to make their voices feel unheard.
Democrats will never understand this.
As long as progressives (and correspondingly, everybody) gets nothing, we’re good 👍👍🤘✊
Removed by mod
Look at Michigan. Nobody was going to ignore Gaza into a victory. The memes and posts were warnings, not divisions. When it became clear she wanted to take a path close to Biden most of us even laid off because it was clear it was more harmful to keep going.
But it turns out that asking the relatives of genocide victims to vote for someone who won’t commit to stopping it is not a good campaign strategy. The divide in Michigan is well within the 140,000 strong registered voters in the Arab community.
Take your fucking L like an adult.
L like
Pronounced “yike” as in Spanish. This is called eliding.
asking the relatives of genocide victims to vote for someone
There are 160,000 Palestinian-Americans. Most of them originate in the West Bank (especially Ramallah) and Jerusalem. Almost none of them are in Michigan. Michigan’s Arab-Americans are mostly Lebanese-descended.
People with family ties to Gaza were a vanishingly small percentage of the electorate. They’re vastly outnumbered by the people who were suckered by the “Dems = Genocide” concern-trolling.
And yet that community in Michigan told us they have lost entire branches of their families. I’m going to believe the actual people in the community.
I am so sick about the Gaza rhetoric and that’s why we lost. Bitch less then 10% of voters give a shit about Gaza. 40% of voters have major concerns about the economy. The next highest concern was immigration at 20%. Foreign policy was a measly 8% of concern for voters.
This goes for people blaming Jill Stein voters. Kamala got wrecked in this election. Even if you add all 3rd party votes to her she still loses.
lol. 10% (or was it 4% a few hours ago from you dunces…) that literally cost harris 25 electoral points. oops! sure she could have done more on labor. but she wouldn’t even fucking shift to stop being pro-genocide. I doubt she gave a shit about your eggs costing a few cents more. or if you were LGBT+. so she wasnt going to get those votes either.
This is simply stupid. Harris didn’t lose because of a few memes on her Gaza stance or third party. She lost because she’s a relic of the same neoliberal system that has gotten us where we are. Not so say that Trump isn’t. He is a neoliberal as well, and a fascist at that too. It’s just that trumpists are more willing to go to the polls because of the cult-like party they’re in. Democrats need to be pushed out the door with ideas other than ideas stolen from the right. Kamala Harris fumbled her entire campaign and it was obvious from the get go. I honestly do not understand how people thought she’ll win. Hell, she even embraced the fucking Cheneys.
I honestly think it hurts worse now than it would have if he won in 2020, since we were seemingly so close to getting away from this dirtbag.
Well silver lining I guess is that he can’t be elected again unless he gets it changed somehow
Here’s hoping
You know, knock on wood. At least he’s fucking ancient
I now wish he’d won in 2020. Maybe it would have finally been the thing that stopped D from tacking to the right. Plus, we’d be a month away from being done with him now. We’d be a month away from starting to rebuild from 8 years of his shit. (well ok, more like two months)
Instead, factoring in the supreme court, the house and senate, and figuring all the shit he dismantles will take more than just 4 years to put back together, I figure I’ll be dead of old age (as will anyone over 50) by the time any of the progressive goals that seemed like they could one day be obtainable at the end of 2020 actually have any chance of becoming obtainable again.
And that’s on top of the untold horrors that await the queer community, people of color, folks with special needs, etc etc during the next four years, and I’m now not 100% sure we’ll get another election at all.
Damn I didn’t know 50 leftist shitposters on the internet had so much power that they can flip an election. Maybe they should try to do what they ask if they want to win
Are you talking about Lemmy alone? These people are EVERYWHERE over the Internet, TikTok especially. Also the reach for a post is a lot larger than the likes it gets, like upwards of 10x.
In other words, the people that refused to cater to the cultic cognitive dissonance are to blame and Democrats will learn nothing.
Blaming indiviguals for not wanting to vote for a pro-genicide candidate works so well. Totally helped us win 2016 and 2024.
Here’s the real issue. The Dems would rather be moderate Republicans than actual left-wing candidates. They spent all their time trying to appeal to modern White wingers and modern right-wing are still vote for people like Trump instead.
We should not pander to fascists and their enablers so we are free to say fuck all non voters. You will not have another election anyways so non voters should be cut out of anyones life the same way MAGA is.
Oh, look how smart you are, you figured out the REAL issue! Conveniently, it had nothing to do with people like you doing everything possible to spread voter apathy, what a coinky-dink!
Look how smart you are, you didn’t vote for the “PrO-gEnoCiDe candidate”, and now we have the actual Pro-Genocide PARTY in charge of the Presidency, Congress and the Supreme Court.
What’s first on your agenda? Email Trump, ask him to stop the genocide, LOL?? Oh hey, maybe the Trump administration will allow Palestinians to seek asylum here in the US right?!?! We all know how friendly they are to immigrants!
You’re so effin’ smart, man! We are all in awe of your genius political acumen.
You should be angry at the millions of people who voted for trump instead. There’s a lot more of them than left wingers with morals.
And disabled folks, and veterans, and naturalized citizens…
Fuck all non voters. They will be regarded the same as Trump voters in the history books and are the same kind of filth as those.
Trump enablers in leftist spaces are just agent provocateurs. There’s always some infiltrators
Genocide-enabling establishment cultist can’t figure out why they lost, but sure everyone who tried to get them to see the end result if they didn’t change their tune are the the agent provocateurs.
Two days ago i said she could have lied and won and someone got upset.
For them supporting genocide and ignoring people protest and not even speaking to them is better than lying to secure vote to stop what they call a “threat to democracy”
I also pointed out that she has different ads in Michigan and PA, and someone refused to watch the video because it was on Fox news.
These people lives in the cloud, everyone is a russian bot or troll. They never blame the Democrats that insisted on Biden even after the debate, where they could have allowed Harris to plan better long time ago.
My best is when I see Bill Clinton supporting harries in a campaign about Women Abortion Right. Like at least be a shame of someone associated with Epstein and caught lying in office.
Agreed 100%. It’s the refusal to self-reflect and attacks on anyone who dare to question that turns people away. Not only is Bill Clinton a terrible campaign messenger, but he was chastising Arab-americans in Michigan for being against genocide. Just like Obama was blaming black men.
While I have had criticism of Harris, I’ve never insulated that she(or Biden) wasn’t the much, much better option. I have been called a Burniebro on a discord by someone who doesn’t take criticisms very well.
