- cross-posted to:
- progressivepolitics@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- progressivepolitics@lemmy.world
For fuck’s sake, form a new party already Bernie! Dems are simply too corrupt to bother.
Wrong. You primary the corrupt out. If your car has a flat tire, you fix it. You don’t buy a new one that you can’t afford.
I agree, if the Democrats had a flat tire. But they have 3 flats, a leaky radiatior, leaky engine, busted windows that don’t roll up all the way, the seat foam has turned to dust, the seatbelts are fraying, speakers are fuzzy but only play AM talk radio anyway since its been stuck on that station since the 70s…
And the same oligarchs are fucking towing them!
Wrong. The primary will be used by the old guard to eliminate all opposition (like they did with Bernie already).
Ds and Rs are private organizations and are not democratic.
If this is new to you, please read up on Bernie’s primary “loss” to Clinton. Blatant corruption. Don’t believe me, check it out yourself.
The parties have no obligation to follow the results of the primary. It’s not legally binding.
Not possible. You need to oust the DNC
That’s a good way to ensure the next Republican win in a winner-take-all system.
If the third party goes straight for the presidency, yes. But if they build their momentum from the bottom up (local, state, and only then national), then… maybe?
No, unfortunately not. It’s in the nature/maths of the system. Recommended
readingwatching.Yeah, FPTP is terrible. Which is why I’m saying that if a third party slowly builds power from the bottom up, it might MAYBE work, as long as it doesn’t go for the big win until it’s ready.
It can’t. “Building from the bottom up” means winning seats in races for mayor, state legislatures, or the federal Senate and Congress. That means splitting the Democrat vote in those exact races, and makes sure that everywhere you try to “build power”, you will hurt that side of the political dichotomy that is closest to your own political ideas.
Oh. That’s messed up. Makes me appreciate living in a country with a functional democracy (parliamentary system, two-round elections for president…) that much more
What’s really messed up is that the very people who could end FPTP/winner-take-all through constitutional reform are actually incentivised to keep everything as-is: after all, why risk losing your seat to even more competition?
Makes me appreciate living in a country with a functional democracy
Same here. We’ve got proportional voting. The result still isn’t perfect, but there’s a lot less distortion between what people wanted and what people got.
To think we coulda had him instead. Can I switch to that timeline please?
Al Gore was America’s last chance. It’s been lost ever since.
I thought it was hilarious when RFK Junior started banning food additives and dyes. If the democrats cant capitalize on that gaping wound then they are lost, I dont think any rational person believes in food dyes.
Average and very common Bernie sanders win
There’s no win for the people here. He’s been speaking up for the people and accomplishing nothing for them for decades. Arguably not his fault. But there’s still no win.
There will be many posts in the coming months with one goal. The content will be varied, and the appeal will be made in different ways, but the goal will be the same: depressing Democratic votes in November.
Don’t fall for it.
There will also be many posts in the coming months insulting independents who dare to question Democrat orthodoxy.
Others will insist that all independents are just “republicans in disguise.” Don’t fall for it!
Remember, it’s a FACT that 40% of registered voters are independents, and the Ds and Rs have fallen to 30% each.
The independents reject the major parties, because the major parties have rejected them.
Please vote! And maybe don’t shit on the independents, whose vote you REQUIRE to win. Perhaps you could stop calling them “secret Republicans” (and liars, Russian agents, etc.) why you’re at it? One can dream.
Your party line is not held by the majority of people any longer, D or R. Remember that.
Nobody called you a “secret Republican.” Don’t protest too much, lady.
It will be interesting if Platner can beat Collins in Maine. For a decade now democratic leadership has been holding people like him and Bernie Sanders back because they don’t think they’re “electable”.
If he can be the first democrat in 30 years to beat Collins, it would show the direction the party should be moving.
I guess we are just going to have to hope that the former blackwater mercenary who was an out and proud Nazi until about ten minutes before becoming a progressive candidate doesn’t turn out to be another fetterman.
Fetterman had a LOT of guys around here saying the same sort of shit you are saying right now.
I guess we are just going to have to hope that the former blackwater mercenary who was an out and proud Nazi…
All good points, especially if you’re partial to Republican talking points and manipulation tactics.
I don’t think it’s fair to make other progressive candidates answer for what Fetterman did. Any new candidate can turn their back on the entire party if they wanted.
Was it the republicans that hired him to be a mercenary and tattooed a totenkopf on his chest? Well, i guess it probably was, but I kinda think they don’t want us to think about that too hard.
Using Fetterman as a cautionary tail to make people think a little harder about who they support is not making other candidates answer for what he did. It is called “learning” and its a thing we probably should be doing more of.
It’s the Republicans that exaggerated his role and say things like “he’s an out and proud Nazi“ because he had a tattoo that 99% of people would have no idea was associated with nazis.
Doesn’t sound like an out and proud nazi so much as a Republican talking point you’re spreading.
Its probably the third most recognized nazi symbol after the swastika and SS lightning bolts. It was literally on every single SS uniform.
Its literally on the hat of the “are we the baddies?” meme.
In any case, you know who DOES know what it is? Three tour mercenaries who get it tattooed on their chest.
I’m sure you’re right. I for one did not recognize it. Though I don’t tend to pay attention to nazi symbols, except the main one… Nazi symbols is not exactly something they teach in schools. You can easily learn about the history while never seeing the symbols.
I have been in the military before, and I understand the brainwashing that takes place. I can understand the team choosing something and the individual not really caring what it means. Even if they understand its history. If he really knew what it meant and was supportive, I would think he would have covered it up before getting into politics. I think he genuinely did not think about it till he was running.
If you look at his Reddit comments, he absolutely does not come across as an “out and proud Nazi”. He clearly didn’t remove his problematic posts, but there isn’t anything that aligns with him being a Nazi. When I listen to what he has to say about his past, and I read the comments he made on Reddit, he sounds consistent and genuine.
When I hear people call him “out and proud Nazi”, I think they clearly have an agenda that aligns very closely with the people that want Collins to win reelection.
I’ve probably had a dozen reddit accounts over the years. I would imagine that he did too.
People that actually wanted Collins to lose wanted a better candidate to win the Democratic primary so that she would face a less problematic opponent. The people that wanted her to WIN are probably ecstatic that they get to campaign against someone they can throw on an attack ad with their neo-nazi tattoo.
Saying that 99% of people don’t recognize one of the most recognizable Nazi symbols is absurd. Simply absurd.
Many people educated by the United States school system have a very surface level understanding or knowledge of the Nazi’s, even if 99% is exaggerated I think anybody that has a deeper than surface level knowledge would be surprised how much ignorance a typical American citizen has about Nazi’s, especially symbolism beyond the swastika. It is likely intentionally so given how many Nazi’s were integrated into the US.
The US media represents Nazis in popular films going back to the actual days of WWII. The only reason any American would fail to recognize this symbol is because they are stupid.
Seriously, you have to be a moron not to recognize this symbol as being associated with the Nazis and you didn’t need to go to school to learn it. Here is Indian Jones about to punch a Nazi on a zeppelin.

It’s interesting that some of the top political aides that used to work for Fetterman now work for Platner in Rebecca Katz and Joe Calvello.
LOL. Solid point. I should be focused on a politician’s reddit shitposting that they’ve publicly disavowed, not the fact that people can’t afford to eat.
You’re comparing apples to oranges. Fetterman did not run as a progressive, and until a few months ago, running as a progressive made it harder to get elected and not easier. And the DNC is still publicly working against actual progressive candidates despite Mamdani’s obvious success.
Platner’s going to turn some heads in a positive way. I just hope he helps open the door for other progressives to get elected, because centrist is a synonym for fascist now.
Fetterman absolutely did run as a progressive, pretending he didn’t doesn’t change what actually happened.
And the DNC only works against ACTUAL progressives, not fake ones, which is why they supported Fetterman and is probably why they are supporting Platner.
hope springs eternal in the hearts of anyone not an actual fascist and platner intelligently talks a good game (the redemption arc is attractive). were there any better options? I sure didn’t see any. bernie carries weight as a lefty moderate and has not called out platner as as a snake - so… let’s see what happens.
agreed that the dnc is shit, but their support of platner seems to be a pretty mealy-mouthed attempt to curry favor with a potential senator they may have to work with. regardless, its now collins or platner; which would you prefer? I dont expect platner to be great, just good enough. if his actions meet his words, thats what he will be.
the redemption arc is attractive
Yeah, this right here is my biggest problem with him and the thing that springs alarm bells for me.
He is NOT claiming to have been redeemed. He is claiming that he was always this progressive, even when he was fighting as a mercenary, even when he was getting and then proudly wearing his Nazi tattoo. He has never admitted to being wrong or said what made him change, because he does not think that he was wrong or that he has changes. That is what tells you that he is a liar.
You are correct that we already lost this one. Our choice is a Republican vs a fascist plant, exactly as the DNC and RNC intended. Now both parties can walk away from Maine and put their money into deplatforming actual progresses instead of fighting over a state that is already locked in.
They do not view the electorate as the people. They believe that elections are won by donors and until we prove them wrong it will continue.
Just replace “electable” with “able to shill to corporate and wealthy donors.”
I have a Dem rep, and have been actively promoting his primary opponent because he is just another establishment Dem. Though I’m not sure who my rep will be with the new maps in my state.
I hope he wins and am donating to his campaign, though I’m worried about him becoming another Fetterman.
Collins is a snake acting like a moderate. She only opposes unpopular bills when her vote doesn’t matter, I hope Mainers see who she is.
Are we so out of touch?
No, it’s the working class that failed us.

Totally, man.
People being angry about a $7 minimum wage that’s about to turn two decades old are the problem, not the opposition party that opposes nothing.
Our last dinosaur, thank you Bernie! After he is gone, who will be the voice of reason?
One of the few politicians today smart enough to oppose the Fed, for very good reasons (which we can’t discuss here unless we’d like to get censored and/or banned, but read up on it! It’s obscene).
Hell yah Bernie
Given the choice between a republican and a republican, people will choose republican all the time.
- Paraphrasing Harry Truman.
- Not USian nor live there
Damn right, Bernie. I was a blue-no-matter-who because they actually make some policy sense, but now it’s only because the Right is absolutely insane. If a Progressive or Social Democrat actually had any traction I’d vote for them over the straight (D) instantly.
Bernie must be a tankie according to most here
No, it’s fine and good to criticize your allies when necessary. It’s how we improve. Bernie isn’t constantly trying to drive down votes for Democrats like the tankies on Lemmy. He campaigns for Democrats all the time, including Harris in 2024.
And yet here we are
So start a third party.
Bernie is already a member of a 3rd party
Independent is not a political party, unfortunately.
He did that already, but the system is rigged.
We have an emergency rip cord, You can write in a name.
And it’s the only way we’ll ever get around the far right, near right problem
Nooo you can’t do that!!! If you do that then why are you even wasting time voting despite we’ll also yell at you for not voting?!?!?!?! /s
As if the Democrats were ever for working people







