• Dagwood222@lemm.ee
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    4 days ago

    No.

    Look at how the system actually works. There are two choices. Both candidates have to compete for all the people who vote. If you sit out the election that doesn’t mean either candidate will try to get your vote; they’ll ignore you and go after the people who do vote.

    Someone else came up with this analogy. It’s like the trolley problem except the there’s a third option. The third choice is to throw the switch to “Neither,” but “Neither” isn’t connected and the trolley kills someone anyway.

    • orcrist@lemm.ee
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      3 days ago

      My friend, what you wrote totally ignores the passage of time. Everything you wrote is true if we only look at one election, and none of it is true if we consider the passage of time and how pressure operates. If the political party is not getting votes, if all of their candidates are losing, either they will disband or they will find different policies to push.

      • Dagwood222@lemm.ee
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        2 days ago

        Actually I paid attention to history. The pendulum swung the other way a few years back; arch Conservative Ronald Reagan courted the Left by picking the first woman on the Supreme Court and making Colin Powell his Number One guy.

    • Belgdore@lemm.ee
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      3 days ago

      Or as Rush put it, “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.”

          • Dagwood222@lemm.ee
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            3 days ago

            Let me explain something you may not be aware of.

            The man was an entertainer. His job was to make people laugh. I can cherry pick his work and come up with all kinds of absurd ideas he put into his act.

            If the only argument you can make is based on a comedy routine, then we have nothing more to discuss.

            • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmy.ml
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              3 days ago

              Let me explain something you may not be aware of. Entertainers often say serious things that cannot be said in other mediums. If you don’t understand that Carlin was doing political commentary, and appreciate his insights then you’re a very dim individual indeed.

            • Grapho@lemmy.ml
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              3 days ago

              Yeah bro, the anti war hippie who was challenging the FCC in the 70s would have totally been team corporatocracy. Carlin had several interviews where he talked about how the two party system in America is an illusion of choice and ragged on Bill Clinton for being phony, and that’s the farthest left liberal candidate in like 30 years, a fucking neoliberal.

              Yall sound exactly like the conservatives claiming MLK.

              • Dagwood222@lemm.ee
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                3 days ago

                Like I said, if you can’t come up with anything except a comedy act, we have nothing to discuss.

                Here’s a clip from his early days, proof that he couldn’t possibly have ever changed his thoughts about anything.

                https://youtu.be/-sx-7NucjEk

                • Grapho@lemmy.ml
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                  3 days ago

                  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKO8qMJtbng this is from the 90s through the early 2000s, but I imagine you’ll find another reason to dismiss his words to pretend you know what was in his heart was different tho.

                  For the record, I don’t agree with his defeatist outlook, I think there’s comedians with better takes on American politics, but to pretend Carlin would be blue MAGA just because you wish him to be is ridiculous.

    • WeUnite@lemm.ee
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      3 days ago

      You understand how things work! Ignore the apathy trolls. They are trying to silence your vote. Here’s what actually happens if you vote for the lesser of two evils. You’re rights are protected and next time use the primary process to pick someone even better.

      • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        You’re rights are protected and next time use the primary process to pick someone even better.

        Oh, Like how we voted for the lesser evil in 2020 and didn’t have a fucking primary in 2024. Don’t tell us to do something that your party makes sure doesn’t happen.

      • Dagwood222@lemm.ee
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        2 days ago

        Do yourself a favor and read the novels of Ross Thomas. He was a Washington reporter turned crime novelist. All his books have a strong political basis. Two of his best; “The Fools In Town Are On Our Side,” an ex-CIA hot shot is hired to clean up a small Southern city by making it so corrupt even the pimps will vote for reform; “The Porkchoppers,” a nuts and bolts look at a Union election with characters ranging from White House aides and Washington power mongers to factory line workers.

      • meowMix2525@lemm.ee
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        3 days ago

        You’re rights are protected

        Like how Roe V. Wade was protected when Biden got into office? Like our right to protest the atrocities which our taxes are paying for in Gaza?

    • ReadMoreBooks@lemmy.zip
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      3 days ago

      If 5% of the general election popular vote for POTUS, knowing that the candidate cannot win, still voted for the Green Party platform then what effect would that have upon the Democratic Party platform?

      On a five point difficulty scale this is a two. The test gets way harder than this.

      • Dagwood222@lemm.ee
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        3 days ago

        If my grandmother had wheels she’d be a tea trolley.

        Right now the reality is the Donald Trump is going to take office because a lot of people didn’t vote for the alternative.

        All the ‘what if…?’ games in the world isn’t going to change that.

        • ReadMoreBooks@lemmy.zip
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          3 days ago

          Thank you for the opportunity to teach.

          If my grandmother had wheels she’d be a tea trolley.

          Minimization.

          Right now the reality is the Donald Trump is going to take office because a lot of people didn’t vote for the alternative.

          Red herring.

          All the ‘what if…?’ games in the world isn’t going to change that.

          Minimization.

          This is a bit better than typical nonsense because there’s two tactics in a sandwich. Next is usually ad hominem. But, this one may have another trick up their sleeve.

          • CileTheSane@lemmy.ca
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            3 days ago

            Simply naming fallacies isn’t teaching. The point of learning fallacies isn’t so that you can just name them and feel like you’ve made a point.

            • ReadMoreBooks@lemmy.zip
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              3 days ago

              I asked a question. I received a fallacy sandwich in return. There’s no point in investing further.

              Simply naming fallacies isn’t teaching.

              unsupported

              The point of learning fallacies isn’t so that you can just name them and feel like you’ve made a point.

              strawman

              • Mr Fish@lemmy.world
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                3 days ago

                The point of teaching is sharing knowledge, not just poking holes in whatever argument you can (intentional hyperbole, not strawman)

                The point of learning fallacies isn’t so that you can just name them and feel like you’ve made a point.

                strawman

                Instead of just “strawman, therefore you’re wrong” and leaving it at that, how about you explain what was incorrect in that statement. That way you become more understood, and everyone understands you more.

                This isn’t a courtroom debate. This isn’t a debate you “win” or “lose”. This is a debate where everyone should be trying to understand each other, so that everyone ends up better off by the end. This sort of debate is a cooperative thing, not competitive.

                  • Mr Fish@lemmy.world
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                    3 days ago

                    A. I hate to do this, but

                    The audience I wish to reach doesn’t need their hand held as a child

                    Strawman, saying that this is about “leading people like they’re children” not “clear and effective communication as equals”

                    B. What I’m talking about is proactively sharing your views, both to save time on questioning and to fill gaps that others would have never thought to ask about. Please, tell me why this isn’t a needed part of discussion.

          • Dagwood222@lemm.ee
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            3 days ago

            Right now the reality is the Donald Trump is going to take office because a lot of people didn’t vote for the alternative.

            Red herring.

            You’re going to have to explain that in detail. Trump got more votes. He won. How is that anything except a cold, hard fact?

      • Dagwood222@lemm.ee
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        2 days ago

        If you’re saying that the Left should vote for the Dems I agree.

        I’d love to have Bernie as President, but our side dropped the ball twice and failed to get him nominated.