[-] pjwestin@lemmy.world 10 points 2 hours ago

Oh my fucking God WHY THE EVER LOVING FUCK IS THERE ANOTHER FUCKING INTERVIEW WITH AL FUCKING FROM?!?!?! For fuck's sake, the last time I heard from this fucking dinosaur was after Hillary Clinton lost in 2016, and they were dragging his old ass out of retirement to explain why actually, despite losing to Donald Trump, moderate centrism was a good strategy. Almost ten years later, and they're dragging his even-older ass out here to do the same fucking thing? This dipshit's centrist strategy won one election 32 years ago, and now we've got to listen to him prattle on about how Democrats need to be more moderate forever? I mean, Jesus Fucking Christ, its bad enough we have to listen to a Democratic fuckwad explain why this, "win suburban moderates," strategy is good (even though it has lost to Donald Trump twice now). But for fuck's sake, is it too much to ask that that they at least find a fuckwad who hasn't been politically irrelevant for 20 years? Is their really no one else beside this fucking 80 year-old ghoul that can champion this stupid, obviously ineffective strategy? I mean, fucking hell, what the fuck are we even doing here?

[-] pjwestin@lemmy.world 4 points 6 hours ago

Well, I get what you're saying, but I think Harris' failure to negotiate with these groups is entirely on her. The Uncommitted movement's goals were very lofty, but their demands were small. They wanted State Rep. Ruwa Romman to give a speech at the DNC, and a leaked draft showed it was a very mild speech that didn't even condemn Israel. It just called for an end to the war. After the DNC declined, they asked her to meet with families who'd lost loved ones in Gaza, and she ignored the request. Finally, they gave her until September 15th to hold a meeting with them, and she again ignored them, so they decided not to endorse her.

The Uncommitted movement didn't create the problems Harris had with the Muslim community; Biden's handling of Gaza did that. The Uncommitted movement just took that anger, organized it, and put it towards productive action. That's what activist leaders are supposed to do. The Uncommitted leadership was clearly looking for any gesture towards the Palestinian community that they could take to their supporters, and Harris just wouldn't do it. You have to do something to win an activist groups' support. Endorsing her after she snubbed them wouldn't have convinced the Uncommitted members to vote for Harris, if would have convinced them their leaders were pushovers.

[-] pjwestin@lemmy.world 1 points 8 hours ago

Yeah, also no, and it you'd actually read the original comment, you'd know that. As I said:

they declined to endorse her, but still urged their supporters not to vote Trump or third-party.

They knew Trump was worse, they didn't want Trump to win, but they needed Harris to make a gesture towards the Arab community before they could endorse her; she didn't, so they didn't. She didn't negotiate to get their endorsement, so she didn't get their endorsement. It's very funny that you're acting like everyone else is an idiot yet you still don't understand this.

[-] pjwestin@lemmy.world 1 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

Yeah, except the Uncommitted leadership didn't tell their people to, "swim in lava," (if I'm following this tortured extension of the metaphor correctly). As I said, they opposed Trump, and even warned their supporters that voting third-party would help him, they just didn't endorse Harris because of her failure to make any of the very small concessions they asked for. She put them in a position where, as political leaders, there was no way they could endorse her without completely destroying their own credibility. If she needed their endorsement that badly, then it sounds like her bargaining position wasn't that good.

[-] pjwestin@lemmy.world 8 points 9 hours ago

I don't know what you're talking about, I play three of these systems regularly.

[-] pjwestin@lemmy.world 3 points 9 hours ago

As I said in the other comment you left, your interpretation of the analogy makes no sense. Your point would be valid if I were discussing Arab and Muslim voters who voted for Trump, but I'm not; I'm discussing the Uncommitted movement, who endorsed neither candidate.

[-] pjwestin@lemmy.world 3 points 10 hours ago

...except they didn't do that. The Uncommitted movement didn't leave her for Trump; they didn't endorse Trump and actively warned their members not to vote third-party because it would help him. They just followed through with their threat to withhold their endorsement. If she needed their help that badly, she should have done something to win that endorsement.

[-] pjwestin@lemmy.world 6 points 10 hours ago

Well, A) I'm describing the position Uncommitted was in, not giving my own. B) Who the hell are you quoting when you say, "punish?" That word doesn't appear in my comment, and I definitely didn't say that the Uncommitted leaders were trying to punish anyone, so what the fuck are you talking about? Are you actually arguing with me, or someone you made up in your head? C) Your entitled, sneering attitude is indicative of why Harris lost; telling Palestinian that Harris won't oppose the genocide, but vote for her anyway or else; telling teamsters she didn't need them to win; it turns out that was a losing strategy, huh?

By the way, I actually voted for Harris, despite her floundering, directionless campaign, but since I'm not a complete idiot, I want to understand people who didn't. Blaming other people for Harris's loss might feel nice, but internet temper tantrums don't win elections.

Anyway, I could also call you an asshole and tell you to get fucked, but honestly, I'd rather you work on your reading comprehension. You don't seem to have understood (or at least engaged with) anything I said besides, "Uncommitted didn't endorse Harris." Honestly, based on your comment, I'm not even sure you understand what the Uncommitted movement was.

[-] pjwestin@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

They call this design philosophy, "Lateral Thinking with Withered Technology." Basically, "using old tech we understand very well in new and innovative ways." For example, they were slower to get their 16-bit console to market, but while working on it, they used their expertise in 8-bit consoles to release the first cartridge-based handheld system.

[-] pjwestin@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

Christ, it should be a rule never to be this pissy with people sharing information. Here's a screenshot. Of an audio post. Not sure how much help that's going to be, so I guess you can just read about it on Mediaite or Raw Story in a few days.

[-] pjwestin@lemmy.world 16 points 1 day ago

Musk is currently fighting with Laura Loomer over this and even pretended to be someone else in order to argue with her over Twitter Spaces and it is very, very funny to watch.

[-] pjwestin@lemmy.world 36 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I don't really see how the Uncommitted movement could have done anything differently. They had pretty simple demands: let a Palestinian speak at the DNC, meet with families of Palestinians, meet with our leadership. The Harris campaign ignored all of those requests, so in the end, they declined to endorse her, but still urged their supporters not to vote Trump or third-party.

Endorsing her just wasn't an option, given that she did nothing to meet them halfway. If your spouse is abusive, and you say, "If you ever treat me like that again, I will leave you," then you have to leave them if their behavior doesn't change. Otherwise, you are just inviting more abuse. If you tell a politician, "These are the minimum actions you must take to earn our endorsement," and they ignore you, you can't endorse them anyway. Otherwise, you're announcing your demands carry no weight.

The Abandon Harris (previously Abandon Biden) movement was more hard-line, and the Democrats were clearly too centrist and hawkish to meet their demands for an immediate arms embargo But the Uncommitted movement offered reasonable steps that the Harris campaign could have taken to win over Arab Americans, and she flat out ignored them. She is clearly to blame for not taking that offramp.

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"Winner" (lemmy.world)
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submitted 3 weeks ago by pjwestin@lemmy.world to c/memes@lemmy.world

Seriously though, don't do violence.

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submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by pjwestin@lemmy.world to c/politicalmemes@lemmy.world

Tankie's original use was for British communists who supported Soviet military expansion. In the modern sense, it is used to describe communists who are authoritarian-apologists. For example, a communist who romanticizes the Soviet Union or makes excuses for the Uyghur genocide is a tankie. I've also seen it stretched to include militant anti-capitalists, or more commonly, "militant," anti-capitalists who call for violent resistance to capitalism from the safety of a keyboard.

Democratic-Socialists are not tankies. Socialists are not tankies. I don't even think most communists qualify as tankies. Criticizing Democrats does not make you a tankie. Condemning Israel's human rights violations does not make you a tankie. Voting third party doesn't make you a tankie. I see this term used here every day, but never correctly.

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pjwestin

joined 11 months ago