this post was submitted on 21 Apr 2025
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[–] steeznson@lemmy.world 32 points 6 days ago (23 children)

From an outsider's perspective it seems like the Democrats behave like that because the US electorate is genuinely right-wing and need pandered to.

[–] Corn@lemmy.ml 13 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (2 children)

Nope, when you poll on individual policies, they're way to the left of the democrats.

The democrats showcase healthcare bill wasn't "subsidies for employer-based health insurance, that you have no idea what it's going to cost and have to buy at a specific time of year by going to one of 50 sites provided by your state at a specific time of year and filling out a bunch of forms or face a tax penalty, with a sliding scale based on income, marriage status, and other factors" because that's more popular than "free healthcare".

Same if you ask americans about Biden (and Harris's) policies of "loan forgiveness for PELL grant recipients up to X dollars depending on age, loan repayment status, income, parent's income, and whether you were born on a prime-numbered date" vs "free college"

The democrats compromise their bills, not because there's a bunch of "moderates" who are exactly between democrat and republican who will vote for democrats if they promote garbage versions of progressive bills that don't actually help anyone, but because they know those versions are less likely to pass and be easier to chip away at, and therefore won't piss off their billionaire patrons.

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[–] dreugeworst@lemmy.ml 20 points 6 days ago (30 children)

I'm not American but there's so many socialists on here refusing to vote for the lesser evil because they don't offer the right candidates and advocating revolution.

why not take a page from the right's clearly successful playbook and vote more in local politics and primaries. Maga managed to turn the republicans into exactly what they wanted this way, but the American left just sits there waiting for someone to start a revolution.

well I understand it might be late now and elections might not do much going forward, but jesus it's like the only option you guys saw is voting for whoever the parties put toward or revolution.

[–] BrainInABox@lemmy.ml 16 points 6 days ago (6 children)

The American left tried very hard to get representation within the Democratic party, and the Democratic party pulled out all the stops to prevent it, in a way they would never do to oppose the Republicans, and that the Republicans would never do to oppose MAGA.

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[–] hamid@vegantheoryclub.org 11 points 6 days ago (9 children)

Because it doesn't work. It will never work. There is no amount of voting in America will change the fact that it is and always has been ruled by the rich elites who maintain an socioeconomic system that prevents change.

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[–] SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social 10 points 6 days ago

In my city, we have a barely-there progressive, third party with a presence in the city and county government. It's all that remains of an attempt to in the 1990's to launch a Midwestern political party based on an electoral reform called "fusion voting," which would allow a candidate to get the endorsement of multiple parties, and appear on the ballot multiple times as a candidate under each of those party banners. That way, the candidate would know where their support came from, without the "spoiler effect." I learned from the Wikipedia page that it was an important tactic in the movement to abolish slavery.

But, in this case, the Democratic Party (technically, the Democratic Farm Labor Party) went to court to shoot down that idea, arguing that it was too confusing to voters. The American left isn't just sitting here waiting for someone to start a revolution, it has two major political parties actively suppressing it.

Amusingly, one tidbit of information that I just now learned from that Wikipedia article, presented without further comment:

In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the heyday of the sewer socialists, the Republican and Democratic parties would agree not to run candidates against each other in some districts, concentrating instead on defeating the socialists. These candidates were usually called non-partisan, but sometimes were termed fusion candidates instead.

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[–] HiddenLayer555@lemmy.ml 11 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (2 children)

Reminder that the Democrats would be considered even further right than the Conservative Party in Canada. And Canada itself is still considered pretty right wing with no big leftist parties (NDP is still center-right at best)

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