what if we had a president who was actually going to have to live with the consequences of what they chose to do?
My hot take:
Biden has been the best President we’ve had in 30 years.
He’s exactly who we needed when we got him. He got us out of Afghanistan. As much as a debacle as it was, he not Trump and not Obama pulled us out. His deft handling of the Ukrainian conflict where he used soft-power and influence to let the EU and NATO members come to decision to enact the super harsh sanctions themselves. Knowing that if the US pressed, they’d resist. It had to be their decision. He’s continued to say and do all of the right things. His attempt to forgive student loans his huge. Some of the measures worked even if all of them didn’t. He got the most meaningful infrastructure bill passed that I’ve ever witness. Neither Trump nor Obama could make it happen and Biden did it with a split Congress That infrastructure bill was also the most meaningful environment legislation that we’ve ever had That bill also paves the way for significant investment in our broad-band across the country Passed the Safer Communities Act …actual gun related legislation since the Brady bill. Again, with a split congress. Gave us our first public defender SCOTUS justice. This might not seem like a big deal but I think its pretty significant given the amount of case law that exists that, so far, hasn’t had a public defenders ‘say’ in it.
I could go on but I gotta go eat dinner.
People want to shit on Biden, but I actually like him. He’s not perfect, but he’s been insanely effective given everything he walked in to. Including him diligently and quietly rebolstering the executive branches that were gutted and had people leaving in droves in the last admin. Eg the Department of State. He’s assigned quality folks into key roles and its making a difference.
I voted for him without hesitation because well, the alternative was terrifying, but I was not expecting much from him at all. He’s surprised me.
edit: I literally can’t figure out how to make this a list. Sorry for the wordblob.
I somewhat agree. He’s probably been the best President in the last 30 years but it’s a real low bar. He’s done the bare minimum I would expect a sitting president to actually do. Obama was a disappointment but he got the monster that is healthcare on a decent start. Too bad Trump absolutely gutted it. Should have been made with more longevity but frankly, the real people to blame are solely the Republicans.
That said Biden for a second term isn’t what I want. I barely wanted him for a first term but again, better than the literal reversal of human rights. He’s probably the best president we could have gotten but he’s still a corporate democrat pushing corporate greed. Republicans are the real reason we can’t make any progress in that regard because we have the choice between literal treasonous assholes who diminish human rights for anyone non-white non-male at any costs or we have corporate greed-pushing democrats that just want to keep the ship upright enough to keep making money.
I don’t have a lot of faith in the 2024 election but I know I’ll be voting for whomever the Democrats push forward because no one in their right mind wants the alternative.
Very well argued. This is quite unrelated but just out of interest, how realistic do you see constitutional reform in the US? Because to me as an outsider, that seems to me to be what US politics sorely needs rn. Is there appetite for it among the electorate? Among the Dems? Could it be conceivably carried out?
To be fair, I didn’t want Biden the first time either. He just happened to be not Trump. I’ll vote Biden again, but I’m not pleased those are my only (real) options. We really need ranked choice voting here in the US…
“The choice is between two terrible people. One is actively trying to kill me and the other doesn’t care if I die.” --A old post I’m unable to find but truly sums up american politics.
Biden has done a better job than I expected, but he should clearly retire. I think this is a huge, and almost necessary opportunity for Democrats. Incumbents are way more likely to get reelected. Since Trump has pissed off too many people, and he’ll sabotage any other front runners for his party.
Wouldn’t it make sense to get someone younger and a little bolder in now for the Dema? They have a very strong likelihood to win this round, and then they’ll be the incumbents next term. We could finally replace some garbage supreme court members.
As a representative democracy we are doing it wrong when none of the candidates represent the majority. They represent business and special interests that’s it.
That being said republicans are in the pockets of the most backwards ass religious folks… So that’s is definitely worse when they continue to shit on our constitution for that group.
So sleepy Joe it is.
An anachronistic old white dude vs a corrupt old orange dude. Why is this the best we as a country can do?
It’s because the election system is First Past the Post. If they changed it to Ranked Choice Voting, all candidates from both primaries (plus independents) could run in the election and it would be up to the public to decide which of them is best, with their vote going to a fallback candidate if their favourite doesn’t win.
Well prepare for disappointment, and make it double.
Life is only getting worse for pretty much everyone, all the time, so yeah, that makes sense.
Those same Americans will just ignore that there are other candidates and it’ll be yet another presidential election where 49% of voters claim that they don’t really support the person they vote for, and that you have to do the same as a moral imperative.
And, as it’s been since Reagan, no matter who we elect we’ll only get conservative outcomes.
and that you have to do the same as a moral imperative
Railing against this fact doesn’t magically make it untrue. Not voting for the lesser evil means you don’t care which evil wins. If you legitimately think GOP rule isn’t any worse than Dem rule, then by all means don’t vote or vote third party. But if you think Christian fascism + neoliberalism is worse than just neoliberalism, then once the primaries are over you need to vote accordingly. Voter disenfranchisement is an age-old tactic you’re comment is falling right into.
And I say this all as a market socialist, so don’t for a second think I like the Dems
so don’t for a second think I like the Dems
I’d hope you wouldn’t. On any issue that matters to their voters they’re effectively no different than Republicans. The minimum wage/living wages, housing scarcity, war (and endless funding for it), cost-prohibitive education and health care, equality for queer people, militarization of police, fascism (or ignoring it), gun control, and oddly, we can now add abortion to the list after their response to Roe repeal was to fundraise. (Even though they had control of Congress and the presidency.) They did make a cool 80 million, though, so that’s something: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/democrats-pull-in-80-million-following-supreme-court-ruling-on-roe
I can’t convince myself that voting Democrat is a moral action anymore. That they say nicer things doesn’t matter much when they’re voting records and policies are conservative and regressive. Republicans may stab me in the back but Democrats stab me in the front.
I need more than pretty speeches and broken promises, and really, so does this country.
You’re not voting for Dems, you’re voting to keep Reps out. “My vote won’t help things appreciably progress so instead I’m gonna let things deteriorate” is the argument you’re making. People’s rights are getting stripped because of this kind of apathy
You’re not voting for Dems, you’re voting to keep Reps out
This is what I have to keep telling myself, especially with how utterly feckless Dems have been, and how completely uninterested they are in trying to make things better. Repubs are well on their way in turning this country into a fascist dictatorship, and any roadblock is better than nothing. It’s infuriating and I despise the fact that I voted for Hillary or Biden. But I just have to keep reminding myself it wasn’t a vote for them, it was a vote against Trump.
I really wish we had people we could vote for instead of only focusing on who we have to vote against, but here we are
Respectfully, you just watched women lose the right to abortion a year ago when Democrats had the presidency and control of Congress. Their response was to use it to raise money, not act in any way to stop it or create positive change.
There are so many more examples of this too.
You voted for deterioration, and so did I. That’s not a matter of opinion, but of historical record.
I’m not sure if you’re just ignorant of the topics you’re bringing up or are actually being disingenuous, but I’m going to act as if you’re being genuine for the sake of other people reading this.
Women lost abortion because R senators fucked with the system while Obama was in office and then pushed another SCOTUS appointment through while Trump was in office. Repealing RvW had literally nothing to do with who was sitting in the oval office and everything to do with Rs abusing the lack of a D supermajority to put corrupt judges on the SCOTUS. With that knowledge taken into consideration here, your argument boils down to “Rs abused the system while a minority and Ds didnt have a supermajority to stop it, therefore I don’t care if Rs gain a majority. Things couldn’t be done to stop the abusers before so idc if the abusers get more power.”
I voted against the US moving towards A Handmaid’s Tale; you’re arguing for who cares if it moves towards A Handmaid’s Tale
Women lost the right to abortion, because of the previous administrations actions and ability to install judges to the federal courts, at all levels, but specifically at the SCOTUS level. Though it alsorequired that cases make it through the federal courts too.
You’re a dumbass, democrats have passed tons of legislation to make things better. People just don’t pay attention to it because it’s not exciting.
That damn Cheeto chimp better be in jail and disqualified. Pure insanity.
He’s going to run from jail on the hope he can pardon himself. Guaranteed. (If he even sees jail, which he likely won’t because of the requirement for SS protection)
Both parties work for the same owners(wanting or not) so i truly don’t give a fuck about a Trump-Biden rematch.
GTFO with your both parties are the same bullshit.
Is capitalism and the elite ruling class controlling our society? In a lot of ways, yes. Do the Democratic Party leaders do bad things? Sure.
But the Republican party is actively engaged in taking away people’s rights and freedoms. They prop up unabashed fascists.
Both parties are not the fucking same. And it’s this kind of whataboutism that got Trump elected in the first place.
The ones who rule America is the CIA bud, it doesn’t matter who is the president(it could be a fucking dumb cow anyway), with the actual technology who have the CIA developed it doesn’t give a fuck.
Careful with that tinfoil, you might get cut. Bud.
There’s gotta be some better people out there right?
Cornel West is running.
Oh my fucking god you people are so determined to shoot yourselves in the foot. Vote for someone who can actually win, who doesn’t support Russia invading Ukraine.
I see McCarthyism has entered the chat.
I mean seriously… We don’t have ANY better and more qualified candidates in our 331.9 million citizens? Really?
More qualified, yes.
Able to win the primaries of the two political parties that people will vote for, no.
The problem is the voting system. You can vote for the orange idiot and never vote again or vote for the other guy and live longer.
Hopefully by 2028 Trump dies so it’s not Trump and his massive-ass base vs the newcomer Dem candidate.
deleted by creator
