Chris Thompson
banner
drchristhompson.bsky.social
Chris Thompson
@drchristhompson.bsky.social
130 followers 120 following 580 posts
Socialist game developer in Los Angeles. Flipper of tables and crafter of artful profanity. Viewpoints are my own. Punctuation atrocious by design; hyphens and em dashes are used interchangeably, and semicolons are just commas with jaunty hats. No regerts.
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Reposted by Chris Thompson
I am extremely disappointed in the number of people already screeching, "YOU HAVE TO VOTE FOR HIM IF HE'S THE CANDIDATE!! BLUE NO MATTER WHO!!"

I assure you, friends, I decidedly do not.

As a Californian, I will NEVER vote for him again, full stop. You have almost three years. Find someone else.
I am extremely disappointed in the number of people already screeching, "YOU HAVE TO VOTE FOR HIM IF HE'S THE CANDIDATE!! BLUE NO MATTER WHO!!"

I assure you, friends, I decidedly do not.

As a Californian, I will NEVER vote for him again, full stop. You have almost three years. Find someone else.
...they chased suburbanites and AIPAC donors instead.

You're right though: Progressive votes like mine are there to be won. The difference is, for me at least, from now on they have to actually earn it. Win me over, don't browbeat me into compliance.
The DNC's anointed candidate faced a progressive challenger in '16 and '20. We didn't get concessions, we got told to "fall in line".

We didn't even get the opportunity in 2024, which I suspect was the point of leaving Biden in as long as they did. And rather than try to win progressive voters...
People don't "want to feel anti-DNC". People (myself included) ARE anti-DNC. And we are desperate for representation.

Also, grass roots campaigns take a long time to gain momentum, they have to start early. I don't blame anyone for not waiting until Platner's nudes leaked before endorsing him.
Waited for what, though? The customary un-shirting of the candidates? Maine's backassed, but it ain't THAT backassed.

Remember that time John Edwards came REALLY close to being the '04 Democratic nominee? This shit slips through sometimes.
That's a very intellectually dishonest way to phrase that. A guy David Hogg previously endorsed - who a LOT of people endorsed - was just outed as a nazi.

If, after today, Hogg doubles-down and says, "I'm with totenkopf guy!" then yeah, fuck him forever. But I highly doubt that's going to happen.
I'm saying right now: I refuse to vote for a candidate who would rather make inroads with fascists than let poor people have health care.

If you aren't willing to draw a similar line - if there's nobody you won't vote for as long as they're "Blue" - I urge you to re-examine your own convictions.
Oh, I'm all for Primaries. What they did to David Hogg is disgusting.

I'm reacting to people who, right now, 157 weeks before the next election, are saying "You better be willing to settle for whatever shitty Centrist we put out there."

Stop giving away your power before the fight has even begun.
Well I hope we both get what we want. And I hope someday you recognize that NeoLibs/Corporatists will never, ever, ever let you have it. To the degree that they would rather try to work with Fascists on their right than Progressives on their left, which is why we're in the state we're in right now.
I agree, but I also think longform social media platforms like Reddit are just as rife with intellectual dishonesty, just at the other end of the spectrum. We don't have enough critical thinkers among us to sustain everybody getting a platform.
At what point do you start holding the Democrats accountable for their own failures?
You blame apathy on the Left for the 2024 result. Have you ever thought about blaming the Dems for not doing more to engage with them? Their wants were clear: no support for genocide, M4A, close the wealth gap.

Instead, they just said "shut up and fall in line", like they do every election.
You know who else didn't vote for Harris? The Center-Right suburbanites whose support the Party decided was more valuable than the anti-genocide voters on the left. Why is it that nobody blames them for not supporting her? Or Harris and the DNC for choosing them over the Left?
But how can you "demand" anything if they know you'll eventually give them what they want regardless? Unless you're part of the wealthy donor class, the only agency you have is your vote. They have no incentive to improve if your eventual support is a foregone conclusion.
Considering the callow moderates I've spent the day arguing with, it's extra painful that Bernie was on Jon Stewart lobbing truth bombs to the cheers of the studio audience.

HE COULD HAVE BEEN OUR FUCKING PRESIDENT GODDAMNIT

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUn1...
Sen. Bernie Sanders - Harnessing Energy From "No Kings" Rally to "Fight Oligarchy" | The Daily Show
YouTube video by The Daily Show
www.youtube.com
Okay, but what if your choices are actually more nuanced than that? What if they are:

1.) Vote for Literal Nazi
2.) Vote for Not a Literal Nazi
3.) Encourage the not-Nazi to commit to attacking Naziism at the root, thereby PREVENTING FUTURE NAZIS

What is the downside to option 3?
We've been in the trenches for Democrats for a fucking DECADE, and EVERY ELECTION they blame their failures on us - WIN or LOSE - because we have the audacity to ask our elected representatives to do better.

No more. You want my support? EARN IT. I'm done helping Corporatists lose more gracefully.
In fact, as someone who volunteered for national DNC candidates in '16, '18, '22, and '24, I can tell you I've met WAAAAY more disgruntled Progressives on the ground working for compromise candidates than I did Centrist keyboard warriors who actually believe in Neoliberal economics.
Except it isn't, because we didn't have any kind of standards. We said "Vote Blue, No Matter Who", only to find out that - OOPS! - "who" actually DOES matter.

I know Progressives are the go-to scapegoat of the DNC, but this isn't our fault.
Withhold your vote for any Democrat unless they commit to holding the fascists accountable. "Not being a literal Nazi" is too low of a standard to hold politicians to. If we don't hold them to a higher standard, the right will continue to win in the long run. Demand change.
Most people falsely think the H is for healing, because of Mark 2:13:

And lo the beggar did stand and walk, to the astonishment of the crowd. And to the crowd Jesus said, "Healin's my middle name, baby!!!"
The Brisket. It's like the hambone, but you can only hit your chest. And your chest has to have been blessed by a rabbi.
It's Halloween, and they wanna cosplay as cowboys while drawing overtime pay.