Vote Harris.

Hey y’all remember when Nixon said “it’s not illegal if the president does it.” And we all agreed that was insane and unconstitutional? Well what a difference a couple decades and lots and lots of dark money make

I also feel like it's worth pointing out in a bit more detail just how bad-faith this decision was:

Best analogy ever.

Also imagine the toothless dog to be old and smelly. With terribly outdated and bigoted views.

Honestly, it's laughable what the Tories think they're doing.

It's definitely one of those bucket list things, though, being criticised by the Tories.

The Tories might not be hurting David or Michael, but they sure as shit are hurting trans people all over the UK. Tell them the Tories don't have teeth, Neil.

Right now the Tory party has no MPs. Parliament has been dissolved. No legislation is being passed. They are waiting for an election at which it appears they may lose a record number of seats.

If you are in the UK and want to help get the Tories out in your district, here's your Tactical Voting link.

Have they done appalling things to vulnerable people over the last 12 years? Absolutely.

Does it matter that this week Tory transphobes are pointing to David Tennant saying he's 'one of Labour's supporters and was "an early example of what life will be like if they win".' Nope. But it might bring a few more trans people and their allies to the polls to vote against the Tories.

If it's the Tories you specifically want out I'd like to recommend another tactical voting site:

My understanding is that, unlike some other sites, if you live in an area where the Tories don't have a chance of winning, it maintains neutrality and does not make a recommendation (ie leaving people free to make a decision based on preference, whereas some sites not only want the tories out, the are in favour of maxing the number of seats for their preferred party). I don't know if the site @neil-gaiman suggested does or doesn't do that, I just know STT doesn't.

What it does do is talk about a second goal, which is the possibility that if enough seats could be flipped to the Lib Dems, it would make them the official opposition. Not only would this be the first time in living history that the government and opposition weren't just Tory or Labour, it would mean that a more left wing party would be setting the opposition questions in parliament.

The Lib Dems are much more likely to hold Labout to account on things like human rights and trans-rights; to ensure that policy promises like the scrapping of recent anti-strike legislation occurs, and make Labour's slide to the political right harder to get away with.

An additional benefit that I would hope for is that it would make it harder for the mainstream (rightwing billionaire controlled) media to centre Tory talking points at all times. We all know that Labour get hammered by the papers every time they even look like they're going to do something that helps people but costs the rich an extra quid or two. They're currently still trying to prop up Sunak, despite the fact that that odious little man has moved beyond lame duck to fully dead in the water. I would like to see a world where, for the next five years at least, the media can't fall back on tired red/blue party line narratives and manipulations.

Do I like Labour at the moment? Not at all. They aren't a Labour I would enjoy voting for. But I'm in my 40's and live in a Tory stronghold where the LDs (who are also not a my preferred party) are the only feasible alternative. And not to rant but I have never, in my life, been able to vote FOR a party, my votes have always been about being AGAINST the other guy and it boils my blood to see people stamping their feet over the fact that they don't get an option they feel good about, while acting like everyone who is holding their nose and making a choice is getting to have their cake and eat it too.

No one gets everything they want when it comes to voting, but I would be thrilled if the outcome of this election changed the playing field in a way that it never had before, which is what having the LDs as the opposition party represents. Liberal governments always face an uphill battle (and yes, despite the slide right, Labour's manifesto is a liberal one), I like the idea of evening out the incline a little.

EVERY SINGLE SEAT IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IS UP FOR RE-ELECTION THIS YEAR, PLUS 33 SENATE SEATS.

PLEASE GO OUT AND VOTE. WE HAVE THE CHANCE TO TAKE CONTROL FULLY FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS JUST VOTE!!

Fyi every single seat in the house and 1/3rd of the senate is up for reelection every 2 years which is why you should vote for every presidential election and also in the midterms

I’ll say it again, please just grit your teeth and vote for Biden…

Vote blue.

Are those "Biden protections" in the room with us at the moment? Go eat shit and die.

They are in fact in the room with us right now.

4/26/24 - Biden/Harris administration incorporates latest rule to the ACA that includes protections on the basis of sexual orientation and improves pre-existing protections for gender identity, mandating nondiscrimination in health care and insurance coverage for LGBTQ+ Americans.

4/19/24 - Biden/Harris administration finalized a Title IX rule that clarifies the scope of nondiscrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity throughout educational activities and programs.

1/9/24 - Biden/Harris administration reverses Trump/Pence era “License to Discriminate” rules.

6/8/23 - Biden personally announces a series of initiatives that include efforts to protect queer and trans foster youth, improve access to mental health services for LGBTQ+ youth and address the rise in hate-fueled violence.

4/26/23 - Biden/Harris administration files lawsuit against the state of Tennessee, challenging the constitutionality of recently enacted legislation banning age-appropriate, medically necessary gender-affirming care for transgender youth.

2/7/23 - Biden uses his SotU address to encouraged Congress to pass the Equality Act “to ensure LGBTQ Americans, especially transgender young people, can live with safety and dignity.”

12/13/22 - Biden signs the Respect for Marriage Act, one of the biggest legislative wins in the fight for LGBTQ+ equality in over a decade, guaranteeing federal rights, benefits and obligations of marriages in the federal code for same-sex couples. The legislation also repealed the Defense of Marriage Act and affirmed public acts, records and proceedings should be recognized by all states.

8/4/22 - Biden/Harris administration declares Monkeypox a public emergency and wields federal power to ensure equal access in the distribution of vaccines and treatment.

3/21/22 - Biden/Harris administration takes steps on Transgender Day of Visibility to protect trans Americans that includes issuing passports with an “X” gender marker, streamlining identity verification during the travel experience and providing resources to transgender kids and their families.

And that’s just the last two years, without including any educational or research work done towards new policies or educating Americans about LGBTQ identities and politics, like displaying parts of the AIDS quilt in the White House or regularly acknowledging Pride, days of visibility, or other issues within the community.

You may be too young to remember this, but Biden was one of the first major federal-level politicians to support gay marriage, and he dragged Obama along kicking and screaming to the finish line. This administration is one of the strongest allies the LGBTQ community has had. Ever.

For the many many people who do not seem to understand how a government actually works, this doesn't mean Biden himself came up with these decisions, but they were approved and implemented by Congress because conservatives didn't have both the presidency and a majority. They desperately want the white house right now because it will allow them to make any policy changes they want uncontested.

please make every effort to vote <3

Voter suppression is a real problem!! I know so many people in real life that are LGBTQ and or left leaning irl that seem to think theres no hope and dont bother to vote! Its insane!!

I am not unaware of the negatives of Biden's presidency, and I am not trying to elide or forgive them. I'm reblogging posts about the Biden administration because I think it's really important that potential voters in the US realize that there is, in fact, a very big difference between the two parties, and voting for Biden is not just damage control--it actually does good. It's okay, you can actually feel a little excited about making meaningful progress, and not just hold your nose.

He's been very unflashy. He's not a great leader, he's not charismatic and he knows it, but he's an adroit politician and administrator, and he's been getting things done. Letting Trump win at this point would be tantamount to throwing the entire country on the bonfire. It's not a choice between bad and bad, it's a choice between meaningful, if imperfect, progress and fucking doom.

I keep doing it because I don't hear any buzz about the real progress that's happening, and that's frusterating.

I keep doing it because fear isn't actually all that effective to get people to do something. But I just want to be screaming "What the actual f*ck!" when folks act like the dude who sent unmarked vans to scoop up Black Lives Matter protesters and stans Andrew *Trail of Tears* Jackson is the equivalent of the dude lowering the price of prescriptions drugs and standing on the picket line with auto workers. Mainly by giving Biden somewhat more power than he actually has.

I keep doing it because I regularly volunteer with a marginalized group who are very aware of what's at stake.

Some things Biden and Congress have done:

I'm reblogging stuff about Biden when I can because I actually care about engaged democracy. And Biden is great at democracy, but really bad at engagement. (in many ways, he got elected exactly because of that, because The Other Guy is extremely engaging, but cares not a whit about either democracy or integrity). Biden cares about democracy, and he is engaged, even though lacking the ability to engage people. Which is so fucking frustrating, because now is a great time to make sure that every elected official understands that the American public actually wants democracy. Like, the GOP has become a death-cult. Giving the Democrats an actually significant win this year, while making it clear that election reform is something that should be considered top of the agenda? Ending the Electoral College and Gerrymandering, at the very least? Maybe adding some Ranked Choice Voting? Maybe restoring voting rights for felons? The GOP knows that they can't win elections without the current system in place, because they've rigged the system very very carefully. If enough Americans get out and empower the Democrats this year, the political map of this country could change forever. Because the Republicans can't win elections unless they cheat. They've said it themselves that significant voter reform would make them incapable of winning elections. The schism would finally sunder them. And probably that would in turn sunder the Democrats. And instead of the current state of affairs, where we have Violent White Nationalism vs Politics As Usual, we might actually arrive at a state of affairs where we are balancing between Radical Progress vs Politics As Usual, instead. If we get lucky enough, we might even get more than two options. That is to say, a moderate amount of voting reform would probably change the bipartisan system into a Centrist Career Politicians Party (the great reunion tour of the motherfucking Democratic Republicans) vs an Actually Progressive Politicians Party (who might finally even decide it's finally safe to gather under the Democratic Socialists flag 🍞🌹✊). And the tug-of-war would change into the speed with which we could implement progressive policies. Or, if there's actually engagement enough to call for real voter reform, for a new amendment to the Constitution (or perhaps a full rewriting of the Constitution, like most actually functional democracies do once or twice a century?)... the political scene could change in real ways. Like. I'm reblogging about Biden because he's showing that he wants to engage with the issues. If the voters make it clear that the top issue is election reform, and then follow through and empowers Biden's party to do something about it? The likelihood is that he would actually do it. (But this is only possible if, you know, the Democrats get all the majorities they need to push things through, which requires actual wide-spread ENGAGEMENT.

When absolutely 0 of Biden’s accomplishments have made any kind of news, and we’ve been fed a steady diet of fear and panic for 3 years, no one gets to be shocked when he loses the next election to Donald 2.0.

Posting anything positive about the president here will get you called a capitalist bootlicker.

What do we expect to happen?

Anger sells better. Anger feels better, it feels righteous.

It’s easier to protest against a president you don’t like then to actually remain in charge and keep pushing ahead, even if small, consistent accomplishments are all you receive.

I know I’ll never be missing an election in my life again (barring some kind of major medical event).

I just wish it weren’t so damn frustrating, feeling like you’re screaming into the void constantly, fighting against apathy.

CMS just announced that the government will start taking high-cost drugs that were developed with taxpayer dollars and start pulling patents to force competition and low cost generics. That’s fucking momentous.

I saw 1 news article on it. I wouldn’t have known it happened if I didn’t read the news every day. This should have caused the kind of celebration that erupted when companies started announcing $35 insulin caps. Why didn’t it?

Low cost hearing aids, lower and $0 student loans, concrete investments in green architecture…there was an announcement like 2 days ago to replace all leaded pipes out of US cities over the next 10 years, which will be an absolute boon in jobs for construction workers and can make our homes safer for kids. I’m sure I’ll see a headline in a year, “Biden’s lead pipe program causes drivers traffic headaches.”

Republicans want 20 foot concrete barriers topped with barbed wire across the entire southern border, and Democrats want amnesty and ease to citizenship for just about anyone who crosses, and it really seems like until a compromise is made somewhere in there, Republicans will continue to turn out in massive numbers to elections because God told them to, and Democrats will continue to stay home because the last president didn’t accomplish 100% of their goals and voting for an imperfect president is a personal and ethical failing.

Now take that mentality and spread it over every single social and economic issue.

I remember how utterly scared and angry we were sone years ago when Trump was trying to bankrupt the USPS. People were talking about it left right and sideways, asking people to buy from the USPS gift shop, start a stamp collection, anything. Then, Biden got elected and put a huge stop to that by getting rid of the unfair laws that only the USPS had to abide by. Overnight, the USPS was saved, and how did everyone react?

They didn't. It was hardly mentioned. Not a blip.

Same exact thing when it came to net neutrality!! It was DEVASTATING when it was killed. People died in wildfires because Internet providers throttled data of firefighters. Xfinity actually stole identities in order to make it happen.

About a month ago, BAM, it was restored because Biden appointed a Democratic leader to the FFC. Did anyone talk about it? Nope. I saw ONE post.

Adding to this list, the Biden-Harris administration has also:

And honestly, this administration has done so much more that I don’t have time to list - with wide-ranging effects that won’t be fully felt for another few years, but are MONUMENTAL for our country, our healthcare, our environment, our jobs, and our futures.

Please don’t allow shills and bots to convince you that voting doesn’t matter or that your vote is inconsequential.

Please register and vote in 2024.

Please.

#VoteBlue

Voting for Democrats is the "leaving the house, getting some exercise, and drinking more water is good for your mental health" of societal change. Everyone keeps telling you to do it, worst of all your mom keeps telling you to do it, and it's not a magical cure-all, but it actually works and rotting in your room shitposting does not help in either scenario.

Also like mental health, voting doesn't solve the whole problem! But if you aren't doing this bare minimum thing, the other tools you have aren't going to work as well as they should either. If you get medicine and continue rotting in your room shitposting, you will probably still be miserable. If you get a union at work but don't vote for politicians who support unions, the union won't be able to advocate for its members as effectively and work will still be miserable.

Voting is maintenance. It's like doing the dishes or cleaning the leaves out of the gutters. You're never going to get to a point where you are Done and Never Have To Do It Again (alas,) because time will continue to pass and you will continue to eat meals and the trees will continue to drop leaves into your gutters and right wingers will continue to submit bad bills to every session of congress.

You'll never be done with maintenance. But if you don't do that maintenance, your situation can and definitely will get Worse

the problem with not voting in order to send the message that you hate all the candidates and the entire system and therefore refuse to participate is that it's completely indistinguishable, as a signal, from not bothering to vote because you think the system is great and all the candidates are great and you'd be fine with any of them. so you might want to rethink the strategy there

look, y'all. I'm speaking directly to that 2.3% of you.

Boycotting is for when your refusal to participate hurts the system/entity you are absent from. You boycott a company, a transit authority, etc.

That's not how voting works. There WILL be an election whether you participate or not. The results WILL be counted in the usual way & considered valid whether you participate or not.

so participate.

Go to a protest immediately before and after you cast your vote. If you don't have an election day protest near you, organize one. Call your elected representatives / the national party HQs every day of every week between now and the election to formally register your opinion on the candidates presented to you. THOSE are effective ways to protest the system. Better yet, get involved in your local municipality, where you can make change as a much bigger fish in a much smaller pond.

Not voting just means the people who believe differently from you will decide who governs, because they showed up.

One-third to half of the population won't vote. Your "protest absence" will be completely indistinguishable from their apathy.

"But the electoral college-"

Yes. So organize around its revamping or elimination. Vote anyway. It's meaningful that the popular vote has been so misaligned with the electoral college for so long. It's gonna be hard to reform the system no matter what, but it will be fucking impossible if we don't continue to show up and demonstrate the ways in which it's broken.

Voting as harm reduction is much more effective and meaningful than not voting at all.

contact your elected officials here

find your fucking polling place here

There’s some common threads I see in the anti-voting posts going around, and I feel like I need to discuss some of them. Let’s start with the biggest one:

Funnily enough, I haven’t seen a whole lot of third party promotion, just lots of this rhetoric aiming to punish. When voting, ask yourself:

Withholding your vote as a punishment isn’t really going to help. Biden doesn’t know who you are or why you are not voting for him, and there is no one with a chance of winning that will do everything you want. But you have other means. Protest, organize, donate, build up alternatives, advocate for a different system.

Vote to give yourself space and get a little bit. Do other things to keep things moving.

I saw a post on BlueSky that said that if Biden loses, the party will see that his centric policies (including international policy) have failed and will therefore move the party further to the left.

I cannot stress how much this will not happen. The party attempts to shift to the center when there is a major loss, because they want to pull in the left leaning-independents and the center leaning-Republicans. The Democratic party pays attention to the left when the left is pulling in victories. They go where the votes are. Not where the votes aren't.

You can go fucking nuts at the primaries, though. If some otherwise ignored candidate starts racking up the numbers, the Dems will pay attention and may focus on that candidate's pet issues in the general election. They'll also be watching where the donations are going.

I don’t even care who fucking wins the presidency this year look at this

This makes an INCREDIBLE difference!!!! For fuck sake go vote!!!!

This is why you vote & vote Blue

They ran on doing this; not on how this was impossible.

This is why we want candidates to campaign on these issues: Because people want these jobs done.

Voting matters. #VoteBlue 💙

I think it's really important to take a good look at who you're voting for in primaries, too. It's not being talked about that a lot of the people who got this done are a) younger and b) marginalized in one or more ways and c) aren't entrenched in establishment politics.

One of the reasons that things got done is because the people pushing those agendas aren't following the old "well we have to appeal to the right to our own detriment" Democrat defeatist stuff, and because they're young and because nobody had yet told them it couldn't be done, they just did it.

If you haven't yet seen the video of the young man responsible for the gig work reform bill being literally carried around on the shoulders of Uber drivers after the bill passed, go look it up. It's good stuff.

Yes, vote blue, because the Republican party is... *waves hands* but pay attention to who you're voting for. Show up at primaries. Don't just vote in the incumbent if they're not getting shit done.

Hell, run for shit, and if you do? Don't let 'em tell you that it can't be done.

Yes, Omar Fateh (the guy behind the gig workers bill) is really respected in his district, and he specifically ran in both the primary and the actual election as a person committed to Getting Shit Done. And then he did!

It is so important to keep an eye out for folks like this in your primaries and give them your vote. Even if they don’t win, many candidates use primary results to help them choose which issues to address during the main campaign and in session.

And if your preferred political party has caucuses, or meetings, or whatever in preparation for the primary, try to go! That’s a great place to share your concerns with potential candidates or get a feel for what plans everyone is likely to focus on.

Thank you so much! I couldn't remember his name.

1. The Republican Party turns out for EVERY vote. Primaries, local elections, midterms, you name it. Most dems show up once every four year and then get defeatist when things don’t immediately change. It took the Republicans YEARS to overturn RvW but it has been a long game goal of theirs. YEARS of voting, and you’re gonna opt out after one vote. Okay.

2. Primaries are when you vote for who you want. Elections are when you vote for who you can. If you’re not voting in the primary, you’re letting the moderate centrist do-nothing candidate win.

3. Local elections affect your daily life. That sherif in Texas who is refusing to enforce the abortion ban? Local election. Gerrymandering, voter suppression, so much of this is trickle up from local politics.

4. Call your damn representatives. Even if it feels hopeless. The gun control reform that just passed (as minimal as it is) was bipartisan because people showed their reps that they wanted change. Get vocal as a voter and prove courting your vote matters.

5. If someone in your area is running for office and needs votes, be a signature for them. Not everyone can afford to pay to run. You want to support better candidates, put your name behind them (only in your district and always read what you’re signing first).

6. The two party system is shit. We know that. But the democrats are a big tent housing a lot of different opinions and trying to cater to them all. Republicans are generally united in one mission of dismantling everything and protecting only their own. This is also why Dems don’t have the same type of “super majority” and can’t easily whip the same voting results. And anyone who thinks Obama had a super majority for enough time to codify roe does not understand politics. He had about 18 days of actual in-session time, split into two different sessions.

7. Purity politics isn’t going to get you anywhere. The candidate is a bus stop getting you closer to where you want to be. They’re not the end goal, and a smart voter knows that.

8. Voter suppression is huge in America. Help other voters register and get to the polls. It’s not always indifference keeping people from voting. Do something to help disenfranchised voters.

Let me repeat: The two party system is shit. We need to get rid of the electoral college. We need ranked choice voting. We need to get rid of Citizens United. Our country is an oligarchy. Always has been. Not denying that. But Living in these ideals of what we should be without creating any change now isn’t going to get you anywhere. Being defeatist and abstaining from the process is cutting off your own nose to spite your face. Its saying “the other team is scoring too many goals, so instead of playing, I’m just gonna sit on the sidelines. That’ll teach everyone.” No, you’re just gonna keep losing. Maybe, instead, vote in the primaries and choose better teammates.

Y’all kill me with these “hot takes.” They ain’t even half baked.

Now, if you want to talk about the other things we should be doing IN ADDITION TO voting, like general strikes, organizing, etc. Then that’s a different conversation we should also be having.

Also no, there is no such thing as “one more vote.” Vote every time. Vote consistently. Vote national. Vote local. It’s the absolute MINIMAL amount of civil engagement you can do. If you can do more than vote, do more, but at least vote every single time.

A lot of people really think democracy is something they only have to do once. It’s not. It’s something we do constantly - because greedy and power-hungry and malicious people are constantly trying to take advantage of society. Evil never stops, so neither do we.