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> Many of us in the US are tired of fighting with people that vote against their own interests time and again. Most people aren't voting against their interest

by Izkata 1y ago

> Many of us in the US are tired of fighting with people that vote against their own interests time and again. Most people aren't voting against their interests, they're voting for the least-bad option based on whichever issues are most important to them. Often that means they have to vote against what they want on one issue, to vote for something they want on a different issue they care more about. There is no way to vote for every issue someone might want, so there will always be to make this complaint no matter what the outcome is.

PorterBHall 1y ago
Wedge issues, deployed by both political parties, do exactly this. Wealthy donors express their political desires by funding politicians who become dependent on their continued financial support. The voter gets just enough small wins on these wedge issues to keep them somewhat happy. The wealthy preserves the status quo since that’s how they became wealthy in the first place. Our democracy ossifies in the face of new challenges. If voters across the spectrum viewed campaign finance reform as a key issue, we might have some hope in changing things.
Tadpole9181 1y ago
No, I'm not going to be nearly as generous on this anymore. All my life I've been surrounded by conservatives. Most of my family is conservative to this day. And from extensive discussion and observation, they vote for two reasons: 1. To hurt "others". In particular, LGBT (focus on the T) and minorities. When there are minorities in our family! 2. As an extension of (1) - To cut all forms of social nets and gut education. Social nets they actively rely on! And the education systems their own family participate in! It's not about a better America tomorrow, it's not about taking care of their children's future (who, I should add, are now unemployed because of government layoffs). The "identity" of their "identity politics" is an utter contempt for other human beings being allowed to exist. There's no discussion of economics. There's no discussion of history. There's never numbers brought out or thoughts on short-term vs long-term policy. It's never how we can improve the lives of Americans or tackle the debt or recover foreign relations or police effectively. Politics is exclusively about hate. Border "invasion", trans "pedos", Haitian "dog eaters", middle eastern "terrorists", Chinese "communists", gay "weirdos", union "thieves", "emotional" women, "socialist" educators. Actual policy discussion is so far from the norm and stays in places like HN, but the boots-on-the-ground reality is so far from what we pretend it is in forums like this, it's like a different planet.

by Izkata 1y ago

PorterBHall 1y ago

Wedge issues, deployed by both political parties, do exactly this. Wealthy donors express their political desires by funding politicians who become dependent on their continued financial support. The voter gets just enough small wins on these wedge issues to keep them somewhat happy. The wealthy preserves the status quo since that’s how they became wealthy in the first place. Our democracy ossifies in the face of new challenges. If voters across the spectrum viewed campaign finance reform as a key issue, we might have some hope in changing things.

Tadpole9181 1y ago

No, I'm not going to be nearly as generous on this anymore. All my life I've been surrounded by conservatives. Most of my family is conservative to this day. And from extensive discussion and observation, they vote for two reasons: 1. To hurt "others". In particular, LGBT (focus on the T) and minorities. When there are minorities in our family! 2. As an extension of (1) - To cut all forms of social nets and gut education. Social nets they actively rely on! And the education systems their own family participate in! It's not about a better America tomorrow, it's not about taking care of their children's future (who, I should add, are now unemployed because of government layoffs). The "identity" of their "identity politics" is an utter contempt for other human beings being allowed to exist. There's no discussion of economics. There's no discussion of history. There's never numbers brought out or thoughts on short-term vs long-term policy. It's never how we can improve the lives of Americans or tackle the debt or recover foreign relations or police effectively. Politics is exclusively about hate. Border "invasion", trans "pedos", Haitian "dog eaters", middle eastern "terrorists", Chinese "communists", gay "weirdos", union "thieves", "emotional" women, "socialist" educators. Actual policy discussion is so far from the norm and stays in places like HN, but the boots-on-the-ground reality is so far from what we pretend it is in forums like this, it's like a different planet.