Friday, March 1, 2024

Battle of the cringe: round 3

 So, in this (first corner), we have the vote blue no matter whoers. These people are obnoxious, self righteous jerks who think that voters owe the democratic party votes. And when they don't get those votes they foam at the mouth and shame people for not voting for the democratic party, claiming they are in league with Trump.

In the other corner, we have the gaza protesters. These guys are making big waves with 100k people in Michigan defecting to "uncommitted" to send a political statement to Biden that they want a cease fire now, and that they won't vote for the democrats until they get one. They are self righteous as well, extremely politically radicalized, and like the blue no matter whoers have a tendency to shame and scream down at anyone who doesn't support them. And me, being in the middle, looks at both, and sees this as another unstoppable force vs immovable object situation, where we have to figure out, just who is cringier. 

Now, I'm going to be blunt. I'm NOT with the gaza people this time around. I don't care about gaza. My official stance is to stay out of it and let the two factions fight it out. This isn't my fight, this isn't my problem, I'd rather focus on my UBI activism. if anything, I kinda am annoyed with these guys. Even I understand that Trump is a threat to democracy, and even I'm planning to "vote blue no matter who". In part because Biden isnt that bad, in part because of Trump, and in part because ive literally broken from the far left in recent years as they got too insane.

So, if anything, I kind of sympathize with the blue no matter who people. I heard one of them say "are these guys REALLY gonna throw away all progress made in THIS country over THIS?!" And again, I kind of have to agree. I respect the hustle of threatening to vote third party, but taking a stand over THIS is just...dumb. This issue is of no strategic importance to the left. It advances no real causes, and I'm pretty much convinced if Biden brokered a cease fire today, it probably wouldnt work (because hey, Biden isn't GOD, and people have free will), and these guys would find some new goalpost to move to, which renders their strategy ineffective. Really, I kinda am irritated over this. Why is THIS the issue we have to take a stand on. Yes, I agree, the situation is a dumpster fire. Yes, I agree, Netanyahu is committing war crimes, if not a genocide. I just don't believe this is our problem, and that we should die on this hill. I'm just here for the UBI and universal healthcare, man, and I wanna stay focused on those issues. 

Still, watching the blue no matter whoers try to shame these people makes me viscerally cringe too. Because not only is this ineffective, but counterproductive. Dem strategy seems to be that they cant fail, they can only be failed, and they seem to be wanting to cultivate mindless, loyal followers who just go along with everything they say or do and shame them for taking any stand at all whatever, claiming they're gonna give us Trump. It's amazing the dems still do this. They STILL relitigate 2016 and voter shame third party voters like me from that election, and think that repeating the same toxic strategy in 2024 is gonna get them anywhere. I can assure them that it won't. 

Like it or not, democracy belongs to the voters. And when the voters want something and organize themselves in such a way to articulate that fact, it is in the democrats' court to respond and appease them. People dont owe the democratic party votes, the democrats have to meet voters where they are or lose votes. As such, I too will advocate for a cease fire. Again, on my less important priorities, I will compromise, and while my mind and heart say publicly breaking from Israel is a bad idea that could make this conflict worse, the voters are forcing our hands. I laid out the argument electorally. While not a lot of voters are taking this stand, this election literally COULD come down to 100k voters in Michigan. Michigan is THE swing state this election. It is likely THE state that decides the election. We need Wisconsin, we need Pennsylvania, and we need Michigan. If we are gonna win swing states, these are the three that are easiest and will get us to 270 most quickly. The alternative strategy would involve Arizona and Nevada, or possibly Georgia, and I think Michigan is the safest bet there. 

As such, like it or not, if the dems want these guys' votes, they HAVE to deliver a ceasefire, and Biden ignores these voters at his own peril. Blue no matter who voter shaming DOES NOT WORK. I have talked to some of these voters, they believe in what they do very strongly (too strongly for my tastes), and are not likely to capitulate. In all fairness, they believe in it so strongly, I have trouble believing a lot of them would vote for Biden even if the conditions are met. Still, they issued a challenge, the onus is on Biden to meet this purity test, and THEN they can shame the voters for not doing WHAT THEY PROMISED TO DO, IF BIDEN DID THE THING THAT THEY ASKED HIM TO DO! 

And that's how I see it. So who wins this cringe contest? Probably Donald Trump. Because with these guys playing electoral chicken with each other, the blue no matter whoers have a point that this is just helping Trump. Although I'd argue they are also helping Trump by not learning from what got him elected last time and trotting out the same old strategies. So, the immovable object doesn't move, the unstoppable force doesn't stop, and somehow donald trump wins from this game of electoral chicken. We are so screwed.

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