Gretchen Whitmer responds to calls by some Democrats to vote ‘uncommitted’ in Michigan’s primary on Tuesday
Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan governor, pushed back on calls to not vote for Joe Biden over his handling of the Israel-Gaza conflict, saying on Sunday that could help Trump get re-elected.
“It’s important not to lose sight of the fact that any vote that’s not cast for Joe Biden supports a second Trump term,” she said on Sunday during an interview on CNN’s State of the Union. “A second Trump term would be devastating. Not just on fundamental rights, not just on our democracy here at home, but also when it comes to foreign policy. This was a man who promoted a Muslim ban.”
Whitmer, who is a co-chair of Biden’s 2024 campaign, also said she wasn’t sure what to expect when it came to the protest vote.
Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat who is the only Palestinian-American serving in Congress, urged Democrats last week to vote “uncommitted” in Michigan’s 27 February primary.
Trying to get a progressive agenda by only thinking about the Presidency is like trying to win a game with only hail Marys. We need to focus on smaller races in house and build up from there. It would be a stronger and longer lasting change. Even if you’re in an area that doesn’t have any competitive progressives running in the primary, you are allowed to volunteer to help progressive candidates in areas that do.
I really like this analogy. It’s true. Constant pressure on politicians is what gets policy made.
This isn’t a “implement a progressive agenda” though, it’s a “be less genocidal” and it’s specifically about the actions of the president. He’s been supporting Israel unilaterally without needing Congressional approval. More AOCs isn’t going to fix that.
More progressives in Congress will give us better options to vote for in future presidencies.
This is the answer. If Bernie actually had a base around the country he may have won in 2016. The number of people unfamiliar with Politics that were shocked that established Democrats didn’t care for a guy who isn’t a party member coming into it to try to win the nomination is downright laughable. If he stayed a Democrat and helped support like-minded candidates around the country, maybe he would have had a better shot in 2020. His heart was in the right place, but I think his strategy and feasibility planning was awful.
LOL, yeah, it’s the Democratic label that the establishment cares about. Of course they forgot all about that when they switched up the rules halfway through the 2020 primary to let a damn Republican join the race. Get real.
The party steps in to protect centrist incumbents against progressive challengers.
“The Squad” got some concessions from Pelosi at some point, to not have her PAC do that. The more progressives we get the more we have to bargain with.
Ultimately progressives and Democrats aren’t the same party, but for the same reason we are stuck with Biden is the same reason they have to play that game.
Didn’t stick. The party propped up the anti-choice pro-nra anti-union candidate Henry Cuellar because and only because his opponent was a progressive.
Didn’t say it would be fair or easy, but it’s still possible to make progress and the more progress we make the easier it will get. Change doesn’t just happen on its own, it’s hard work, and I don’t see anyone suggesting any easier options.
Or possible. The Democratic Party is completely irredeemable.
I heard this back in 2008. But the next eight years was nothing but losses, in large part because the national party kept kneecapping grass roots organizations.
From ACORN to Code Pink, left activists were targeted and dismantled from within the liberal party.
By the time Trump won in 2016, Dems had castrated themselves across the entire Midwest and were losing in record numbers.
How do you organize under that kind of leadership?