Gretchen Whitmer responds to calls by some Democrats to vote āuncommittedā in Michiganās 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.
āItās important not to lose sight of the fact that any vote thatās not cast for Joe Biden supports a second Trump term,ā she said on Sunday during an interview on CNNās State of the Union. āA 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.ā
Whitmer, who is a co-chair of Bidenās 2024 campaign, also said she wasnāt 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 āuncommittedā in Michiganās 27 February primary.
āElephant shit more than bears shit.ā Is technically true. But youāre still talking about shit.
We have a right- and indeed an obligation- to call out our presidentās bullshit. Just because one hypothetical is worse than another, doesnāt mean that Biden and most the rest of the DNC supoorting genocide is okay.
āWell it could be worseā is a cop out.
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1- you donāt know who will win. You donāt even know if theyāll live long enough to win. This isnāt entirely an age thing- thereās enough assholes who absolutely would pull the trigger here. (And Iām not even sure assassinating Trump is immoral. Thatās how fucked yo this all is.
Either presidency is still a hypothetical. Period.
2- TRUMP BEING WORSE DOES NOT JUSTIFY SUPPORTING GENOCIDE.
Seriously. When people protest bidenās (and most every other politicianās) support of genocideā¦ it isnāt about the election. ITS ABOUT THE GENOCIDE.
Stop making excuses. Youāre defending genocide. Youāre complicit in genocide.
No, this is not hypothetical. Either Biden will win, or Trump will. You can protest and throw all the tantrums you like, thatās what the primary is for.
Come November, if you donāt vote for Biden, youāre as guilty as the most ardent MAGA supporter in letting fascism take power.
Incorrect.
The purpose of a primary is meant to select the best candidate possible.
We can argue if a guy whose consistently thrown unconditional support to a genocidal regime is in fact that, but the primary is not to āthrow tantrumsā
And yes, I am pissed that my govenement is currently sending money and weapons to a genocidal regime. I am more than pissed. I expect better of my govnerment.
But being incensed at genocideā¦ isnāt a tantrum.
Canā¦ you do me a favor? Can you just agree that genocide is bad? Or is that too much?
Whatever you want to call it, you go act out in the primary all you like, vote for Barney the dinosaur for all I care. But when it comes to November, you put on your big kid pants, suck it up, and vote for Biden, otherwise youāre as guilty as any other MAGA fanatic.
Soā¦.
We canāt agree that genocide is bad?
Once again: you are talking about a possible future- a very likely future. Protesting the genocide of Gazaās isnāt about what might happen in the future. The protests are about what is happening now.
And what our current, active government is doing to support it. āFirst they came for the Gazans, and I did nothing because Biden was better than Trumpā is not something I want to express later.
Our government is complicit in genocide. Period. It doesnāt matter if the current president is better than the alternative. Itās still complicit in genocide- and because it ostensibly represents me- I have an obligation to tell it to knock it off.
You, on the other hand, are using your right to free speech to enable and defend genocide.
You asked me for a favor, and Iām not inclined to do you any favors until you commit to voting for Biden in the general. After that, we can talk.
Why does saying genocide is bad require a favor for you to do?
āDo what I tell you and then we can talkā
you sound like a republican. You canāt even agree that genocide is bad and you expect me to actually agree to do what you say as if youāre some divinely appointed prophet? Fuck. That.
Hey bud, how about you not scream at someone for something they didnāt say? Making up strawmen and screaming at them isnāt going to convince anyone youre worth listening to, let alone convince them to actually to listen to anything you have to say.
Thereās a lot of that going around. A lot of us are justifiably pissed off at the Biden admin for funneling our tax dollars into a genocideā¦ but calling that out is just being met with a wave of āif you donāt vote Biden, youāre supporting Trump, which is even worse!ā whichā¦ no shit? We can be pissed off at Biden and simultaneously still willing to vote for him over Orange Hitler Those things arenāt mutually exclusive.
Then pick someone who says something like that to argue with. The person above is just screaming at someone because of something that no one in this thread said.
Hey bud.
How about you actually read what said, instead of repeating those āBiden Goodā macros you think are persuasive.
The problem here is that you seem to think any criticism of Biden is unwarranted because he is not as bad as Trump hypothetically will be.
And yes. At this point in time, it is hypothetical. Nobody here can predict whether or not Trump will win. Or if Biden will win.
Which is all entirely beside the point that people are protesting our current government - not our possible future governmentās support of something most of us find objectionable.
Saying ādonāt protest genocide because Trump will be worseā is a lazy excuse; and fundamentally defending genocide.
Do you support genocide? Do you think whatās happening in Gaza is good?
Do you think Palestinians should be eradicated as a culture and a people?
Because that, right here, right now, is what you are supporting.
Why do you support female genital mutilation? Huh how come youāre not responding? Is it because you love mutilating childrenās genitals that much? Why do you just love to torture children and maim them for life?
Oh hey look, itās not fun to argue with someone who argued against things you didnāt say.
Reread the part where i said not to put words in peopleās mouths and try again asshole.
Thatās amusing.
Yes Iām apposed to genital mutilation. Itās easy to say.
Youāre the one trying to make this about some thing itās not. People are protesting our current governmentās policy towards Israel. That is to say, theyāre protesting our current governmentās support of genocide.
This has nothing at all to do with the upcoming election; and telling people to shut up about it, or Trump might win (or implying it) is a good sign that maybe people find the current policy deeply unpopular.
And yes, what you are doing is in fact defending genocide. So which of us is an asshole here?
No, Iām pointing out that arguing with strawmen and putting words in peopleās mouths is dumb and childish, and like I said, you are, for repeatedly using strawman arguments. Try and not put words in peopleās mouths. Itās really really not complicated for most people over the age of 12.
saying āgenocide is badā is not a strawman.
Saying itās not about the election is not a strawman.
Saying arguments that Biden is better than trump is a cop out is not a strawman.
Saying people- myself included- are protesting the war in gaza is not about the election is a strawman.
I am not putting up a scarecrow to argue against. Nor am I putting up a sock puppet. Iām saying making the genocide in Gaza about the election is stupid. youāre (royal you) are telling me to shut up and vote for Biden. youāre attempting to change the topic of discussion into defending being upset at Biden. youāre getting pissed because people are upset about genocide. news flash: most reasonable people are upset by genocide.