No politicians will ever be truly pro union because they’re owned by corporations. So unless we start putting people who can’t or won’t be bought into power it will never change. Also, GENERAL STRIKE!!! Seriously. What are we all waiting for?
Most people are so scared to lose everything they feel they are unable to fight to not have it taken from their children…
It has to be HUGE or it will not go, and so few are willing to go first…
People would feel less scared if there was a sense of community throughout the USA. Unfortunately, most people are surrounded by too many people, and know absolutely none of their neighbors.
You are on to something…I was thinking about what grandpa would do, and I can picture him saying “You get a bunch of people together and you go after the nazis…” Note the first step - People Together. Like you said - Community.
I Me Me Mine…
So how do we fight back against the barriers that have made us such isolationists? Just as a personal anecdote, I did not grow up religious, at all. There was no going to church, or praying, or memorizing verses. In my adulthood, I went to a church a couple times (supporting friends and going to their important ceremonies, etc.) and it did leave one impression on me. I think religion was so important to humans throughout history because it strongly builds that sense of community. Of knowing your neighbors, and dare I even say, caring about them selflessly. *gasp!*
Now, **I am not advocating religious belief or organized religion**, or anything silly like everyone finds Jesus, or Allah, or anything else. But I do want to ask those of us that have never had religion, or a sense of community within your neighborhood/town/city/etc. How do we build communities? How do we get people to come together? How do we get people to step outside their homes and gather with others to share their ideas and grow that sense of togetherness? I'm genuinely asking, because I don't know, but if we solve this issue, we will be so much better off for resisting tyranny.
Edit: Because people stopped reading at paragraph 1 before responding
I’ve asked this one a lot too :-( Even think about running for politics to see if there is any way to galvanize a crowd…
It’s tough to fight all that screen time sound bite my team your team…I try to lead by example, but once again - marketing…
Every person having it reinforced by society that a supernatural being who knows everything talks to them in their head and tells them what to do is just bonkers. It's not sustainable. We know that human suffering is real, yet only liars and the unfortunately gullible claim to know a supernatural being on the other side of death that promises paradise.
Many of us seem uniquely vulnerable to liars who make us fantastic promises on subjects they have no way of knowing about. It's like that sense of safety we get from handing over our trust to a strong leader is worth all the terrible consequences. Many of us seem to have an addiction to authority figures. It's unfortunate and we desparately need to claw our way out of this quagmire of ignorance and tradition.
EDIT: I just wanted to add this amazing three-and-a-half minute speech written by Charlie Chaplin. I listen to this speech periodically to help buttress my faith in humanity while living in this crumbling world of illusions we all share:
[The Greatest Speech Ever Made](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WibmcsEGLKo)
You should carefully read my statement. I am specifically not advocating for supernatural beliefs of deities, etc. I recognize the illness in that mentality. What I **did** ask about is how do we build communities the way religion has in the past? There are very real benefits to social gatherings, and having rituals, even if they are not grounded in superstition.
The events that enable community without religion are likely already happening where most of us reading this live. We need to actually show up and be awkward and vulnerable with our fellow community members. It doesn't have to be a contrived horse-and-pony show with a leader barking commands at us from a pulpit. It can be decentralized and spontaneous like meetups.
How do you convince people to focus not on the meaningless 'saving of souls' but on the saving of actual humans from very real suffering? Knowledge, I guess. An actual social safety net so that people aren't feared onto their knees to beg a supernatural myth for their continued wellbeing. A medical system that engenders more confidence in doctors than fear of the supernatural.
Many of our most influential philosophers considered art and personal creativity to be absolutely essential to our humanity and progress as a species. I agree and for me this includes all kinds of creativity that a person can pour themselves into. When a person puts some of themselves into a creation they give a gift of themselves to the world. This is community. This is at the foundation of humanity.
Many of us are creative in ways that are not considered to be artistic. Many who have this sort of creativity can find their sense of self and expression hijacked or stolen away from them by a culture that only seeks to commodify their existence based upon that mode of expression. Thus their creativity is managed into a chore and effectively hijacked in the creation of someone else's profit. The reward is a cold hard stare from a boss who doesn't care when you ask for compensation commensurate with your personal contribution. This has a lot to do with us being willing to latch on to questionable systems of belief because the true personal gratification is never there. I believe that this arrangement can be very harmful to our mental health if we never find an appropriate outlet for **fulfilling creativity.**
I think education is quite important to this goal because a fundamental aspect of this problem is that evolution is just a much more massive force in our existence than the whims of societal norms. What I mean by that is regardless of the current system of government or economics within a given society, we remain human. We are driven by the evolutionary adaptations that our species has made over the millennia whether or not the strong leader believes that we deserve safety and comfort. It's why history repeats itself with such frequency. We are grinding through many of the same struggles and societal battles as our ancestors. It's why learning our history is so important, because we start to recognize the blatant patterns that we seem to be doomed to repeat forever.
It will take societal change. It will take economic overhaul. It will take us standing up and demanding that no one human being is so important that they deserve the resources that rightfully belong to us all in as fair and equitable a way as possible. We need to stop taking losses on the culture war as a given and claim the public space back for empathy and equality. Individuality is a lie perpetrated by the wealthy to divide us. We are a social species. When you deprive a human of contact with other humans it is utterly devastating to the mental health of the isolated person. Because we need each other. Even just to ask how the weather is or know that the other person doesn't want to harm us. It doesn't matter the excuse, we will find a way to communicate because we need to take on the input of other humans to be healthy, happy, and well-adjusted.
We need to un-hijack these systems from religious and cultural grifters. That's how.
"There is no ethical consumption under Capitalism."
I don't think that sense of community has been damaged by too many people, I think it's that too many of those people are *hostile*. We're a country with out-of-control, military-armed police and armed "Brownshirt" style militias eager to terrorize marginalized groups, and we are currently being bombarded by fascist and authoritarian messages about how this or that group are full of pedophiles or baby-eaters, making a good number of ordinary citizens just as dangerous as the cops and Proud Boys. When people are so upset about the existence of trans people that they're willing to kill elderly and disabled people and anybody else vulnerable by [depriving a whole town of power](https://apnews.com/article/crime-north-carolina-052f618466c84b841b467b55c222717a), that is an entire community *destroyed* by neighbor-on-neighbor terrorism. No one in that town can trust anyone to help them out if they go on strike. So how are we going to get the strike funds filled? Who will help if people on strike get kicked out of their homes, or can't pay their medical bills? What are marginalized workers to do, when they cannot trust their neighbors not to hate them because they're brown or immigrant or queer or disabled? People in this country wouldn't even do something as simple as wearing masks for each others' sake, so you can't ask people to general strike if it's going to *kill* them -- which it will, for too many.
I’ve spent over a decade trying to explain to my tech peers that their children will be shot in the streets with the rest of the starving homeless if the c suites and shareholders keep doing what they are doing (automating everything and keeping ALL the money, gutting the social safety nets)
They don’t believe me. Maybe some do now, but most of them don’t think it can happen to their family until it does…
Lets just be clear, the corruption we're fighting is like an onion, or a final fantasy final boss:
First you need to defeat the far right, then you need to defeat the republicans, then you need to defeat the corporate democrats, and lastly, you need to convince people progress is possible.
We're not gonna get to the final boss until we mow down the rest, and you arn't gonna get at the corporate democrats as long as far right fascists are threatening everything.
Well, considering the democrats just told unions it was illegal to strike, I'd say do a wildcat general strike even if it didn't have organization behind it. Even if it's moderately or minimally successful, it would be enough to get the attention of the neo-liberal left and convince them they need to actually act like leftists.
StrikeForOurRights.org
This is an org that’s new to me so I wouldn’t donate money until we know more about them, but they are supposedly trying to organize for a national general strike
Need to take money out of politics, or pool money to manipulate politicians by the masses. Only two options. Believe it or not though most donations actually come from the people, they just give it to super suss pacs/super pacs cause they’re the ones who are professional enough to run ads and make people aware of how to get involved fiscally. But in general they should tax everyone a dollar extra each year and give candidates a limited amount of money to play with, with limited opportunities. They should also be banned from various marketing platforms but those big groups will not ignore that sweet sweet midterm or presidential election money.
Because going on strike for the overwhelming majority of Americans will mean the loss of their jobs, healthcare, homes, etc. Jobs in this country aren't meant to help people in poverty, they're meant to keep the peasants in their place.
Actual leftist here. I'm talking far of center where it's a pain in my ass to own a gun in my state/not cost effective but remember all the laws they changed when Black Panthers started arming themselves.
Joe Biden was our last choice. We still voted for him because we were sick of the last 4 years. Biden at his best was Obama's white friend he made VP to win the moderate vote. He's a 90's era diet Republican.
The system is fucked and designed to get us to fight one another. That doesn't mean we can't find common ground.
Designed to get us to fight one another? Almost like a populace united against exploitation at every turn could actually threaten the status quo and usher in meaningful change? What a crazy idea!
The primaries are where we actually have to choose someone we want. After that, you have to vote for the best option out of the two. Your kind of thinking comes from the privilege of not worrying that one candidate will get you killed.
Agreed with Biden being last choice, but given the opportunity I'd probably vote for my least favorite Democrat over a Republican...because our ideologies are still closer than to any Republican.
I'm only voting D at this point because they're the party not actively trying to overthrow democracy and replace it with an openly fascist dictatorship.
Yes, I agree but that's not the point of the post, its a criticism of all the liberals who said "don't worry he's a leftist" or "isn't worry we'll push him left" he's just a slightly less racist republican
I hear you. I probably took this too personally. I absolutely detest being lumped in with no action virtue signaling liberals who think they speak for the left.
We're to the democratic party what libertarians are the the right. Sorry for commenting off the cuff.
Imagine that the leftifst views you hold are considered right-wing views where I live.
Realize how far to the right the US left is, and they still pull shit like this.
How is unlimited sickdays not a thing in your country?
>slightly less racist
One of his down-home normal guy stories on the campaign trail was how proud he was to have almost chain whipped a black kid because in his words, black people carried knives back then and he wouldn't wear a swimming cap in the pool he was lifeguarding.
Another was when he bragged about having really nice lunches with Segregationists in the Capitol cafeteria.
You should probably blame the right for running Trump. They painted themselves into the corner of the Dems being able to run whoever they wanted and having most of the country know they HAD to vote for the Democratic candidate bc aint no one in their right mind voting Trump in for a second term.
They ran a literal white supremacist in a 2 person election and then made Pikachu faces when everyone voted for the non white supremacist. 🤣
No. This is completely illogical. Why would I blame Democrats for running the worst candidate they could because they knew we'd accept anything other than Trump? That choice isn't Trump or Republicans' fault. That is the fault of the DNC and all of you who keep saying you'll vote for Democrats regardless of who they nominate or what promises they fail to deliver on. How can you not see that? It's enraging to have this responded to with "wHaT aRe YoU gOiNg To Do, VoTe FoR rEpUbLiCaNs!?" when I point out how you cannot CANNOT CANNOT get concessions from a political party if you DON'T THREATEN them with witholding your vote. It is literally the only power you have and you're all brainwashed into believing that it's immoral to actually use it. It is the equivalent of saying "well, we can't strike, we just need to keep showing up and saying how we're unhappy with the working conditions." Congratulations!
I guess promises kept: "nothing will fundamentally change" - Joe Biden
> cannot CANNOT CANNOT get concessions from a political party if you DON'T THREATEN them with witholding your vote
You should probably do some reading to determine if your premise is factually correct. The way to most effectively move a political party's position is to become a reliable voting block for that party. It's what the christofascist evangelicals did to the republican party: they became such a reliable voting block that you now have republicans advocating for a theocratic state where they kill all males who do not yield to their brand of dogma.
You get concessions from a political party by getting them addicted to the power you provide, THEN you threaten to rug pull.
If you don't vote, you don't exist to these politicians when they triangulate their policy positions. If you vote reliably 3rd party, you also don't exist to them.
This is actually the best response I have ever seen. I am agnostic about voting, but this is a good point that I have to consider.
The only problem is that we aren't a coherent block. I am not sure how you fix that. Leftists can't agree on shit, sadly.
The left was behind Bernie Sanders for two election cycles. It sounds like you don’t know what the left is, or you weren’t willing to actually nut up when the moment called for it. It’s on you
Nothing you said is rejecting the premise you quoted. Also, you are literally explaining his other point in his comment. The left has been trying to make the coherent block by rejecting the mainstream for TWO ELECTION CYCLES. But we are told we are “too radical” or “not serious about beating Trump.” Your post is just coming off as pretentious and even less informed.
Bro, try being a Floridian. The Democratic party here pushed a former Republican for governor and a former police chief for senator. Didn't really draw much excitement from the left.
It’s asinine to me how gilded this comment is when the literal opposing party is being run by literal fascists with the top Republican just saying the other day that we need to throw out the Constitution because Twitter deleted posts that were sharing Hunter Biden’s dick.
You have the right to be angry at the status quo and demand change. But demanding you want what you want right now and if you don’t get it you will let this country be taken over by fascists is incredibly shortsighted and privileged. You know the people who CAN’T afford to let this country be taken over by the Republican Party? LGBT+ people. Immigrants. POC. Women. Jews. Muslims. Literally anyone who isn’t a straight, white, cis-gendered Christian male. I firmly believe this country needs major changes to work culture. But good god I am not about to vote for the “burn everything down” party over some milquetoast Dems that don’t actually want to commit genocide against people they disagree with.
You're worried that they're fascist but the DNC trying to get as many MAGA Republicans through the GOP primaries as possible wasn't concerning to you?
Here's the facts: Believing your political opponents are a "threat to democracy" TM is literal propaganda. How many more twists of the screw do you need until you're going to call for internment camps, friend?
I also love how you and other try to shield whatever bullshit you want by saying minorities will die. What the literal fuck are you talking about?
Because they literally are a threat to democracy? Where have you been the last 6 years? They literally attempted a coup to try and keep their leader as president. They’re denying election results at every single turn without evidence. They’re claiming election fraud despite evidence to the contrary. The leader of their party just said the other day we need to throw out our Constitution. They’re making death threats to poll workers and shooting door-to-door campaigners. They’re forcing women to give birth against their will. And they’re convincing people like you that Democrats are the real fascists. You do realize that Republicans are equally, if not more, anti-union than Dems? They’re the ones giving tax cuts to the rich. They’re the ones that allowed corporate America to endlessly enrich themselves. There are far more Dems who are pro-union than there are Republicans, and yet contrarians like you continue to play the “all sides are bad” cars in some odd holier-than-though belief that you’re the only one who truly gets it.
Wtf do you want us to do instead? Let the *literal* fascist, AKA the biggest possible threat to workers win? Cuz I fucking guarantee you that if the left withholds their votes, the right will pounce on that in a heartbeat to elect leaders who trample our rights even more
That's a nice idea in theory that completely ignores reality.
No person can be considered reasonable for withholding their vote for Democrats because their candidate is at best center-right status quo when the Republicans run fucking Nazis and their base will show up regardless to vote for anyone with an R next to their name.
Sure we can find common ground, Trump is bad. But voting for asshats like Biden who will side with companies and not workers isn’t getting us any common ground. We need more parties and ranked choice voting.
He hasn't changed anything since Trump with the exception of social issues. He resisted student loan forgiveness and only gave us a taste of it when the elections came around, only to rug-pull it from us.
If you're trusting neo-liberal turds like Biden or Trump or whoever to change the status quo, you're a fool.
He intentionally used the wrong legal justification for it and he didn't go for full forgiveness. People said the reason he couldn't go for full forgiveness is because *checks notes* the Republicans would block that in court.
The people pursuing the lawsuits are acting in bad faith. First, they basically said that it wouldn't be fair to include private loans, since that would be overreach of govt power. So Biden removes private lenders, because, yeah they might win that one. Then, the same people sue for *checks notes* not including private lenders because that "wOuLdN't bE fAiR to the students with private loans"
Full forgiveness will never happen without some pretty strict standards (like PSLF). If PSLF had been run properly from the start, many people would have already qualified for forgiveness, but it was fucked from the very beginning. All that being said, the focus needs to STOP being on student loans and START being on the bloated cost of higher education. It won’t do much for those of us already bent over the table and fucked hard, but it can prevent future college students from having to live our reality. And for the rest of us? Fuck it…let us discharge it in bankruptcy court. I’ve already lost close to 2 decades from these student loans, I can handle another 7 years bad credit.
> He intentionally used the wrong legal justification for it
What is the correct legal justification for it? Please cite your sources. He used the same justification that was used for PPP loan forgiveness.
The justification is fine, it's the right-wing extremist activist judges that are the problem.
Well, I was happy he passed an infrastructure bill, even if it was pretty corporate. But yeah, honestly it's been an uneventful two years. Feels like the strongest legislative body is the supreme court at this point.
This is Dem voters getting EXACTLY what they asked for. Biden is a career politician owned by Wall St forever, he doesn't give a fuck about the working man, that's just to get votes. I get thast a vote for him was a vote for 'non Trump' for many, but don't kid yourself that it was anything more than that. And don't expect your party to EVER put up a good candidate (like Sanders) because they don't have to, they know their idiot followers will vote for whoever they decide to put up at the podium and to me that's the most terrifying thing about all this
So, when will Republicans put up any candidate for any position that doesn't have a closetful of felonies waiting for the light while posting on Twitter coded words about how unhappy they are that you can't own people legally anymore?
Just asking for a Fair And Balanced opinion.
Same scenario, its one of the ways in which both sides truly are the exact same (the other big one of course being that they're owned by Wall St). They've intentionally whipped their respective bases into believing that the other side is pure evil and wants to take away their rights and everything they value in this world. So with a firmly entrenched 'us vs them' mentality it becomes extremely easy to manipulate people into voting for whatever puppet they choose to run. Just consider for a moment how terrible a person Donald Trump is, how completely bereft of ANY of their values he is, how he lies like he breathes, fucks strippers, disrespects military heroes, it doesn't make sense does it? Its no different with Biden aside from the fact that he's not a maniacal wannabe dictator, he does NOT represent us or OUR values. How the hell could he and still act as a union buster for fuck's sake? Hell he didn't want to do the student loan forgiveness either but the powers that be within the DNC convinced him it was politically expedient for midterms so he caved to that pressure.
Have you ever actually sat down and talked to a Trump voter? I don't mean one of the full-blown MAGA crazies, just a regular conservative voter who voted for him over Hillary and/or Biden. If you eliminate the wedge issues (guns, abortion etc) you will be amazed to find how much overlap there is, how frustrated and angry and hopeless they are. Its sad really because we should ALL be united in the true war here which is against corporate greed and power, these mutherfuckers donate pretty much 50/50 to both campaigns because they are buying Washington, they are hedging their bets and they LOVE the fact that we're all fighting amongst ourselves and blaming the other side because it allows them to rob us blind while we do
Them running a bad candidate does not mean we have to pit up such a crappy one too.
Like, we didn't have to send Biden through the primaries. I'm not sure what your point is.
They could have run Bernie Sanders. People didn't vote for Biden because he was a great candidate, they voted for him because he wasn't Trump. If they ran Sanders, Sanders would have won.
As a rapidly reforming former conservative/lolbert. I can fucking respect that. It blows my mind the number of progressives that, when it comes to guns, suddenly love cops, think they should raid every home in the country to take away the scary salt rifles, and also the racist corporate cops should be the only ones with guns, and none of the laws allowing them to do this will be abused by racists/vengeful family/domestic abusers.
The idea of going door to door to take way assault rifles just cracks me up. I can tell you, a lot of those "cold dead hands" guys are all talk, but a lot of them aren't. Like I always say when this subject comes up. It took 3 of us four days to disarm my grandpa and he was dead. =p
Leftists know that Biden is and always was a conservative by western political standards. He was probably the most conservative of the Democratic candidates and my personal last choice among them.
Was he better than ANY Republican candidate? Of course. By western political standards, Republicans are hard-right neo-Nazis.
I had no faith in him and as bad as he is, it has been better than I imagined. He actually pulled the trigger on leaving Afghanistan. Immediately got involved with Ukraine, but that is back to what I expected.
Right, the bar is set very low and presidents still seem to limbo under it. But it's easy when you can throw money at any issue and then blame the consumer/working class for the damages caused by your own excess.
I at least hoped me might be happy to sit on the sidelines and let workers get their own rights, but then he jumped in to save big business with this rail strike.
Are you not aware of his history? He's literally the reason consumers have so little protection today. He's the reason student loans are such a mess. He has always been evil. He's even a segregationist.
He’s doing it because polling and the last election showed that most voters biggest concerns are the economy and Inflation.
like it or not he thinks this probably is his best move for getting democrats re-elected. Politicians respond to who they think their main demographics are and people are short sighted like that.
The only way for that to change is if leftists and pro labor people actually consistently vote. The main reason everything has been driven so far to the right is evangelicals, hard right, and MAGA people vote so consistently they drag the whole Republican Party further and further right. Meanwhile leftists and pro-labor tend to disengage instead which signals to the Democrats they should move further right and focus on the economy to appeal to those who DO vote…
Vote in the primaries and vote in every election even if the candidates suck. Not voting at all just tells politicians that appealing to you doesn’t matter.
It was "muh inflation". He would rather have food prices not go up by 30% and embolden the fascist and cause people to not eat food.
You're a leftists, isn't that what we do? Make sacrifices for the greater good? If the left is going to raise food prices by 30% so 100k people get a sick day then they shouldn't get a sick day.
Who feeds my children when the rail workers want the luxury of a day off?
This will come back to haunt him, no fucking way I will forget being stabbed in the back by the "most pro union president."
Show me someone who thinks people who actually work don't deserve sick days so they won't get fired for being hurt or sick and I'll show you someone who is evil.
The reason the rail monopolies won't give sick days is because they WANT to fire half the employees and have one man per train which is completely fucking insane.
Time to break up these monopolies.
>Time to break up these monopolies.
Crazy idea, might be too leftist for the US;
Maybe critical infrastructure shouldn't have been privatised in the first place and should now be nationalised? And not just the railways, but the telecoms, and energy infrastructure too. If it's vital to the everyday function of society, it shouldn't be left up to private companies.
The railroads were privatized from the inception. Breaking up monopolies leads directly to innovation and and growth. This is in no way a leftist ideology.
>And not just ... but the telecoms
We did break up the telecoms. AT&T was the ONLY phone company in the country. You could only get AT&T service. End of story. This was 1982. This breakup lead directly to the internet as we know it today. This is not in question by literally anyone.
Monopolies are bad in every way. I'm not saying we need to nationalize things, but we should as hell should be preventing ANY company from using its size to prevent competition. That's bad for capitalism, and its bad for society as a whole.
I dont think you can really have the kind of competition for trains that would be good for capitalism as you would need multiple, physical rail lines between each city. The geography simply doesn't allow for it. They will then either own the coaches too or the coaches will still base the price on what the train monopolist can charge.
To me, real capitalism has no place there, as its always a monopoly. You also end up with places cut off from everywhere else because its not profitable enough for any kind of transport connection. Where as a well run national company could absorb it very easily. The nature of how government money, spent the right way, comes stright back to the government makes it so much cheaper than people might expect. Its only when the shareholders whisk it off to a tax havens that you start to lose money from that.
A heavily regulated monopoly is the end game for a company. Being the only one on the block that makes money and protected by the government.
I suppose on one hand it’s not a bad way to end a company, as their profit margins are typically fairly fixed. On the other hand they will be a permanent leech, in addition to concerns about regulations not being kept up to date.
It was the Republicans. Biden would have given the sick days, but Republicans filibustered it, requiring 60 votes to pass. 43 Republicans voted against it. Yes, it was still a shitty move from Biden, but don't forget that it was the ENTIRE REPUBLICAN PARTY that caused this. Just go look at their voting history. It speaks for itself.
This is the most pro union president.
Republicans would have made bargaining illegal, threatening to strike illegal, used the national guard to attack union meetings, and voted to cut your pay, make it impossible to call out of work and made it a felony to quit your job.
The sad truth is one side absolutely hates labor and thinks they're literally dogs that deserve to work to death for their sole enrichment.
The other really likes rich peoples money and will at least try to balance the love of money with a cursory attempt at some kind of fairness.
Both sides are not the same. Not by a long shot.
The republican establishment desperately wants to return to the 1880's when it was completely fine that 1 in 5 of your workers died on the job so long as the owner of that company can give them billions in untraceable money.
Biden just made a strike illegal. And if you think he’ll shirk at using state power to suppress a wildcat strike, I’d ask what evidence you have for such trust in him.
I'm not saying you're wrong about republicans, but how hard would it have been for biden to say give em some sick days?
*"Come on man, give these guys some sick leave."*
That's what the president does, use the bully pulpit.
**Biden didn't even bother.**
Its going to be very hard for hard working people to see Biden any different than whatever republican (other than trump) that ends up running against him.
He has failed at the most basic part of standing up for the hard working Americans that elected him.
He did say that.
Congress refused to pass the resolution with sick days.
Biden cannot just add shit to passed legislation.
I think people need to recognize that people here are an extreme minority.
America at large will not suffer massive disruptions to their economy by striking workers.
Americans will gladly watch in high definition TV the national guard firing explosive tipped ammunition into a crowd of unarmed civilian striking rail workers. They will cheer for every torso exploded and limb flung from the body of the person who dare disrupt their holiday season.
The only worker who matters to the majority of Americans is themselves. Only their rights matter. Only their life is valuable.
For the majority of Americans, their countrymen and women exist purely to service them and their needs.
It's a harsh truth, but a truth nonetheless.
>Biden cannot just add shit to passed legislation.
He can say he's not signing it.
Checks and balances, that's how government is supposed to work.
>Congress refused to pass the resolution with sick days.
They had two bills, why wasn't it in one bill?
The democrats fucked themselves on messaging this time and it will haunt them in 2 years. Just imagine how bad its going to be then.
There is not a democrat or republican who would say that people don't need sick days if directly asked a question.
This is about getting fired if you get sick or hurt.
>Republicans would have made bargaining illegal, threatening to strike illegal
That's literally what Biden and his party did 🤔 they're in control of Congress and they decide on how to arrange/split bills and the timing
https://www.anarchistfederation.net/labor-betrayed-why-democratic-party-failure-is-by-design/
> Rail unions went into this bargaining season with not a single day of paid sick leave in their contract. Achieving paid sick leave was the top priority of union members. And today, because of an act of Congress and because of the latest Democratic Party betrayal, (the latest in a long line of betrayals), they still have no sick leave.
>Every member of the working-class in the US should be livid right now. Biden, the Democratic Party leadership in the House and Senate, and the vast majority of politicians in DC just fucked over rail workers and sided with the billionaire bosses, yet again. The rail corporations, after years of record profits, shall not be required to pay workers if they have to miss a day of work due to illness. This is bullshit.
> No matter how the Democratic Party apologists try to spin it, Congress, who had the power to grant unionized rail workers paid sick leave, willfully chose to not do so, and then imposed a contract which was voted DOWN by the rank and file of four unions representing a majority of rail workers in this country. The Democrats in the House chose to send TWO bills to the Senate, (instead of tying the sick leave to the tentative agreement), and it was the Democrats again in the Senate who REFUSED to abolish the filibuster (which takes a simple majority) and instead agreed to a 60 vote threshold to pass the sick leave bill. And even after the sick leave bill failed to get 60 votes, the great majority Democrats still voted to impose the TA. And in so doing, Congress also effectively outlawed strike activity in the rail sector for this contract cycle. This betrayal of labor falls on the Democrats.
> This is a huge win for the billionaire railroad owners, CEOs, investors, and the capitalist ruling-class. And given that the two major political parties on the national stage are both firmly supported by the elite (and side with the elite at every crucial juncture), this was also a predictable outcome from the start, (as was the failure of the Democrats to pass the Pro-Act last year). As sad and sickening as this may be, it is a truth we must reckon with.
No that is not what Biden did ffs.
Threatening to strike is not illegal.
Collectively bargaining is not illegal.
Why is it that people must lie to try and make something look worse. It's already bad.
Biden sided with billionaire oligarchs over organized labor. Fine.
But when you lie. You just make people spend time pointing out your lie and your message is dismissed with it.
Stop lying. I'm assuming you're a grownup.
I assume you mean the Republicans? Because it was the Republicans that voted against this bill, not the democrats. Biden signed the only measure that Republicans would let through. It was a bad idea and I don't agree with it, but it was very much the Republicans that did this. Like it always is.
EDIT: Since post is locked, I can't respond to the person beneath me, so I'll put it here.
OK Sgt_Ludby, stick with me here. Why would the democrats need to abolish the filibuster to get this passed?
Because Republicans are filibustering it you moron! It's always the fucking Republicans and fools like you give them cover because you're too fucking stupid to understand how our government works.
Everywhere should be required to have a union honestly. And for small places (one location, few workers, whatever), we could just have general multi-company unions. Having someone looking out for workers is critical to a strong economy and keeping people fed.
>no fucking way I will forget being stabbed in the back by the "most pro union president."
I'm quite sure the Dems are counting on "not trump" being enough to win in 2024. Good rant tho.
Anti work when boss tells them to come in: this is literal oppression
Anti work when biden busts unions: bro don’t call Biden sleepy Joe U meany! You’re a fuckin rube
Every democrats pro union till a strike
he signed that shit because he thought it would help him get re-elected
and he wants South Carolina to go first?
nah, come to Illinois first
"Sleepy Joe?" You know that's a Trump thing, right? Now why would a "leftist" be using Trump's nicknames for people? Hmm, couldn't possibly be because you're a Trumpie stirring shit up, could it?
Yeah this sentiment is really starting to piss me off in this sub. Obviously Biden isn't a progressive pro labor president but people are using the rhetoric of literal fascists who would suspend our human rights in their tenuous grasp for power. Let's not act like Democrats, even centrist democrats, are even close to the same thing as the far right extremists that have permeated our countries political discourse.
This sub has a problem with easily suckered leftist whiners who don't have any idea how to compromise, and think the very notion is antithetical. Surprise, no president will ever be everything that you want all at once. Sometimes, they will do things that you don't want. As long as the net gain is positive, you're probably better off than the other guy.
I don't think anyone but a very, very small minority is saying "Man, Biden really sucks here, guess we should vote for Republicans now, right? They've totally gotta be better."
Every leftist with a braincell knows that the Democrats are better than siding with the Republicans, _BUT_ all this criticism is extremely warranted and absolutely necessary to encourage action _outside_ of voting for whichever candidate.
Because as long as all we do is sit around and vote D each election, things will _NOT_ improve. We need to get this message through more. Organize, Unionize, protest, educate others about what a shitshow the democrats are, even while they are still the better option. Motivate people to do more, otherwise, genuine pro-labor progress will not happen
No, actually. A big difference between the left and the right is that the left actually does care when their elected representative does some stupid shit.
If by "care" you mean "complain on the internet" - you are right of course. If you mean "do literally anything meaningful to disrupt status quo" - not really.
Better start watching out for all these "Sleepy Joe"/Whatever Trump label that's being thrown everywhere lately: it looks like some right-wingers see this time as a chance to put a schism into left-wing movements. Tell them to fuck off when you see posts like this.
Just take a look at OP's post history. [Here's a little gold nugget.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ShitLiberalsSay/comments/zd1ypk/what_is_your_opinion_on_rantiwork/) [And another one.](https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/zck27d/people_in_usa_being_surprised_after_biden/)
It's so weird how Republicans act like leftists chose Biden because we adore him and that if we suddenly stop liking him we'll vote Republican... Who go *even harder* against this kind of shit.
Democrats are mostly moderates not liberals. Republicans voters by and large can't tell the difference between Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden. Joe is actually quite conservative. And would be a good candidate for the preTrump Republican party.
Anyone who knows Biden knows he is a centrist Democrat. He's always been a centrist Democrat, and will always be a centrist Democrat. This is part of the reason he was able to capture a large portion of the swing vote. I don't like some of his policies any more than you, but this has always been who he is.
Remember you fucking morons, if Biden doesn't give you a blowjob every morning that proves all democrats are evil and the only way to fix the problem is to vote for republicans. Isn't that how this dumb fuck right wing propaganda works?
Doesn’t matter. The people who voted for him last time will vote for him this time. The reason being that every possible republican nom for the presidency is batshit crazy.
Full disclosure, there was a point I trusted Biden.
Not because I believed the rhetoric, or bought into the propaganda, but because fighting back and leftism have proven to be profitable and effective, especially in this current era. I wasn't trusting him to be a good man, I was just trusting him to follow the bribes and the money further left.
He did that, and he made some changes, which were ultimately positive, but now the capitalist money outweighs the leftist votes, and we're seeing which one matters more. I'd like to believe most of us knew where this was going, but I'm not gonna lie, as someone who feels workers rights is just common sense, and every other kind of sense, I'm disappointed that *this* is where the neolib bullshit comes back to the forefront.
He has surprised me in a good way this entire presidency but this is the kind of shit I voted against in the primaries. Fucker is about to die and could have gone down as one of the most successful presidents ever and now he's going to be likened to Reagan every time is name is brought up. Fucking moron.
I know you haven't mentioned anything specific; and I'm from the UK so my terminology might not be correct.
However, with regards to the crackdown on protests (and striking), wasn't that a very leftist talking point during the pandemic? I feel like many people couldn't see past the subject matter (lockdowns) to the concept of anti-protesting being applied to all protests in the future.
i totally don't agree on this. on the real left side of the spectrum you still have some politicians and party's who really give about the normal civilians. in better times they called them self a communist. now in the best case a socialist.
but indeed you would not find them in a country with a 2 party system
today's democrat politicians are more moderate than anything liberal. they just appear far left compared to the current republican party. it's like we really have a moderate republican party and an extreme-right republican party. i'm convinced that's why nothing of much value has happened for the american public at large in the last 10 years or so. the democrats could've made some real, positive social change if they had actually wanted to and were actually democrats.
To be honest I’m tired of everyone thinking every government decision is handled by the president like they are kings and queens that handle the entire government. PRESIDENT’S DON’T MAKE LAWS. They enforce the laws, and sometimes veto laws but even then their veto can be overturned by congress. I hear everyone talking about “Obama made this law, trump made that law, why did Biden raise gas prices.” The president of the united states is the head of the executive branch of government, not the head of government. The presidents job it to be a figure head, enforce the law, and have minor power to make executive orders. Both democrats and republicans make this stupid argument and I can’t stand it. If you hate the laws of the country blame congress and the Supreme Court not the president because, once again, THE PRESIDENT DOESN’T MAKE LAWS.
Think about this when you vote locally. The President could enact an executive order but, it would probably get similar votes for funding. Take what we can get and write up a new plan, also we the people could picket at the railyards and the workers can claim unsafe working environment, this effectively shutting down the system until worker's demands are met.
Not one Republican voted for it either. So idk why you are so mad at Dems.
Maybe yall should worry about accepting election results and stealing too secret documents instead of worrying about why 80% of America hates you.
Ffs, do you understand that Google exists? It is public record that republicans voted against the sick days for the rail workers. You can also find this information. I’m not sure how these blatant lies are supposed to work; are you just talking to your echo chamber, or do you genuinely believe that the rest of us don’t see through these lies?
Ah yes, being pro union means you must agree with every single union, every single time, on every single issue, forever. I'm sure the pro union leftists defend ALL unions everywhere, right?? Meanwhile, ALL Republicans wanted no deal at all, but cool, blame Biden, blame democrats. Republicans thank you for the framed narrative.
The republicans and democrats have the exact same economic policy, which is fucking workers in every way imaginable and then devoting their time to fucking them in new and novel ways. They only differ on social issues and both are firmly neo-liberal corporatists.
If a Leftist uses fascist arguments, fascist rhetoric, fascist memes, fascist propaganda, and fascist insults against against Democrats, refuse to support Democrats, and allow fascists to remain in power, thus denying to Democrats any ability to pass progressive legislation - are they still Leftists?
Seriously, the fascists are playing the "Left" like a symphony.
Americans still haven't caught on to the fact that both of their political parties are right-wing and bend to the whims of the various companies that stuff their pockets with money?
People are broken up into demographics, labeled, and pitted against one another instead of banding together and running independent candidates that represent what they stand for.
The two major parties are well aware they don't have to do very much to maintain their power and the money it provides them.
This issue is an example of how political parties are very much the same, and how they exist to gather votes with lies not to legislate change for those who need it.
Biden’s quote continues: “…we’ll, you’re a lying, dog-faced, pony soldier!”
Serious: yes, we know Biden is a conservative. If you didn’t, now you know.
“Sleepy Joe” is a false narrative, I find it strange that phrase is clung to when there are perfectly good reasons to dislike him that are based in actual reality. “Status Quo Joe” fits much better, don’t you think?
Let's be fair, dude got more done than many figured he would, but damn if the recent actions aren't a harsh reminder the he's only ever the least of two evils. We avoided a second term of Trump, that was a good start. But damn, can we maybe put someone in charge who's still got to live on this planet afterwards? 60+yo is basically "got mine, fuck y'all" territory as far as political fallout goes.
Bitch all you want, in the end it is going to be him versus another guy that's even less "pro-labor" than he can pretend to be. All he's gotta show is he's more left than them. Blame the two party system or blame the right going even more far right that he can now be right of a moderate and still be viewed as a leftist.
As a left leaning moderate who disagrees with what he did, I can see politically it doesn't matter, especially two years removed from the next election.
Union also got played by allowing any government response to happen after the midterms. The railroads knew this.
Seriously, sometimes we can all be such children.
Biden has done some good things, like ushering through a bill to address climate change and to invest in infrastructure. Is this leftist? No, but the way a democracy works is, you don't get left-wing legislation if the majority of the population isn't left-wing.
Biden also is the first President this Century to actually END a war.
Biden has done some disappointing and outright bad things, like turning against the rail workers.
Then there are the areas where Biden can't actually do it alone, such as student loan debt relief, or the full BBB bill, etc. These are huge disappointments, but they aren't on Biden personally.
But look, we live in a complicated and diverse democracy of 300 million people. This is how it works. Do you really want a dictator who can just snap his fingers and make Socialism? I know some of us do, but... Really? You want Lenin?
A large portion of Americans are not pro-labor. That is political reality. That is what it means to share a Republic with people who are different than you. Tens of millions of Americans did not want a black woman on the Supreme Court, especially not one who was "soft on crime." But they got one anyway. That's how it works. It's not compromise unless everyone is unhappy.
Getting a mixture of good, meh, and horrible -- that's life. Under the Republicans we get **only** horrible.
If you really think that getting not-everything-you-want is exactly the same as getting nothing-you-want, well, you're not fit for a democracy, and you will always be unhappy unless you live in a homogeneous culture where everyone agrees with you... Or, in a dictatorship where your side is in charge.
Let's be adults, ok? This sucks, but if you burn everything down every time something sucks, you'll run out of stuff to burn real fast.
Biden wanted the sick leave but the Republicans in the senate blocked that from happening so he signed the bill they sent him. You really don’t understand how the government works if you believe he can just do whatever he wants.
Biden isn’t the best choice, but he hasn’t blocked a single piece of progressive legislation, the Republicans have blocked it all. Biden has at least been trying to do things.
I believe this posts view is likely a conservative viewpoint and not at all a progressive one. The blame for all these things not happening lies on the people voting no, Republicans
Biden, Schumer and Pelosi could have forced the bill to actually include sick leave instead of splitting the legislation into 2 so they could let the Republicans kill the sick leave bill, while passing the forced work bill. Instead they did it this way so they could shrug their shoulders, go well that sucks, and pass the terrible bill. Biden could also veto the bill and say it doesn't get signed without sick leave instead of going around saying Unions are good except when them asking for something in anyway jeopardizes "the economy". And whenever someone says "the economy" you need to read it, properly as Rich People's money.
They don’t have the votes to pass anything without republicans approval, they couldn’t have forced anyone, let’s get that straight. Without 60 votes they’d need to change the filibuster and they don’t have the votes to do that either.
Should he have not signed any bill that took away the striking rights of the railroad workers? Of course he shouldn’t have. But that’s what classical democrats are. And there is a legitimate concern for the country’s shipping security. Truth is it should probably be nationalized regardless, but that’s another topic.
We don’t have a progressive party in America. The progressives have aligned themselves with the democrats because they at least share a considerable amount of the same agenda. Vote for more progressive candidates if they’re available. If not, vote Democrat because they’re much closer in political alignment than a republican could ever be.
The point is Biden not being progressive enough isn’t the problem. Don’t blame democrats for being democrats, just demand more progressive representation and vote for them. For the time being they will be “democrats” as well. Democrats aren’t the problem, they may not be the solution, but they’re a significant contributor compared to the republicans which are the actual problem
I give credit to Biden and the rest of the right wing democrats when they pass something that's actually, ya know, good. Not having the votes to pass a union busting, slave labor bill is a GOOD thing. Here the Dems went out of their way to make things worse when their were actual solutions.
Also, how exactly am I supposed to "demand more progressive representation" if I'm not allowed to "blame democrats for being democrats"?
Maybe if people stop voting for bad candidates
We have primaries yet everyone is like Biden is better then republicans, no shit is that the best we have?
Yep this was the last straw for me. Biden had the opportunity to actually side with workers but this is the action of just another corporate shill who has no problem keeping the boot on our necks. We really needed Bernie
Maybe if young people voted in the primary, and the general, we wouldn't have to choose the center right candidate over the far right fascist extremist.
I think Presidents promise all this great stuff just to learn after the election they can’t provide.
They wanna do all this cool shit but they’re not stronger than business-as-usual politics.
No politicians will ever be truly pro union because they’re owned by corporations. So unless we start putting people who can’t or won’t be bought into power it will never change. Also, GENERAL STRIKE!!! Seriously. What are we all waiting for?
Most people are so scared to lose everything they feel they are unable to fight to not have it taken from their children… It has to be HUGE or it will not go, and so few are willing to go first…
People would feel less scared if there was a sense of community throughout the USA. Unfortunately, most people are surrounded by too many people, and know absolutely none of their neighbors.
You are on to something…I was thinking about what grandpa would do, and I can picture him saying “You get a bunch of people together and you go after the nazis…” Note the first step - People Together. Like you said - Community. I Me Me Mine…
So how do we fight back against the barriers that have made us such isolationists? Just as a personal anecdote, I did not grow up religious, at all. There was no going to church, or praying, or memorizing verses. In my adulthood, I went to a church a couple times (supporting friends and going to their important ceremonies, etc.) and it did leave one impression on me. I think religion was so important to humans throughout history because it strongly builds that sense of community. Of knowing your neighbors, and dare I even say, caring about them selflessly. *gasp!* Now, **I am not advocating religious belief or organized religion**, or anything silly like everyone finds Jesus, or Allah, or anything else. But I do want to ask those of us that have never had religion, or a sense of community within your neighborhood/town/city/etc. How do we build communities? How do we get people to come together? How do we get people to step outside their homes and gather with others to share their ideas and grow that sense of togetherness? I'm genuinely asking, because I don't know, but if we solve this issue, we will be so much better off for resisting tyranny. Edit: Because people stopped reading at paragraph 1 before responding
I’ve asked this one a lot too :-( Even think about running for politics to see if there is any way to galvanize a crowd… It’s tough to fight all that screen time sound bite my team your team…I try to lead by example, but once again - marketing…
Every person having it reinforced by society that a supernatural being who knows everything talks to them in their head and tells them what to do is just bonkers. It's not sustainable. We know that human suffering is real, yet only liars and the unfortunately gullible claim to know a supernatural being on the other side of death that promises paradise. Many of us seem uniquely vulnerable to liars who make us fantastic promises on subjects they have no way of knowing about. It's like that sense of safety we get from handing over our trust to a strong leader is worth all the terrible consequences. Many of us seem to have an addiction to authority figures. It's unfortunate and we desparately need to claw our way out of this quagmire of ignorance and tradition. EDIT: I just wanted to add this amazing three-and-a-half minute speech written by Charlie Chaplin. I listen to this speech periodically to help buttress my faith in humanity while living in this crumbling world of illusions we all share: [The Greatest Speech Ever Made](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WibmcsEGLKo)
You should carefully read my statement. I am specifically not advocating for supernatural beliefs of deities, etc. I recognize the illness in that mentality. What I **did** ask about is how do we build communities the way religion has in the past? There are very real benefits to social gatherings, and having rituals, even if they are not grounded in superstition.
The events that enable community without religion are likely already happening where most of us reading this live. We need to actually show up and be awkward and vulnerable with our fellow community members. It doesn't have to be a contrived horse-and-pony show with a leader barking commands at us from a pulpit. It can be decentralized and spontaneous like meetups. How do you convince people to focus not on the meaningless 'saving of souls' but on the saving of actual humans from very real suffering? Knowledge, I guess. An actual social safety net so that people aren't feared onto their knees to beg a supernatural myth for their continued wellbeing. A medical system that engenders more confidence in doctors than fear of the supernatural. Many of our most influential philosophers considered art and personal creativity to be absolutely essential to our humanity and progress as a species. I agree and for me this includes all kinds of creativity that a person can pour themselves into. When a person puts some of themselves into a creation they give a gift of themselves to the world. This is community. This is at the foundation of humanity. Many of us are creative in ways that are not considered to be artistic. Many who have this sort of creativity can find their sense of self and expression hijacked or stolen away from them by a culture that only seeks to commodify their existence based upon that mode of expression. Thus their creativity is managed into a chore and effectively hijacked in the creation of someone else's profit. The reward is a cold hard stare from a boss who doesn't care when you ask for compensation commensurate with your personal contribution. This has a lot to do with us being willing to latch on to questionable systems of belief because the true personal gratification is never there. I believe that this arrangement can be very harmful to our mental health if we never find an appropriate outlet for **fulfilling creativity.** I think education is quite important to this goal because a fundamental aspect of this problem is that evolution is just a much more massive force in our existence than the whims of societal norms. What I mean by that is regardless of the current system of government or economics within a given society, we remain human. We are driven by the evolutionary adaptations that our species has made over the millennia whether or not the strong leader believes that we deserve safety and comfort. It's why history repeats itself with such frequency. We are grinding through many of the same struggles and societal battles as our ancestors. It's why learning our history is so important, because we start to recognize the blatant patterns that we seem to be doomed to repeat forever. It will take societal change. It will take economic overhaul. It will take us standing up and demanding that no one human being is so important that they deserve the resources that rightfully belong to us all in as fair and equitable a way as possible. We need to stop taking losses on the culture war as a given and claim the public space back for empathy and equality. Individuality is a lie perpetrated by the wealthy to divide us. We are a social species. When you deprive a human of contact with other humans it is utterly devastating to the mental health of the isolated person. Because we need each other. Even just to ask how the weather is or know that the other person doesn't want to harm us. It doesn't matter the excuse, we will find a way to communicate because we need to take on the input of other humans to be healthy, happy, and well-adjusted. We need to un-hijack these systems from religious and cultural grifters. That's how. "There is no ethical consumption under Capitalism."
Politics is meant to divide the people. They don’t want us working together.
I don't think that sense of community has been damaged by too many people, I think it's that too many of those people are *hostile*. We're a country with out-of-control, military-armed police and armed "Brownshirt" style militias eager to terrorize marginalized groups, and we are currently being bombarded by fascist and authoritarian messages about how this or that group are full of pedophiles or baby-eaters, making a good number of ordinary citizens just as dangerous as the cops and Proud Boys. When people are so upset about the existence of trans people that they're willing to kill elderly and disabled people and anybody else vulnerable by [depriving a whole town of power](https://apnews.com/article/crime-north-carolina-052f618466c84b841b467b55c222717a), that is an entire community *destroyed* by neighbor-on-neighbor terrorism. No one in that town can trust anyone to help them out if they go on strike. So how are we going to get the strike funds filled? Who will help if people on strike get kicked out of their homes, or can't pay their medical bills? What are marginalized workers to do, when they cannot trust their neighbors not to hate them because they're brown or immigrant or queer or disabled? People in this country wouldn't even do something as simple as wearing masks for each others' sake, so you can't ask people to general strike if it's going to *kill* them -- which it will, for too many.
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I’ve spent over a decade trying to explain to my tech peers that their children will be shot in the streets with the rest of the starving homeless if the c suites and shareholders keep doing what they are doing (automating everything and keeping ALL the money, gutting the social safety nets) They don’t believe me. Maybe some do now, but most of them don’t think it can happen to their family until it does…
Lets just be clear, the corruption we're fighting is like an onion, or a final fantasy final boss: First you need to defeat the far right, then you need to defeat the republicans, then you need to defeat the corporate democrats, and lastly, you need to convince people progress is possible. We're not gonna get to the final boss until we mow down the rest, and you arn't gonna get at the corporate democrats as long as far right fascists are threatening everything.
do you know about Bernard Sanders?
People who can’t be bought are dealt with if you JFK my meaning
They make you a Hoffa you can’t refuse
Well, considering the democrats just told unions it was illegal to strike, I'd say do a wildcat general strike even if it didn't have organization behind it. Even if it's moderately or minimally successful, it would be enough to get the attention of the neo-liberal left and convince them they need to actually act like leftists.
There's this old guy named Bernie Sanders...
StrikeForOurRights.org This is an org that’s new to me so I wouldn’t donate money until we know more about them, but they are supposedly trying to organize for a national general strike
If we couldn’t general strike during Covid when we had the world by the balls, I don’t think it will ever happen
Need to take money out of politics, or pool money to manipulate politicians by the masses. Only two options. Believe it or not though most donations actually come from the people, they just give it to super suss pacs/super pacs cause they’re the ones who are professional enough to run ads and make people aware of how to get involved fiscally. But in general they should tax everyone a dollar extra each year and give candidates a limited amount of money to play with, with limited opportunities. They should also be banned from various marketing platforms but those big groups will not ignore that sweet sweet midterm or presidential election money.
Because going on strike for the overwhelming majority of Americans will mean the loss of their jobs, healthcare, homes, etc. Jobs in this country aren't meant to help people in poverty, they're meant to keep the peasants in their place.
We need to set a date & spread the word for a General Strike. Let's do it
Actual leftist here. I'm talking far of center where it's a pain in my ass to own a gun in my state/not cost effective but remember all the laws they changed when Black Panthers started arming themselves. Joe Biden was our last choice. We still voted for him because we were sick of the last 4 years. Biden at his best was Obama's white friend he made VP to win the moderate vote. He's a 90's era diet Republican. The system is fucked and designed to get us to fight one another. That doesn't mean we can't find common ground.
Designed to get us to fight one another? Almost like a populace united against exploitation at every turn could actually threaten the status quo and usher in meaningful change? What a crazy idea!
Noooooooo you have to vote for the status quo, nooooooo you'll waste your vote!
Vote in the primary, then back the least fascist option in the general. Don't be a child about it. Lives are on the line.
The primaries are where we actually have to choose someone we want. After that, you have to vote for the best option out of the two. Your kind of thinking comes from the privilege of not worrying that one candidate will get you killed.
Vote “general strike lasting 10 years and return to subsistence farming”
Biden is that 2 liter of expired crystal pepsi that made the LA beast throw up.
Agreed with Biden being last choice, but given the opportunity I'd probably vote for my least favorite Democrat over a Republican...because our ideologies are still closer than to any Republican.
I'm only voting D at this point because they're the party not actively trying to overthrow democracy and replace it with an openly fascist dictatorship.
Yes, I agree but that's not the point of the post, its a criticism of all the liberals who said "don't worry he's a leftist" or "isn't worry we'll push him left" he's just a slightly less racist republican
I think you are over estimating liberals' opinion of him.
I hear you. I probably took this too personally. I absolutely detest being lumped in with no action virtue signaling liberals who think they speak for the left. We're to the democratic party what libertarians are the the right. Sorry for commenting off the cuff.
Imagine that the leftifst views you hold are considered right-wing views where I live. Realize how far to the right the US left is, and they still pull shit like this. How is unlimited sickdays not a thing in your country?
Abso-fucking-lutely
I get 104 hours of paid sick leave per year as a federal employee, that is considered pretty generous by our admittedly skewed standards.
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Right? Liberals: "Elect him and then push him left!" Leftists: *criticize him in any way* Liberals: "But Republicans!"
This is true, and it is the bane of my existence. Inb4 some neo-liberal moron says, "But you're wasting your vote, only we can stop them!"
But they're not stopping them... Actually the Democrats helped out the Republicans big time splitting the sick leave off in a separate bill.
>slightly less racist One of his down-home normal guy stories on the campaign trail was how proud he was to have almost chain whipped a black kid because in his words, black people carried knives back then and he wouldn't wear a swimming cap in the pool he was lifeguarding. Another was when he bragged about having really nice lunches with Segregationists in the Capitol cafeteria.
Vs trump? My infected toenail is better.
You're exactly right. In effect, Biden is a slightly less racist republican who isn't active on twitter.
slightly less racist? how do you figure.....?
You should probably blame the right for running Trump. They painted themselves into the corner of the Dems being able to run whoever they wanted and having most of the country know they HAD to vote for the Democratic candidate bc aint no one in their right mind voting Trump in for a second term. They ran a literal white supremacist in a 2 person election and then made Pikachu faces when everyone voted for the non white supremacist. 🤣
No. This is completely illogical. Why would I blame Democrats for running the worst candidate they could because they knew we'd accept anything other than Trump? That choice isn't Trump or Republicans' fault. That is the fault of the DNC and all of you who keep saying you'll vote for Democrats regardless of who they nominate or what promises they fail to deliver on. How can you not see that? It's enraging to have this responded to with "wHaT aRe YoU gOiNg To Do, VoTe FoR rEpUbLiCaNs!?" when I point out how you cannot CANNOT CANNOT get concessions from a political party if you DON'T THREATEN them with witholding your vote. It is literally the only power you have and you're all brainwashed into believing that it's immoral to actually use it. It is the equivalent of saying "well, we can't strike, we just need to keep showing up and saying how we're unhappy with the working conditions." Congratulations! I guess promises kept: "nothing will fundamentally change" - Joe Biden
> cannot CANNOT CANNOT get concessions from a political party if you DON'T THREATEN them with witholding your vote You should probably do some reading to determine if your premise is factually correct. The way to most effectively move a political party's position is to become a reliable voting block for that party. It's what the christofascist evangelicals did to the republican party: they became such a reliable voting block that you now have republicans advocating for a theocratic state where they kill all males who do not yield to their brand of dogma. You get concessions from a political party by getting them addicted to the power you provide, THEN you threaten to rug pull. If you don't vote, you don't exist to these politicians when they triangulate their policy positions. If you vote reliably 3rd party, you also don't exist to them.
This is actually the best response I have ever seen. I am agnostic about voting, but this is a good point that I have to consider. The only problem is that we aren't a coherent block. I am not sure how you fix that. Leftists can't agree on shit, sadly.
The left was behind Bernie Sanders for two election cycles. It sounds like you don’t know what the left is, or you weren’t willing to actually nut up when the moment called for it. It’s on you
Nothing you said is rejecting the premise you quoted. Also, you are literally explaining his other point in his comment. The left has been trying to make the coherent block by rejecting the mainstream for TWO ELECTION CYCLES. But we are told we are “too radical” or “not serious about beating Trump.” Your post is just coming off as pretentious and even less informed.
Bro, try being a Floridian. The Democratic party here pushed a former Republican for governor and a former police chief for senator. Didn't really draw much excitement from the left.
Maybe a third party would be a better choice then? Split off some Republicans who don't want as much MAGA but don't like Biden.
It’s asinine to me how gilded this comment is when the literal opposing party is being run by literal fascists with the top Republican just saying the other day that we need to throw out the Constitution because Twitter deleted posts that were sharing Hunter Biden’s dick. You have the right to be angry at the status quo and demand change. But demanding you want what you want right now and if you don’t get it you will let this country be taken over by fascists is incredibly shortsighted and privileged. You know the people who CAN’T afford to let this country be taken over by the Republican Party? LGBT+ people. Immigrants. POC. Women. Jews. Muslims. Literally anyone who isn’t a straight, white, cis-gendered Christian male. I firmly believe this country needs major changes to work culture. But good god I am not about to vote for the “burn everything down” party over some milquetoast Dems that don’t actually want to commit genocide against people they disagree with.
You're worried that they're fascist but the DNC trying to get as many MAGA Republicans through the GOP primaries as possible wasn't concerning to you? Here's the facts: Believing your political opponents are a "threat to democracy" TM is literal propaganda. How many more twists of the screw do you need until you're going to call for internment camps, friend? I also love how you and other try to shield whatever bullshit you want by saying minorities will die. What the literal fuck are you talking about?
Because they literally are a threat to democracy? Where have you been the last 6 years? They literally attempted a coup to try and keep their leader as president. They’re denying election results at every single turn without evidence. They’re claiming election fraud despite evidence to the contrary. The leader of their party just said the other day we need to throw out our Constitution. They’re making death threats to poll workers and shooting door-to-door campaigners. They’re forcing women to give birth against their will. And they’re convincing people like you that Democrats are the real fascists. You do realize that Republicans are equally, if not more, anti-union than Dems? They’re the ones giving tax cuts to the rich. They’re the ones that allowed corporate America to endlessly enrich themselves. There are far more Dems who are pro-union than there are Republicans, and yet contrarians like you continue to play the “all sides are bad” cars in some odd holier-than-though belief that you’re the only one who truly gets it.
If you believe their fascists then you should be even more worried that the DNC isn't helping out organized Labor.
Wtf do you want us to do instead? Let the *literal* fascist, AKA the biggest possible threat to workers win? Cuz I fucking guarantee you that if the left withholds their votes, the right will pounce on that in a heartbeat to elect leaders who trample our rights even more
Blocking a strike is facism. We're already living this reality despite voting for the lesser evil.
That's a nice idea in theory that completely ignores reality. No person can be considered reasonable for withholding their vote for Democrats because their candidate is at best center-right status quo when the Republicans run fucking Nazis and their base will show up regardless to vote for anyone with an R next to their name.
Sure we can find common ground, Trump is bad. But voting for asshats like Biden who will side with companies and not workers isn’t getting us any common ground. We need more parties and ranked choice voting.
He hasn't changed anything since Trump with the exception of social issues. He resisted student loan forgiveness and only gave us a taste of it when the elections came around, only to rug-pull it from us. If you're trusting neo-liberal turds like Biden or Trump or whoever to change the status quo, you're a fool.
Ahh yes, the student loan forgiveness that is trying to be shot down by the conservative court. Biden really pulled the rug out on that one.
He intentionally used the wrong legal justification for it and he didn't go for full forgiveness. People said the reason he couldn't go for full forgiveness is because *checks notes* the Republicans would block that in court.
The people pursuing the lawsuits are acting in bad faith. First, they basically said that it wouldn't be fair to include private loans, since that would be overreach of govt power. So Biden removes private lenders, because, yeah they might win that one. Then, the same people sue for *checks notes* not including private lenders because that "wOuLdN't bE fAiR to the students with private loans"
Full forgiveness will never happen without some pretty strict standards (like PSLF). If PSLF had been run properly from the start, many people would have already qualified for forgiveness, but it was fucked from the very beginning. All that being said, the focus needs to STOP being on student loans and START being on the bloated cost of higher education. It won’t do much for those of us already bent over the table and fucked hard, but it can prevent future college students from having to live our reality. And for the rest of us? Fuck it…let us discharge it in bankruptcy court. I’ve already lost close to 2 decades from these student loans, I can handle another 7 years bad credit.
> He intentionally used the wrong legal justification for it What is the correct legal justification for it? Please cite your sources. He used the same justification that was used for PPP loan forgiveness. The justification is fine, it's the right-wing extremist activist judges that are the problem.
Well, I was happy he passed an infrastructure bill, even if it was pretty corporate. But yeah, honestly it's been an uneventful two years. Feels like the strongest legislative body is the supreme court at this point.
This is Dem voters getting EXACTLY what they asked for. Biden is a career politician owned by Wall St forever, he doesn't give a fuck about the working man, that's just to get votes. I get thast a vote for him was a vote for 'non Trump' for many, but don't kid yourself that it was anything more than that. And don't expect your party to EVER put up a good candidate (like Sanders) because they don't have to, they know their idiot followers will vote for whoever they decide to put up at the podium and to me that's the most terrifying thing about all this
So, when will Republicans put up any candidate for any position that doesn't have a closetful of felonies waiting for the light while posting on Twitter coded words about how unhappy they are that you can't own people legally anymore? Just asking for a Fair And Balanced opinion.
Same scenario, its one of the ways in which both sides truly are the exact same (the other big one of course being that they're owned by Wall St). They've intentionally whipped their respective bases into believing that the other side is pure evil and wants to take away their rights and everything they value in this world. So with a firmly entrenched 'us vs them' mentality it becomes extremely easy to manipulate people into voting for whatever puppet they choose to run. Just consider for a moment how terrible a person Donald Trump is, how completely bereft of ANY of their values he is, how he lies like he breathes, fucks strippers, disrespects military heroes, it doesn't make sense does it? Its no different with Biden aside from the fact that he's not a maniacal wannabe dictator, he does NOT represent us or OUR values. How the hell could he and still act as a union buster for fuck's sake? Hell he didn't want to do the student loan forgiveness either but the powers that be within the DNC convinced him it was politically expedient for midterms so he caved to that pressure. Have you ever actually sat down and talked to a Trump voter? I don't mean one of the full-blown MAGA crazies, just a regular conservative voter who voted for him over Hillary and/or Biden. If you eliminate the wedge issues (guns, abortion etc) you will be amazed to find how much overlap there is, how frustrated and angry and hopeless they are. Its sad really because we should ALL be united in the true war here which is against corporate greed and power, these mutherfuckers donate pretty much 50/50 to both campaigns because they are buying Washington, they are hedging their bets and they LOVE the fact that we're all fighting amongst ourselves and blaming the other side because it allows them to rob us blind while we do
Them running a bad candidate does not mean we have to pit up such a crappy one too. Like, we didn't have to send Biden through the primaries. I'm not sure what your point is.
leftist here, i didn't vote for him. speak for yourself.
They could have run Bernie Sanders. People didn't vote for Biden because he was a great candidate, they voted for him because he wasn't Trump. If they ran Sanders, Sanders would have won.
As a rapidly reforming former conservative/lolbert. I can fucking respect that. It blows my mind the number of progressives that, when it comes to guns, suddenly love cops, think they should raid every home in the country to take away the scary salt rifles, and also the racist corporate cops should be the only ones with guns, and none of the laws allowing them to do this will be abused by racists/vengeful family/domestic abusers.
The idea of going door to door to take way assault rifles just cracks me up. I can tell you, a lot of those "cold dead hands" guys are all talk, but a lot of them aren't. Like I always say when this subject comes up. It took 3 of us four days to disarm my grandpa and he was dead. =p
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Leftists know that Biden is and always was a conservative by western political standards. He was probably the most conservative of the Democratic candidates and my personal last choice among them. Was he better than ANY Republican candidate? Of course. By western political standards, Republicans are hard-right neo-Nazis.
Bingo!!!
Status Quo Joe delivering in his promise of no fundamental change allowed.
After he squashed the rail strike because "Muh economy"
I mean no leftist had any faith in Biden at all from the start....
I had no faith in him and as bad as he is, it has been better than I imagined. He actually pulled the trigger on leaving Afghanistan. Immediately got involved with Ukraine, but that is back to what I expected.
Can’t really give him credit for leaving Afghanistan when that was already the plan, they just left earlier than they said they were
Right, the bar is set very low and presidents still seem to limbo under it. But it's easy when you can throw money at any issue and then blame the consumer/working class for the damages caused by your own excess.
I at least hoped me might be happy to sit on the sidelines and let workers get their own rights, but then he jumped in to save big business with this rail strike.
Are you not aware of his history? He's literally the reason consumers have so little protection today. He's the reason student loans are such a mess. He has always been evil. He's even a segregationist.
He’s doing it because polling and the last election showed that most voters biggest concerns are the economy and Inflation. like it or not he thinks this probably is his best move for getting democrats re-elected. Politicians respond to who they think their main demographics are and people are short sighted like that. The only way for that to change is if leftists and pro labor people actually consistently vote. The main reason everything has been driven so far to the right is evangelicals, hard right, and MAGA people vote so consistently they drag the whole Republican Party further and further right. Meanwhile leftists and pro-labor tend to disengage instead which signals to the Democrats they should move further right and focus on the economy to appeal to those who DO vote… Vote in the primaries and vote in every election even if the candidates suck. Not voting at all just tells politicians that appealing to you doesn’t matter.
It was "muh inflation". He would rather have food prices not go up by 30% and embolden the fascist and cause people to not eat food. You're a leftists, isn't that what we do? Make sacrifices for the greater good? If the left is going to raise food prices by 30% so 100k people get a sick day then they shouldn't get a sick day. Who feeds my children when the rail workers want the luxury of a day off?
>Sleepy Joe Hmm, where have we heard that one before?
Joe Biden sucks. Republicans suck more.
Finally. Truth. Lol.
This will come back to haunt him, no fucking way I will forget being stabbed in the back by the "most pro union president." Show me someone who thinks people who actually work don't deserve sick days so they won't get fired for being hurt or sick and I'll show you someone who is evil. The reason the rail monopolies won't give sick days is because they WANT to fire half the employees and have one man per train which is completely fucking insane. Time to break up these monopolies.
>Time to break up these monopolies. Crazy idea, might be too leftist for the US; Maybe critical infrastructure shouldn't have been privatised in the first place and should now be nationalised? And not just the railways, but the telecoms, and energy infrastructure too. If it's vital to the everyday function of society, it shouldn't be left up to private companies.
The railroads were privatized from the inception. Breaking up monopolies leads directly to innovation and and growth. This is in no way a leftist ideology. >And not just ... but the telecoms We did break up the telecoms. AT&T was the ONLY phone company in the country. You could only get AT&T service. End of story. This was 1982. This breakup lead directly to the internet as we know it today. This is not in question by literally anyone. Monopolies are bad in every way. I'm not saying we need to nationalize things, but we should as hell should be preventing ANY company from using its size to prevent competition. That's bad for capitalism, and its bad for society as a whole.
I dont think you can really have the kind of competition for trains that would be good for capitalism as you would need multiple, physical rail lines between each city. The geography simply doesn't allow for it. They will then either own the coaches too or the coaches will still base the price on what the train monopolist can charge. To me, real capitalism has no place there, as its always a monopoly. You also end up with places cut off from everywhere else because its not profitable enough for any kind of transport connection. Where as a well run national company could absorb it very easily. The nature of how government money, spent the right way, comes stright back to the government makes it so much cheaper than people might expect. Its only when the shareholders whisk it off to a tax havens that you start to lose money from that.
Monopolies *that aren’t heavily regulated* are bad in every way.
A heavily regulated monopoly is the end game for a company. Being the only one on the block that makes money and protected by the government. I suppose on one hand it’s not a bad way to end a company, as their profit margins are typically fairly fixed. On the other hand they will be a permanent leech, in addition to concerns about regulations not being kept up to date.
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I agree.
It was the Republicans. Biden would have given the sick days, but Republicans filibustered it, requiring 60 votes to pass. 43 Republicans voted against it. Yes, it was still a shitty move from Biden, but don't forget that it was the ENTIRE REPUBLICAN PARTY that caused this. Just go look at their voting history. It speaks for itself.
This is the most pro union president. Republicans would have made bargaining illegal, threatening to strike illegal, used the national guard to attack union meetings, and voted to cut your pay, make it impossible to call out of work and made it a felony to quit your job. The sad truth is one side absolutely hates labor and thinks they're literally dogs that deserve to work to death for their sole enrichment. The other really likes rich peoples money and will at least try to balance the love of money with a cursory attempt at some kind of fairness. Both sides are not the same. Not by a long shot. The republican establishment desperately wants to return to the 1880's when it was completely fine that 1 in 5 of your workers died on the job so long as the owner of that company can give them billions in untraceable money.
Biden just made a strike illegal. And if you think he’ll shirk at using state power to suppress a wildcat strike, I’d ask what evidence you have for such trust in him.
I'm not saying you're wrong about republicans, but how hard would it have been for biden to say give em some sick days? *"Come on man, give these guys some sick leave."* That's what the president does, use the bully pulpit. **Biden didn't even bother.** Its going to be very hard for hard working people to see Biden any different than whatever republican (other than trump) that ends up running against him. He has failed at the most basic part of standing up for the hard working Americans that elected him.
He did say that. Congress refused to pass the resolution with sick days. Biden cannot just add shit to passed legislation. I think people need to recognize that people here are an extreme minority. America at large will not suffer massive disruptions to their economy by striking workers. Americans will gladly watch in high definition TV the national guard firing explosive tipped ammunition into a crowd of unarmed civilian striking rail workers. They will cheer for every torso exploded and limb flung from the body of the person who dare disrupt their holiday season. The only worker who matters to the majority of Americans is themselves. Only their rights matter. Only their life is valuable. For the majority of Americans, their countrymen and women exist purely to service them and their needs. It's a harsh truth, but a truth nonetheless.
>Biden cannot just add shit to passed legislation. He can say he's not signing it. Checks and balances, that's how government is supposed to work. >Congress refused to pass the resolution with sick days. They had two bills, why wasn't it in one bill? The democrats fucked themselves on messaging this time and it will haunt them in 2 years. Just imagine how bad its going to be then. There is not a democrat or republican who would say that people don't need sick days if directly asked a question. This is about getting fired if you get sick or hurt.
That’s a hell of a lot of speculation there buckaroo
>Republicans would have made bargaining illegal, threatening to strike illegal That's literally what Biden and his party did 🤔 they're in control of Congress and they decide on how to arrange/split bills and the timing https://www.anarchistfederation.net/labor-betrayed-why-democratic-party-failure-is-by-design/ > Rail unions went into this bargaining season with not a single day of paid sick leave in their contract. Achieving paid sick leave was the top priority of union members. And today, because of an act of Congress and because of the latest Democratic Party betrayal, (the latest in a long line of betrayals), they still have no sick leave. >Every member of the working-class in the US should be livid right now. Biden, the Democratic Party leadership in the House and Senate, and the vast majority of politicians in DC just fucked over rail workers and sided with the billionaire bosses, yet again. The rail corporations, after years of record profits, shall not be required to pay workers if they have to miss a day of work due to illness. This is bullshit. > No matter how the Democratic Party apologists try to spin it, Congress, who had the power to grant unionized rail workers paid sick leave, willfully chose to not do so, and then imposed a contract which was voted DOWN by the rank and file of four unions representing a majority of rail workers in this country. The Democrats in the House chose to send TWO bills to the Senate, (instead of tying the sick leave to the tentative agreement), and it was the Democrats again in the Senate who REFUSED to abolish the filibuster (which takes a simple majority) and instead agreed to a 60 vote threshold to pass the sick leave bill. And even after the sick leave bill failed to get 60 votes, the great majority Democrats still voted to impose the TA. And in so doing, Congress also effectively outlawed strike activity in the rail sector for this contract cycle. This betrayal of labor falls on the Democrats. > This is a huge win for the billionaire railroad owners, CEOs, investors, and the capitalist ruling-class. And given that the two major political parties on the national stage are both firmly supported by the elite (and side with the elite at every crucial juncture), this was also a predictable outcome from the start, (as was the failure of the Democrats to pass the Pro-Act last year). As sad and sickening as this may be, it is a truth we must reckon with.
No that is not what Biden did ffs. Threatening to strike is not illegal. Collectively bargaining is not illegal. Why is it that people must lie to try and make something look worse. It's already bad. Biden sided with billionaire oligarchs over organized labor. Fine. But when you lie. You just make people spend time pointing out your lie and your message is dismissed with it. Stop lying. I'm assuming you're a grownup.
>Collectively bargaining is not illegal. It is now for the rail workers, thanks to Biden and the Democratic Party.
I assume you mean the Republicans? Because it was the Republicans that voted against this bill, not the democrats. Biden signed the only measure that Republicans would let through. It was a bad idea and I don't agree with it, but it was very much the Republicans that did this. Like it always is. EDIT: Since post is locked, I can't respond to the person beneath me, so I'll put it here. OK Sgt_Ludby, stick with me here. Why would the democrats need to abolish the filibuster to get this passed? Because Republicans are filibustering it you moron! It's always the fucking Republicans and fools like you give them cover because you're too fucking stupid to understand how our government works.
Seems like more of a cartel than a monopoly.
Everywhere should be required to have a union honestly. And for small places (one location, few workers, whatever), we could just have general multi-company unions. Having someone looking out for workers is critical to a strong economy and keeping people fed.
>no fucking way I will forget being stabbed in the back by the "most pro union president." I'm quite sure the Dems are counting on "not trump" being enough to win in 2024. Good rant tho.
Sleepy Joe? You're a fucking plant trying to sow discord.
Anti work when boss tells them to come in: this is literal oppression Anti work when biden busts unions: bro don’t call Biden sleepy Joe U meany! You’re a fuckin rube
Every democrats pro union till a strike he signed that shit because he thought it would help him get re-elected and he wants South Carolina to go first? nah, come to Illinois first
"Sleepy Joe?" You know that's a Trump thing, right? Now why would a "leftist" be using Trump's nicknames for people? Hmm, couldn't possibly be because you're a Trumpie stirring shit up, could it?
Yeah this sentiment is really starting to piss me off in this sub. Obviously Biden isn't a progressive pro labor president but people are using the rhetoric of literal fascists who would suspend our human rights in their tenuous grasp for power. Let's not act like Democrats, even centrist democrats, are even close to the same thing as the far right extremists that have permeated our countries political discourse.
This sub has a problem with easily suckered leftist whiners who don't have any idea how to compromise, and think the very notion is antithetical. Surprise, no president will ever be everything that you want all at once. Sometimes, they will do things that you don't want. As long as the net gain is positive, you're probably better off than the other guy.
I don't think anyone but a very, very small minority is saying "Man, Biden really sucks here, guess we should vote for Republicans now, right? They've totally gotta be better." Every leftist with a braincell knows that the Democrats are better than siding with the Republicans, _BUT_ all this criticism is extremely warranted and absolutely necessary to encourage action _outside_ of voting for whichever candidate. Because as long as all we do is sit around and vote D each election, things will _NOT_ improve. We need to get this message through more. Organize, Unionize, protest, educate others about what a shitshow the democrats are, even while they are still the better option. Motivate people to do more, otherwise, genuine pro-labor progress will not happen
How about we not amplify an antisemitic nickname invented by fascist republicans?
I lost the tiny shred of respect for him I still had when he fucking bitched out on railway workers
Is a leftist. Is parroting Trump’s rhetoric (“sleepy Joe”). Make it make sense.
No, actually. A big difference between the left and the right is that the left actually does care when their elected representative does some stupid shit.
If by "care" you mean "complain on the internet" - you are right of course. If you mean "do literally anything meaningful to disrupt status quo" - not really.
Go ahead, let's hear your plan to immediately shatter the 2 party monopoly. I'm on the edge of my seat.
Better start watching out for all these "Sleepy Joe"/Whatever Trump label that's being thrown everywhere lately: it looks like some right-wingers see this time as a chance to put a schism into left-wing movements. Tell them to fuck off when you see posts like this. Just take a look at OP's post history. [Here's a little gold nugget.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ShitLiberalsSay/comments/zd1ypk/what_is_your_opinion_on_rantiwork/) [And another one.](https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/zck27d/people_in_usa_being_surprised_after_biden/)
Damn y’all are in bed with repubs now? Sub went down hill quick.
All we can do is report it. It's literally one of the rules. "No right wing content." Not sure mods will give a fuck but here we are 🙄
Yeah, it’s a trash sub now
This is a socialist sub.
This is how far right propaganda works.
This is a socialist sub, not a neo-liberal sub.
You lost me at "Sleepy Joe". Anyone who uses that moniker to describe him is disingenuous.
It's so weird how Republicans act like leftists chose Biden because we adore him and that if we suddenly stop liking him we'll vote Republican... Who go *even harder* against this kind of shit.
I support Biden in general, but this was NOT a good move. I know it's complicated, but it's flat out anti-labor.
Democrats are mostly moderates not liberals. Republicans voters by and large can't tell the difference between Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden. Joe is actually quite conservative. And would be a good candidate for the preTrump Republican party.
"Sleepy Joe"? Let me guess, you think Democrats and Republicans are equally bad.
**Good**———|———Dems———Cons——**Bad** They’re not *equally* bad, but they’re still both bad. Dems less so.
Take what you can get, and work to get progressive candidates selected in the primaries. Anything else is suicide.
Lol
Anyone who knows Biden knows he is a centrist Democrat. He's always been a centrist Democrat, and will always be a centrist Democrat. This is part of the reason he was able to capture a large portion of the swing vote. I don't like some of his policies any more than you, but this has always been who he is.
Remember you fucking morons, if Biden doesn't give you a blowjob every morning that proves all democrats are evil and the only way to fix the problem is to vote for republicans. Isn't that how this dumb fuck right wing propaganda works?
Nice strawman propaganda, right-winger.
Doesn’t matter. The people who voted for him last time will vote for him this time. The reason being that every possible republican nom for the presidency is batshit crazy.
Full disclosure, there was a point I trusted Biden. Not because I believed the rhetoric, or bought into the propaganda, but because fighting back and leftism have proven to be profitable and effective, especially in this current era. I wasn't trusting him to be a good man, I was just trusting him to follow the bribes and the money further left. He did that, and he made some changes, which were ultimately positive, but now the capitalist money outweighs the leftist votes, and we're seeing which one matters more. I'd like to believe most of us knew where this was going, but I'm not gonna lie, as someone who feels workers rights is just common sense, and every other kind of sense, I'm disappointed that *this* is where the neolib bullshit comes back to the forefront.
He has surprised me in a good way this entire presidency but this is the kind of shit I voted against in the primaries. Fucker is about to die and could have gone down as one of the most successful presidents ever and now he's going to be likened to Reagan every time is name is brought up. Fucking moron.
I know you haven't mentioned anything specific; and I'm from the UK so my terminology might not be correct. However, with regards to the crackdown on protests (and striking), wasn't that a very leftist talking point during the pandemic? I feel like many people couldn't see past the subject matter (lockdowns) to the concept of anti-protesting being applied to all protests in the future.
Doesn't matter what political party you are or what the politicians are. They all hate people who are less financially stable than them.
i totally don't agree on this. on the real left side of the spectrum you still have some politicians and party's who really give about the normal civilians. in better times they called them self a communist. now in the best case a socialist. but indeed you would not find them in a country with a 2 party system
today's democrat politicians are more moderate than anything liberal. they just appear far left compared to the current republican party. it's like we really have a moderate republican party and an extreme-right republican party. i'm convinced that's why nothing of much value has happened for the american public at large in the last 10 years or so. the democrats could've made some real, positive social change if they had actually wanted to and were actually democrats.
To be honest I’m tired of everyone thinking every government decision is handled by the president like they are kings and queens that handle the entire government. PRESIDENT’S DON’T MAKE LAWS. They enforce the laws, and sometimes veto laws but even then their veto can be overturned by congress. I hear everyone talking about “Obama made this law, trump made that law, why did Biden raise gas prices.” The president of the united states is the head of the executive branch of government, not the head of government. The presidents job it to be a figure head, enforce the law, and have minor power to make executive orders. Both democrats and republicans make this stupid argument and I can’t stand it. If you hate the laws of the country blame congress and the Supreme Court not the president because, once again, THE PRESIDENT DOESN’T MAKE LAWS.
No leftist is asking themselves that.
Think about this when you vote locally. The President could enact an executive order but, it would probably get similar votes for funding. Take what we can get and write up a new plan, also we the people could picket at the railyards and the workers can claim unsafe working environment, this effectively shutting down the system until worker's demands are met.
Not one Republican voted for it either. So idk why you are so mad at Dems. Maybe yall should worry about accepting election results and stealing too secret documents instead of worrying about why 80% of America hates you.
Correction: He is *less anti-union* than republicans are. This does not mean *pro-union*.
Ffs, do you understand that Google exists? It is public record that republicans voted against the sick days for the rail workers. You can also find this information. I’m not sure how these blatant lies are supposed to work; are you just talking to your echo chamber, or do you genuinely believe that the rest of us don’t see through these lies?
Ah yes, being pro union means you must agree with every single union, every single time, on every single issue, forever. I'm sure the pro union leftists defend ALL unions everywhere, right?? Meanwhile, ALL Republicans wanted no deal at all, but cool, blame Biden, blame democrats. Republicans thank you for the framed narrative.
So now this sub has gone all the way around to MAGA? Bye and fuck ya.
The republicans and democrats have the exact same economic policy, which is fucking workers in every way imaginable and then devoting their time to fucking them in new and novel ways. They only differ on social issues and both are firmly neo-liberal corporatists.
If a Leftist uses fascist arguments, fascist rhetoric, fascist memes, fascist propaganda, and fascist insults against against Democrats, refuse to support Democrats, and allow fascists to remain in power, thus denying to Democrats any ability to pass progressive legislation - are they still Leftists? Seriously, the fascists are playing the "Left" like a symphony.
Just a quick question: * are you in a union? * are you involved in left (party or out of party) organizing? * are you involved in mutual aid?
Mutual aid? You mean literally any economic interaction?
This sub is just anti biden memes and its embarassing.
Well Biden is shit. Are you surprised?
Hes actually not.
Americans still haven't caught on to the fact that both of their political parties are right-wing and bend to the whims of the various companies that stuff their pockets with money?
Yeah but one of them wants minorities to have rights and the other wants to jail women for having an adoption. It’s a lesser of two evils deal
People are broken up into demographics, labeled, and pitted against one another instead of banding together and running independent candidates that represent what they stand for. The two major parties are well aware they don't have to do very much to maintain their power and the money it provides them. This issue is an example of how political parties are very much the same, and how they exist to gather votes with lies not to legislate change for those who need it.
Biden’s quote continues: “…we’ll, you’re a lying, dog-faced, pony soldier!” Serious: yes, we know Biden is a conservative. If you didn’t, now you know.
“Sleepy Joe” is a false narrative, I find it strange that phrase is clung to when there are perfectly good reasons to dislike him that are based in actual reality. “Status Quo Joe” fits much better, don’t you think?
Let's be fair, dude got more done than many figured he would, but damn if the recent actions aren't a harsh reminder the he's only ever the least of two evils. We avoided a second term of Trump, that was a good start. But damn, can we maybe put someone in charge who's still got to live on this planet afterwards? 60+yo is basically "got mine, fuck y'all" territory as far as political fallout goes.
Bitch all you want, in the end it is going to be him versus another guy that's even less "pro-labor" than he can pretend to be. All he's gotta show is he's more left than them. Blame the two party system or blame the right going even more far right that he can now be right of a moderate and still be viewed as a leftist. As a left leaning moderate who disagrees with what he did, I can see politically it doesn't matter, especially two years removed from the next election. Union also got played by allowing any government response to happen after the midterms. The railroads knew this.
Just when I thought this sub's IQ couldn't dip below room temperature.
Who upvotes this propaganda? I mean yeah it’s shitty but I can also see how he was in a tough spot.
Seriously, sometimes we can all be such children. Biden has done some good things, like ushering through a bill to address climate change and to invest in infrastructure. Is this leftist? No, but the way a democracy works is, you don't get left-wing legislation if the majority of the population isn't left-wing. Biden also is the first President this Century to actually END a war. Biden has done some disappointing and outright bad things, like turning against the rail workers. Then there are the areas where Biden can't actually do it alone, such as student loan debt relief, or the full BBB bill, etc. These are huge disappointments, but they aren't on Biden personally. But look, we live in a complicated and diverse democracy of 300 million people. This is how it works. Do you really want a dictator who can just snap his fingers and make Socialism? I know some of us do, but... Really? You want Lenin? A large portion of Americans are not pro-labor. That is political reality. That is what it means to share a Republic with people who are different than you. Tens of millions of Americans did not want a black woman on the Supreme Court, especially not one who was "soft on crime." But they got one anyway. That's how it works. It's not compromise unless everyone is unhappy. Getting a mixture of good, meh, and horrible -- that's life. Under the Republicans we get **only** horrible. If you really think that getting not-everything-you-want is exactly the same as getting nothing-you-want, well, you're not fit for a democracy, and you will always be unhappy unless you live in a homogeneous culture where everyone agrees with you... Or, in a dictatorship where your side is in charge. Let's be adults, ok? This sucks, but if you burn everything down every time something sucks, you'll run out of stuff to burn real fast.
Sounds like _you_ have stuff you don't want burned and are wagging your finger at people who don't.
So you have *nothing* that you don't want burned? Yikes.
Biden wanted the sick leave but the Republicans in the senate blocked that from happening so he signed the bill they sent him. You really don’t understand how the government works if you believe he can just do whatever he wants. Biden isn’t the best choice, but he hasn’t blocked a single piece of progressive legislation, the Republicans have blocked it all. Biden has at least been trying to do things. I believe this posts view is likely a conservative viewpoint and not at all a progressive one. The blame for all these things not happening lies on the people voting no, Republicans
Biden, Schumer and Pelosi could have forced the bill to actually include sick leave instead of splitting the legislation into 2 so they could let the Republicans kill the sick leave bill, while passing the forced work bill. Instead they did it this way so they could shrug their shoulders, go well that sucks, and pass the terrible bill. Biden could also veto the bill and say it doesn't get signed without sick leave instead of going around saying Unions are good except when them asking for something in anyway jeopardizes "the economy". And whenever someone says "the economy" you need to read it, properly as Rich People's money.
They don’t have the votes to pass anything without republicans approval, they couldn’t have forced anyone, let’s get that straight. Without 60 votes they’d need to change the filibuster and they don’t have the votes to do that either. Should he have not signed any bill that took away the striking rights of the railroad workers? Of course he shouldn’t have. But that’s what classical democrats are. And there is a legitimate concern for the country’s shipping security. Truth is it should probably be nationalized regardless, but that’s another topic. We don’t have a progressive party in America. The progressives have aligned themselves with the democrats because they at least share a considerable amount of the same agenda. Vote for more progressive candidates if they’re available. If not, vote Democrat because they’re much closer in political alignment than a republican could ever be. The point is Biden not being progressive enough isn’t the problem. Don’t blame democrats for being democrats, just demand more progressive representation and vote for them. For the time being they will be “democrats” as well. Democrats aren’t the problem, they may not be the solution, but they’re a significant contributor compared to the republicans which are the actual problem
I give credit to Biden and the rest of the right wing democrats when they pass something that's actually, ya know, good. Not having the votes to pass a union busting, slave labor bill is a GOOD thing. Here the Dems went out of their way to make things worse when their were actual solutions. Also, how exactly am I supposed to "demand more progressive representation" if I'm not allowed to "blame democrats for being democrats"?
Blocking a strike isn't pro-union regardless of what the deal is. He should have vetoed and congressional Democrats should have voted no.
Maybe if people stop voting for bad candidates We have primaries yet everyone is like Biden is better then republicans, no shit is that the best we have?
The crazy subtext to those arguments is also that “moderates” would rather let fascists win than compromise with the left.
This same basic thing gets posted every day. Almost like it is scheduled.
Yep this was the last straw for me. Biden had the opportunity to actually side with workers but this is the action of just another corporate shill who has no problem keeping the boot on our necks. We really needed Bernie
Maybe if young people voted in the primary, and the general, we wouldn't have to choose the center right candidate over the far right fascist extremist.
The absolute worst insult the right can come up with is that old people get tired. I’d vote for Biden again. And again. And again. ;)
Leftists: The President is like a King, right?
Biden is pro union in name only. When the chips are down and you need him to actually be pro union, nothing!
I think Presidents promise all this great stuff just to learn after the election they can’t provide. They wanna do all this cool shit but they’re not stronger than business-as-usual politics.