this post was submitted on 01 Apr 2025
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It's nice to see the senate opposition functioning.

Edit: 18 hours of holding the senate floor, giving voice to the american people. Lots of tears as american suffering is read out loud for the congressional record. Testiment from Americans across the country. This is the voice of the people. Please click the link, share and watch. The media needs to know we care about the opposition more than we care about trump rambling on a plane about fort knox.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Maybe if more than 20% of voters showed up and voted in the primaries instead of incessantly bitching about term limits, we wouldn’t have so many capitalist centrists in Congress.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago (2 children)

What country do you think we're talking about?

Obama proved that turnout improves when politicians make specific promises about the things they're going to fix and the only message folks got from the Harris campaign was that everything is fine and nothing needs fixing.

Nobody's bitching about the term limits on presidents, we bitch about term limits in congress because it's the only way to get the dinosaurs holding back progress to step down.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (3 children)

We’re talking about the US Congress. Congressional primaries average ~20% voter turnout.

[–] [email protected] -5 points 2 days ago

There's no voting our way out of this

[–] [email protected] -3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Yeah, because America isn't a democracy. It only pretends to be one.

There's no fixing this without rewriting the constitution and there's no way to do that when our politics are this dysfunctional.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

We directly elect Congress. My point was poor primary turnout results in more of the same. Your argument is pointless criticism. Throw your hands up in disgust somewhere else.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

The poor primary turnout isn't the cause of the problem, it's the inevitable result of an electoral system that is designed to prioritize money over people.

Merely improving turnout is not our goal, at best it is a means to an end. The actual end goal is the establishment of a government that represents the interests of all, but there's no way to get there from here even with 100% turnout.

I'm not "throwing my hands up in disgust", I'm offering a clear-eyed perspective on the challenges we face and the hardships that must be endured to achieve democracy.

If your organization isn't treating the U.S. government as a threat actor then it can be safely ignored. If it is, then your opsec shouldn't allow you to talk about it online.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Sure, idealism is great, but none of that will happen by November 2026. I’m suggesting we use the system that is already available to us before condemning its efficacy. Why is that sentiment worthy of contest?

[–] [email protected] -2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Because the system is designed to give people like us zero levers of control.

The only idealist here is the person sugesting that reform from within the system is possible.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

It does though. I agree with most of your statments in this thread. We don't need to re-write the constitution. However we could if we wanted too. We can't get 70% of america to agree on whats best for everyone. That's not the government thats us. I'm open to hearing causes and solutions, but to act like we don't have power is false. our government gives us power. 70% of the country doesn't know how use it, or we can't agree on how to use it. That's my assessment anyway.

Social security is overwhelmingly popular but the majority of people can't vote to save it. So when we finally cut social security and no one even votes out their congressmen I think we will discover its not the political system its us.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Rewriting the constitution is essential, or else the flaws in our government that permitted this state of affairs will not be addressed.

Rewriting the constitution is impossible, not only because of the polarized nature of our politics but because the existing system is designed to prevent amendments our rulers don't want.

The government does not "give" power, it claims our power for its own and persists only because we allow it to.

I'll say nothing more except to note that those who make peaceful revolution impossible also make violent revolution inevitable.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I'd be interested in your ideas on a new constitution? You seem like you've also been thinking about our situtation from many angles. We are certainly at a point in history where I am willing to throw a hail mary.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 days ago

In short, we as a species have had a lot of practice designing governments in the centuries since the US constitution was written, and by their standard America is a dysfunctional backwater.

The checks and balances between the branches of our federal state were designed without political parties in mind, and they'll need to be restructured to minimize interdepartmental collusion and prohibit self-dealing at least.

The executive should not be the sole issuer of pardons. The judiciary should be responsible for enforcing the penal system rather than the executive. The legislature should not be a competition between two sports teams. The Senate and electoral colleges shouldn't exist. Representatives should be elected proportionally by state rather than winner-take-all for each congressional district. Recall votes should be implemented automatically if a representative trends down into negative favorability. The president must be subject to the law, and it should be easy for the citizenry to recall them as well. Judges should not be allowed to affiliate with political parties. Nobody in the government (federal or state) should be allowed to maintain ownership or control over commercial entities, and they should be audited frequently and randomly to ensure they have no conflicts of interest. The top marginal tax rate should be 100% and kick in as soon as an individual's income exceeds some reasonable multiple of the minimum wage, which should itself be pegged to consumer price indexing of the cost to raise a family. Every elected position should have term limits. Etc etc etc.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

I think there are some good arguments for not having term limits in congress. One of the most convincing is a new congressman is more likely to be manipulated through ignorance versus the entrenched interest of an older one.

We need AGE limits. 80 year olds can't do anything more than consult in the government. If the DNC loves 80 year old dinosaurs so much, they can pay them to consult younger congress people. I value the wisdom of pelosi but i need youthful vigor of AOC. AOC has like the right amout of experience to be effective in government, we wouldnt want to Term limit AOC before her time to shine ya know?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I agree with both age and term limits. My comment was meant to illustrate the hypocrisy in people complaining about the lack of efficacy of a system that they don’t even use.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Yea there's a lot of that going on in here. Mind boggling how so many people can criticize a government they are willfully ignorant of. The people most desperate to exercise their political will can't seem to manage to figure out how. I'm trying to help them. we need that kind of passion.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

I’m with you there. I’ve been doing that since the 90s. Most of my friends are Gen-Xers. Wanna talk about a frustrating group to engage?🙄

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yea im that age as well where big brother and friends are young GenX knuckle heads. Gen Z is REALLY hard to communicate with. the women are super intelligent and articulate and the boys leave a lot to be desired in intellectual conversation. The younger they are the more this stand out. I'm hoping gen A is based.

GenX has had a really disappointing political evolution. The punk rock boys i looked up to are extinct.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Agreed. A piece of me died when they closed CBGB’s. It seems like the grunge apathy stuck around far too long too.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

We need more music for the revolution. The revolution needs some culture.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Not sure how you feel about protest folk, but this dude Jesse Welles absolutely kills it.

https://youtube.com/@hellswelles

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

hahahaha i have a buddy that does odd folky stuff, i can dig anything if its got heart. I will check it out after the filibuster.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

That it does. Check out the acoustic videos of him in the woods/grass before the concert stuff.

Booker is killing it! I’m so proud of him. I really hope this sparks some unity in the Senate.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Im feeling more motivated to action. I hope people are watching and feeling the same. It's been cathartic hearing him scream what i want to scream.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Great! Hope to see you out in the protests! Are you going out on Saturday? Should be one in your state capital if you can’t make it to DC.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Saturday state capital! I think I will put a picture of the gallows on a sign. You know the ones from Jan 6.

it's so hard to know what's legal to day but at least we know its okay to build gallows and chant about hanging the sitting VP. Might even storm that capital and shit on a MAGA legislators desk. You know since thats legal. I'm only covering legal freedom of speech, don't want to do to much non-violent protest since it's been deemed illegal.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Can’t be dragged down by that western weakness “empathy.” Haha

Good stuff. Have fun and stay safe out there!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

Yea if you hear someone rabidly cheering guillotine the couch fucker thats me.