THANK YOU for speaking these truths! While I understand the sentiment of people who wish to use their vote to protest Biden's complicity with the atrocities committed by the Netanyahu government, I feel nothing but contempt for the end goal. Anyone who sits this election out, or votes for an unelectable third party (and at this time there are no viable third-party candidates), is themselves *complicit* in elevating Trump to the presidency. Sure, we can protest the Trump administration and make proclamations about what Biden "should have done," but it will be the Palestinian people who pay the price for that smug satisfaction. Make no mistake: this election is a choice between Biden's limited efforts toward humanitarian safe zones, or Trump's calls for removal of all humanitarian aid. Biden's inadequate pleas for moderation, or Trump's stated goal of increased destruction. Biden's reluctant complicity, or Trump's active support for genocide. Between these two, there can be only one moral choice. Those who just can't bring themselves to vote for Biden commit the same sin as Biden himself: handwringing inaction and ineffectual opposition while allowing the Israeli government to continue perpetuating war crimes against the Palestinian people.

@AndreTJones

20 күн бұрын

I don’t know if I’m in agreement but I know one thing. To quote Janeway in the Equinox episode “You’re right I’m angry, I’m damn angry” as of 5/14/2023 Biden has, again, bypassed congress to fund a GENOCIDE. We the left, all of the left should be clamoring to get Biden to resign and have Kamala take office. Are we so afraid, so fearful of Trump to do the right thing? Are we going to stand up for what’s right and just and do what’s hard? Everyone talks about privilege, use your privilege to do what’s right. It won’t be easy, it never is. Imagine if we did this and we got Biden to resign. The government and administration would be forced to change course. With that in mind we could demand more. Medicare for all, reparations for minorities, help for the homeless. This is not about Biden, this about making the Palestinians whole. We must correct this wrong. The choice is clear. Use our collective energy to do the right thing. Get Biden to resign. We can do the right thing and defeat Trump. Walk and chew gum at the same time. But all I’m hearing is “thoughts and prayers”. Where is the call to boycott Israel? Where is the call For sanctions? How can you expect me to vote for Biden when you won’t even call for these things. Maybe I’m just shouting in the void. We could have really done something. If we get another Trump presidency it’s your fault! Your fault for not standing up for what we believe in. We could have had EVERYTHING we want and have brought justice. Feckless

@dinosaysrawr

20 күн бұрын

Perfectly said. Thank you. "None" is not an option here. Refusing to stand in the way of an objectively-greater evil because you took issue with a lesser evil is still, to my mind, a form of complicity.

@SarahRenz59

19 күн бұрын

@@dinosaysrawr @paulm.8660 ITA with both of you. Heck, I'm still p*ssed that these purists deprived me of President Hillary Clinton in 2016. I barely made it through 1 Trump term; I shudder to think the hell that awaits us all if he's elected again.

@Venator631

19 күн бұрын

Moralist bullshit opinion rejected.

@Venator631

19 күн бұрын

To hell with both genocide joe and trump.

I grew up evangelical. When the war in Syria was kicking off, there was a city being bombed with loads of civilians dying. I believe it was Damascus. I visited my church and they weren’t sad or hoping to organize aid. They were cheering because the destruction of that city was a predicted prophecy prior to the rapture. We aren’t a small church either. We had 5,000 members and both the Bush families and Trump families were known donors (sometimes with taxpayer dollars). If you think Biden’s indifference is bad, wait till you see what authoritarian wannabes do at the behest of Evangelicals hoping to fulfill eschatological prophecy… Also look up Project 2025. It CAN get worse.

@tiyenin

22 күн бұрын

I just watched the Comey Rule, and frankly we need to get on board with pro-Biden, anti-Frump messaging to prevent the apocalypse. And for those of you who accuse moi of hyperbole, Google project 2025.

@lkeke35

22 күн бұрын

Indeed! Under trump, it absolutely will!

@queenannsrevenge100

22 күн бұрын

I still don't understand why more people are not talking about Project 2025. It's not necessarily comparable, but it's almost like Germans pointing and yelling at Mein Kampf the best seller in the 1920s and saying, "ARE YOU SEEING THIS CRAP?!?!?! ITS A BLUEPRINT!!!"

@TheFlyingSailorYT

22 күн бұрын

Ahh dispensationalism... the biggest threat to Humanity that has ever existed.

@yancykeebler

21 күн бұрын

It's something how Biden is a Christian but at the same time doesn't behave the same way as evangelicals. Trump isn't an evangelical, he obviously doesn't believe in God, at least not a God above but I say he sees himself as a god because he thinks he's immune or above the law.

The other day I was asked why Star Trek was my favorite show. Without being too long winded I simply said that if every politician in congress was forced to watch a full season of Star Trek I thought the world would be a better place.

@Daedalus_Dragon

21 күн бұрын

Sadly Republicans often either take the wrong message or just miss the point entirely. Steve has videos about right wing trek fans.

On the "g-cide" word: Yes, words matter! It IS a g-cide. As a Jew and the granddaughter of someone who escaped the Holocaust, I believe it is imperative that we say it loud. Never again means never again, to ANYONE.

I've been saying it until I'm blue in the mouth, the GOP must not be allowed victory in 2024. They are the only alternative that counts, and they are a million times worse. People you know, people you are friends with will be placed in mortal danger if they win, and Gaza won't be any better off than it is now. It sucks, having to wait another 4 years to try to get a genuine progressive nominated for president, but right now we face the immediate and terrifyingly real danger of turning into a fascist state. You still have to vote.

35,000 is actually a conservative estimate because the apparatus that measures casualties coming out of Gaza hasn't been in operation for at least two months now.

@CitanulsPumpkin

22 күн бұрын

Because the Israelis targeted schools, hospitals, and journalists first.

@dynamicworlds1

22 күн бұрын

Not to mention the undercounting of people buried in rubble.

@lukey19920

22 күн бұрын

Over 15,000 children, and Joe funds it, it’s unforgivable in my view

@gapsule2326

21 күн бұрын

Iirc Nader thinks its 150k

As a Swede viewing this from the outside, America is in great need of more political parties and make it more about voting for a party and less about voting for a president. I'm not quite happy with how block politics in Sweden are working either. We're far from perfect. But still, if I hate what the largest party in a block does, I can always vote for another party in that same block in hopes of giving them more influence. I.e., if I hate something the Social Democrats have done, I can vote for the Left Party instead, or the Green Party, and still the left block will get that vote in the end as long as the party gets at least 4% of all votes. When the government is decided, the parties form alliances and the strongest block become the sitting party with a Prime Minister. From what I gather, in American politics, even if there are more parties than two in reality, in actuality they can do little to nothing in the long run and have very little to no mandate in the end.

@stevewithaq

22 күн бұрын

Yes. This is why I'm glad my state has ranked-choice voting and hope other states will follow suit. It allows me to vote for the best candidates first without worrying about the "spoiler effect". And yes, I'll be using that to put Biden below more progressive candidates who don't have a chance of winning this November. Biden will get the lowest ranking on my ballot (Trump won't even get ranked.)

@jemiller226

22 күн бұрын

We would need to hold a Constitutional convention to get very far down that road due to the drastic nature of the change (the two party system is the logical consequence of our entire voting system), and I have little reason to believe that things wouldn't just get worse if we went that route. There are too many people in this country who would cut off their noses to spite their faces; we would become a de jure illiberal democracy instead of a de facto one.

@joelmccabe1610

22 күн бұрын

Sadly, the major problem in the US voting system is people that only vote for a party, and not for a person. Lots of Republicans will vote for a dictator, for someone that wants to destroy the US democracy, because they are going to vote for their party, no matter what. And then they will regret their action.

@TubeTAG

22 күн бұрын

The American culture tends to make things black and white. Us vs. them. The American voting system effectively enforces this process. Nuance is not something that Americans, as a whole, deal with particularly well.

@oleonard7319

22 күн бұрын

we have plenty of political parties in the us. They just don't garner a noticeable percentage of the vote, and as one of the major political parties has descended over the past 3 decades into being a religious cult, that wants to burn the country to the ground there isn't a lot of ground to playing around

I was about to comments on the "good name of the United States" but then Steve was already ahead of me.

@podemosurss8316

22 күн бұрын

The United States lost a lot of that "good name" when they invaded Irak.

@BjornTheDim

22 күн бұрын

If you want to find a powerful nation-state with a "good name", you're going to look for a long time.

@darthelmet1

22 күн бұрын

@@podemosurss8316 Oh it was long before that. Iraq wasn't even close to the US's first imperialist project.

@karldubhe8619

21 күн бұрын

It's always been a 'good hope' really. You guys have gotten better over the last 250 years. There's that. :)

@searchingfororion

15 күн бұрын

​​​@@karldubhe8619that's sweet. Naive but sweet. Setting aside the atrocities we're continuing to do but have simply renamed and rebranded them, last time I checked - we're the only country sending 4/5 year-olds to school wearing bulletproof backpacks and acting like that's the best and only thing we can do. "It's just a fact of life, there's no way to predict these things. It can happen anywhere at any time!" (Don't look at the other countries... or if you do; look at the one example of violence they've had in decades it's *absolutely* the same thing over there...)

The one thing that annoys me about how everyone talks about this election is that the only thing up for election is the Presidency. All our representatives and about 1/3 of our senators are also up for election as well as countless state and local elections. Vote for BIDEN but also vote for representatives, senators, etc that would push Biden to his limit and lessen his complacency.

@tbirdguy1

22 күн бұрын

Re-electing Biden and giving him the same split congress he has now would be the worst.

@Char00000

21 күн бұрын

​@@tbirdguy1 Even before the midterms the Democrats couldn't get anything done because of two people, so I'm not holding my breathe.

@searchingfororion

15 күн бұрын

PSA & Case Study/ *Cautionary Tale:* Don't forget to research and vote on your local officials as well people. Not just POTUS, or Congress and representatives: The people who do not get offices in DC can have the biggest impacts as well; this can include DAs, judges, city and county officials, mayor's - *the governor* (remember if you live in a death penalty state they decide *who lives or dies* among other massive power). Despite the reputation for being the Absolute Wost™ (until Florida said "hold my Mai Tai" - my sincere apologies to everyone trapped there) we're actually *not* a red state despite what legislation - and mainstream, especially faux news - reflects. In fact, we nearly "flipped blue" for POTUS the previous two cycles (last time missing popular vote by approximately *500* total for the *entire* state). How/Why then? [Take out your notebooks because this is the TLDR/"Learn from our history" portion] Apathy and "protest" votes. Despite what so many may think, it's actually the not-so-silent 100% "minority" carrying on the the W. legacy of xenophobic wealthy-whyte het flunkie thinking making this "MAGA" country when the population is the polar opposite. (FFS I know more legitimate, deeply educated, anarcho/communists than cishet whte people here). But zealots *unite.* 2016 (separate from the mess that we all now know happened then) I watched *real* hardcore 'Berners' - not bots - proclaim if he didn't get the candidacy they would vote orange - *and they DID.* 2020 - Highest level of registration and turnout in record numbers. Some were 18-21, but a "surprising" amount were a considerable portion increasing every other section as well. Some may have been outliers, but it's common knowledge this was to be part of the "blue wave" and we were *so close* - systemic issues were one reason we failed voting access is a problem, intentionally, (something that could be fixed with local involvement especially elections NOT on POTUS years/ballots as that's when items the general public is unlikely to pass is put forth so those seated can customize the name and presentation to their known audience for their desired results - e.g more ballot boxes/polling stations/access ect).

@DaraelDraconis

11 күн бұрын

​@@Char00000on the one hand, yes. On the other hand, from the outside looking in, it's _really impressive_ how when Democrats hold the Senate, there always mysteriously turn out to be _just enough_ of them who don't reliably vote with the party to stymie any major reforms… and the party never does anything about them. No threats to withdraw the party whip (or whatever your term for it is), continuing support for them in their re-election primaries, the party apparatus _always_ seems to stand behind keeping some obstructionists around.

There are maybe 5 politicians who oppose the war in Gaza, in the US. You didn't elect them.

@searchingfororion

15 күн бұрын

Bernie Sanders announced his re-election campaign openly opposing the situation. Not only does he have overwhelming support in his state, but *internationally* which is tremendously impressive.

One thing that's sad you have to say, "we know its not all Joe Biden". Its deflection, we know, we just gotta address OUR president, not anyone else

@podemosurss8316

22 күн бұрын

I'm Spanish, and here we address our politicians (though they've been very ineffective on this issue, specially given that in Spain there is a large amount of support for the Palestinians).

@TheYpurias

22 күн бұрын

@@podemosurss8316 I'm glad people remember Biden isn't the President of Earth.

@lukey19920

21 күн бұрын

@@TheYpuriasno one said he was

@areed2000

21 күн бұрын

@@TheYpurias Well put! Americans not only believe the US is in control, they don't even hear the proof otherwise.

It is the bitterest pill to swallow. I didn't really want to vote for Biden the first time, I really wished he wouldn't get the nomination. But he did. And I voted for him. And I'm mad at him, and I really don't want to give him my vote. But I will swallow the bitter pill and do it. I think its hard to find that balance between voicing the frustration and acknowledging the validity of it and realizing the system is broken while also acknowledging we simply have no alternative. I hate it so much. But I appreciate you putting it into words.

@theedspage

22 күн бұрын

If you don't like Biden, don't vote for him! Simple! The Dems don't own your vote. We have plenty of alternatives and there is no excuse with sticking with two impealist parties that keep failing our country.

@TheCatherineCC

21 күн бұрын

No nonviolent alternative. But most of the "I'm not voting for biden" folks haven't been putting 2-3 days a week at the range or using loopholes to get pew pews without documentation

@lukey19920

21 күн бұрын

Personally I’m the same, however he’s not getting my vote, I can’t reward him with my vote after what he’s done

@KariIzumi1

21 күн бұрын

As someone voting in Nevada for the first time, I fully understand and feel this.

@ethelryan257

21 күн бұрын

One of my children is gay. This makes me a single issue voter for the Democrats, regardless of the fact that Bernie is closer to me politically. It's going to be Biden or Trump. We can influence this. That's all there is on offer.

One phrase that keeps going through my head whenever I'm stuck with no good options is "The person you vote for isn't gonna be your friend, they're who you're gonna fight." Voting isn't the only way or even the most effective way to change policy in a country, but it is the simplest way that takes the least amount of effort and risk. If someone isn't even willing to vote vote when they're able to, then I doubt they will be willing to do anything else to help.

@Casual_Stroll

21 күн бұрын

First time I heard this was from Olurinatti and I think it's the best way to think about voting.

@jfrsnjhnsn

21 күн бұрын

Well yeah. And right now the way to fight him is to make it clear that if he does not change course, then he does not get our votes.

I am reminded of all the times a trumpie said something to the effect of "The left only criticizes trump, the never criticize their own."

The people making a difference are the activists, not the government. Government is an institution that needs to go and the way to do that is to stop recognising it’s authority.

@DaraelDraconis

11 күн бұрын

Truly, The Revolution™ is just the Rapture for leftists.

As an Australian, I have to say thanks for this Steve, I agree with every point you made. However, I think that people in the US may not appreciate just how much Biden has done for foreign policy, especially from the perspective of the US's allies. For the four years of Trump we couldn't know what would happen next, would the president just, out of the blue, cancel a treaty or a trade deal, throw an ally under the bus? Hell, we were looking toward Angela Merkel for leadership, for stability. In short I guess, as slow as Biden has been to come around to the Gazan genocide, I don't think a sudden about face has much merit when it comes to international relations. Foreign policy is all about power, after all, not morality, and the US can't maintain the status quo (and thereby its power) if its unpredictable. But it is changing, slowly.

Arguing over the meaning if genocide is a tactic used to absolve UN members of responsibility. I.E. Rwanda, Darfur, Srebrenica

@HeadsFullOfEyeballs

22 күн бұрын

We wouldn't have to argue about it in this case if people didn't unhelpfully insist on using the word inaccurately for dramatic effect.

In PA, my wife & I voted "uncommitted" for the presidential primary knowing full well we'd vote for Biden in Nov

Being poor all my life, I've always had to make tough choices or learn to deal with what I can get. We were given the choice between lemons and grapefruit. You can make lemon aid with the lemons, but the grapefruit will interact badly with your medications and put you in the hospital. You have to make the choice between the two or someone else will. There are plenty of people out there that would think it would be funny if you got sick and had to go to the hospital. We only have these choices, but at least we have a choice. With trump, we may never be given a choice ever again. As long as we have a choice, we can work to get better choices down the road.

@TheRatsintheWalls

22 күн бұрын

Excellent metaphor.

@thing_under_the_stairs

22 күн бұрын

Great analogy! In the American political system, I think we all know which side it is that laughs loudest when the poor and vulnerable get hurt.

@Keithustus

17 күн бұрын

the election is between a lemon and a bucket of cow shit

Thank you, Steve. Facing the truth is vital, especially since we have so much work to do. In addition to voting through the entire ballot, I'd like to encourage people to support their local public libraries. Making use of the services there--libraries have so much more than books, which are already wonderful--joining the Friends of the Library group, and sitting on the board of trustees are all great ways to get involved in your local community. Seeing our neighbors is vital to feeling part of community.

If our government can’t offer anything besides the lesser of two evils we probably shouldn’t use that government anymore.

I'm used to being unenthusiastc about who I'm voting for. I wasn't excited about voting for Kerry in '04, Clinton in '16, or Biden in '20. And if 2008 me had known the things I know now, I wouldn't have been excited about Obama in '08 or '12. But this is the first time I've been actively ANGRY about who I have to vote for. Given the options on the table, I am FURIOUS that there is only one option that even remotely acceptable. Biden is unlikely to make anything better, hell he's likely going to make things worse. But Trump would make the SO MUCH worse that it's not even a consideration. But I am PISSED that voting for Joe Biden is my only choice because the Democratic establishment refuses to move forward and the Republican establishment has handed itseld over fully to fascism. I'm voting for Biden, but I am PISSED about it.

@literaterose6731

22 күн бұрын

THIS 🤬👊🏽✊🏽

@speedysavant

22 күн бұрын

Let that anger fuel you, and give you the energy to promote real change once the election is complete. That way, perhaps in 2028 you'll have someone more to your liking on the ballot. Democracy is participatory, or it isn't a democracy at all.

@pisceanbeauty2503

22 күн бұрын

If you are so pissed, then why not get more involved in supporting progressive candidates at the ground level so they can get a chance to even get to the point of being a viable presidential candidate? People may not want to admit it to themselves, but Biden has been the most progressive president we’ve had since probably Jimmy Carter. This “umbrage” people all of a sudden have makes no sense to me give recent political history.

@TheYpurias

22 күн бұрын

"Biden's going to make things worse" That is either some incredibly privilege, or just full-on MAGA alternate reality there. Negotiated a ceasefire between Palestine and Hamas, foreign aid, is the reason Ukraine isn't ethnically cleansed by Russia, forgave huge swaths of student debt, ended the Muslim ban, ended the trans military ban, suing states for their anti-trans bans, new Title IX rules to protect trans people, the biggest environmental bill in U.S. history, etc., etc.

@brendendavis9839

22 күн бұрын

that’s absolutely pathetic

You correctly point out Biden's horrible foreign policy. You say the anger is justified. But then you implore people to throw away their conerns and morals to vote blue matter who like "good little liberals" because "orange man bad". The answer is NO. We can (and will) do and deserve better. I encourage everyone to vote 3rd party Independent for every level.

@ikechristyii4970

6 күн бұрын

Except the math guarantees the voting third party is effectively throwing your vote away or at best inadvertently supporting Trump. You are not rewarding Biden by voting for him you're picking the person you're going to hold accountable and be fighting for the next 4 years would you prefer to fight Biden oh yes can be moved even if it's by inches or Trump who would sooner throw you in a gulag then here 5 seconds of what you have to say. And for the record just like Joe Biden had a responsibility which he currently is not fulfilling to be a better candidate, Jill Stein in Cornel West had the same responsibility and they f*** that up too. There are one job what's they get their names out there and have a presents and every single voter's mind, third party wins because either not enough people know about them or don't think enough people are going to vote for them to begin with the conversation only ever centers around the Democrats or Republicans. Most people who vote in this country don't pay attention to politics for 3 years then only halfway pay attention once it's time to pick a president. The day after January 6th anyone running on a third-party ticket who seriously wanted to change the direction of this country and have a realistic chance of doing it should have been in our newspapers on our TV screens and on our phones 24/7 every day until today. So until the third party gets serious we're stuck with one of two shitty choices and no other options. We are either going to be fighting Trump or Biden for the next 4 years if you care all about anything beyond your personal moral high ground you should choose the easier opponent and vote for Biden.

"He can be moved." This, in my estimation, is the one thing which differentiates Biden over Trump. If you go back to Biden's original platform in 2020, you will find some pretty anti-progressive ideas. But pressure from candidates farther to the left of him moved him to a more progressive stance. (The lack of any such candidate this year illustrates why I dislike the party strategy of discouraging challengers during a re-election cycle. I understand why they do it, but I don't like it.) This is not to say Trump cannot be moved at all, but he's consistently moved to the right. Any form of appeal to progress or empathy appears to cause an equal and opposite reaction with him.

@ZyliahWar

22 күн бұрын

Example: I just saw about the FTC banning non-competes in employee contracts. Could you imagine something like that happening when Biden got elected? He's had a lot more of those under-the-radar good moves than I would have ever expected when he got into office.

@Canoby

22 күн бұрын

@@ZyliahWar Biden has turned out to be the most progressive President in my lifetime, despite himself. Granted I grew up during the Reagan administration so maybe my standards are stupidly low.

@AndreTJones

22 күн бұрын

He was moved to gaslight the public about Gaza. He was moved to call protesters antisemitic. He was moved to bypass congress, many times, to fund the genocide of the Palestinian people. Yes he was “moved”. He’s not a perfect person but hell neither was Hitler 🤷🏽‍♂️

@ZyliahWar

22 күн бұрын

@@Canoby Yeah, I've noticed the same thing. It's been a nice surprise. I hope the Israel thing doesn't wind up completely undercutting him; it's not good, but the American politcal system has been so all-in on Israel over the last few decades that I have a hard time imagining Obama, Bush, Clinton, or Reagan doing any better.

@aetherkid

21 күн бұрын

Nonsense

Revolution isn't a one time event.

@tiyenin

22 күн бұрын

I just watched the Comey Rule, and frankly we need to get on board with pro-Biden, anti-Frump messaging to prevent the apocalypse. And for those of you who accuse moi of hyperbole, Google project 2025.

@SomeRandomG33k

22 күн бұрын

Correct. Revolution is a constant ongoing process. I sometimes wonder if Steve Shives and our Liberals are afraid of change. I guess they prefer, or are comfortable with, the devil they know as opposed to the devil they don't know.

The last point is a point not on Trump or Biden, but the failings of our election systems. Anyone who takes it personally or as a ding on "their guy" is missing the real point entirely.

@JDHutchison

22 күн бұрын

Agree that our election system is borked to heck. But my feeling is that not voting for the better option in a binary system is a vote for the worse, regardless of what the vote was. The answer here is not to sabotage elections with your vote, but to work to better the system. Vote local - it has a much bigger impact than people think. Work to instill ranked-choice voting (probably our most realistic pathway out of a binary election system).

@TheCatherineCC

21 күн бұрын

@@JDHutchison We've been told to work to better the system our entire lives. We've seen the outcome. Nonviolent pressure simply does not work. The alternative might not work either, but record voter disenfranchisement and cynicism comes from the results that we've all seen.

I think a fourth and most uncomfortable fact is that, if these are the only two options, you must ask; do you really live in a democratic society?

@anglobostonian

22 күн бұрын

We don't literally have two options. The issue is that our electoral system - First Past The Post - only allows for one vote and only one winner. Barring a complete collapse of either the Democratic or Republican Parties a la the Whig Party in the 1850s or the elimination of First Past The Post voting, it's not going to change.

@TransgenderAncientHistory

22 күн бұрын

10000000%

@georginatoland

22 күн бұрын

Precisely. What has holding my nose and voting for the least horrible candidate done? Just more horrible candidates. I’m so done with this country.

@GSBarlev

22 күн бұрын

Leaving aside the electoral college, I don't know that I actually believe that our first-past-the-post system is worse than the alternatives, given the clusters we've seen in parliamentary democracies, notably the UK and, ironically, *_Israel,_* where the vast majority has consistently voted for *anyone-but-Bibi* for years, yet he's the only one who can actually create a coalition.

@lethargogpeterson4083

22 күн бұрын

Since there is a difference between the two, my first answer is "you live in a more democratic society than if there were only one option". My second answer is that in saying we are not a democracy indicates that you don't think the current options broadly represent the will of the electorate. Where's your evidence for that? Is our democracy skewed by power, privilege, the electoral college, and gerrymandering? Yes. But the electorate's will is skewed, not completely overwritten. Neither candidate may represent you or the people you know. That doesn't mean they don't represent the electorate at large in a large swath of issues. Keep in mind there are millions of Americans who think Biden shouldn't restrict weapon sales to Israel even now. Keep in mind how much people value stability in any status quo. But most of all, keep in mind Steve's truth number 2, that we, the American electorate as a whole, are complicit in what our government does. Please do not absolve me and other voters (and non voters who are eligable and able to vote) of our responsibility by wrongly saying we have NO electoral power to change things. That is comforting, and it is wrong. Thank you.

What Steve said. (The IDF's atrocities against their palestinian hostages didn't start on Oct 7, they started decades ago) Also, call yer reps & senators. Daily. :'(

I think it would also behoove us to look at which congresspeople voted to approve the appropriations package that is allowing Biden to send weapons to Israel, and keep that in mind in the upcoming congressional primaries.

@GSBarlev

22 күн бұрын

The way that the appropriation was bundled, it was, effectively, everyone. The focus was on getting money for Ukraine (and Taiwan, to a less-discussed extent). Combining all three (plus that "short-form-media" ban) was the only way to get the bipartisan votes needed to get it all through.

Amazing and well done. So honest and articulate. This is an important message so many need to hear.

Shit. The world is shit. People are shit. Shit, fuck, damn. I have spoken. Bah.

It's a bit more difficult than convincing Joe to turn. There's probably a considerable amount of interested government and private parties that benefit greatly from ongoing support to Israel. Those same parties are probably purting heaps of pressure - whether subtle or less so - on the administration to keep being...traditional.

@Poppa_Capinyoaz

13 күн бұрын

The last president who tried his hand at 'a better way', had his head perforated.

One the three tenets I live my life by is "Every day, make the world a better place than it was yesterday. If you can't do that, at least make it no worse." That's why I'll be reluctantly voting Biden this fall. I wish there were better options. But the reality is just as Steve said, Trump or Biden will be president. And so I'll choose the option that will make it no worse. Not just in Gaza, but here at home as well.

@GreatBigBore

22 күн бұрын

Either option will make the world worse. Vote for the option that makes it less worse

@Thezuule1

22 күн бұрын

They’re both going to make it worse and I can’t in good conscience vote for either of them. I’ll let you all figure it out without me. I want no part.

@mattboy5296

22 күн бұрын

Exactly right. I believe pretty much any US President will be bad on foreign policy because it's all about power and not about morality (shout out to Beau of the Fifth Column), but some like Trump will be undoubtedly worse on it than Biden. Then we get to domestic policy and it's no contest who the better option is. I and I'm sure many others here have several women, POC and LGBT people as friends and members of our families we care deeply about (or you may be a part of those groups yourself). Do they deserve to suffer the horrific consequences of another Trump presidency and GOP control of government just to stick it to Biden on the issue of Israel/Gaza? I certainly don't think so. And even if one decides to not vote at all because they don't like either candidate, we have stats that show that the fewer people vote, the more likely the Republican wins. Not showing up to the voting booth at all will more than likely benefit Trump, and him winning to create even more pain and suffering to the people in Gaza *and* to the marginalized people here in the US.

@ianmcburney5734

22 күн бұрын

Amen Britton.

@505AG

21 күн бұрын

Either option will make things worse right so no vote right? Let me know what excuse you plan on telling your lgbt friends especially the transgender ones if trump wins. Because both sides are bad right so it doesn’t matter? Or your POC friends. Or the women in your life. Or the people of Gaza. Please let me know what you’ll tell them. I’m sure they’ll appreciate it. Because yeah they are fighting for their rights and republicans are more than eager to take even more but hey Biden is bad too.

This should be one of the biggest political issues this year. The fact that we don't have an anti-war candidate here with a focus on de-escalation is insanse. Absolutely insane.

@rampantrambling8178

22 күн бұрын

I hate that I'm going to have to vote for Biden this year.

@JDHutchison

22 күн бұрын

@@rampantrambling8178I saw somebody above put it very well: vote for the enemy you’d rather have across the table. I’d go with pushing back on Biden any day as opposed to Trump. Only one of them are you going to get any compromise from.

@theedspage

22 күн бұрын

We do have anti war candidates: Dr. Cornell Wesr, Jill Stein, Gloria La Riva. Please checks these candidates out.

Excellent summary. I disagree on a few point, could cite historical precedent fot those, blablabla, but I fully agree: Joe Biden is the better choice, Trump must not become president, not voting in a democracy is not good practice. You, Steve, made a compelling argument. That was a great breath of fresh air in a toxic discourse.

Republicans in the Senate and House will also want to give more support to Netanyahu and more harm to Gaza. Hold your nose if necessary and vote for those Democrats too.

@aetherkid

21 күн бұрын

Democrats are also giving support to Israel

This is a hard thing to ask of me, Steve. Biden is a terrible candiate and while hes done some good as president, he's slow to move or change. He and those like him believe in tiny changes and it feels lime he is merely allowing the status quo to stay in power. Seeing that Biden has been complicit in gaza makes it hard to support him. Do i want Trump? No, i don't. But every election its "vote for this guy OR we're doomed!" And its just getting tiring. I want a real candidate that cares, that wants big changes and wants to usher in a revolution. Biden is status quo. Trump is authoritarian nightmare fuel. Where is the candidate that will feed the poor, that will empower the disenfranchised, who will fight the lobbies and military industrial complex? It shouldnt be this hard. It shouldn't be this frustrating. I'm tired of voting for the lesser of two evils. Every election feels like a scare tactic.

@theedspage

22 күн бұрын

The good news is that we are not stuck with those two. I am voting third party (leading towards Jill Stein) and encourage you to do the same. We have Stein, Gloria La Riva, Dr. Cornell West, and Robert Kennedy Jr for starters.

@TAlexander-91

21 күн бұрын

Part of the solution is working to change the system itself. We can't just keep waiting for the next election, hoping for a hero to come and save us. Besides, the President is only one person and there is an entire apparatus of Federal departments, intelligence services, courts, and states that have to cooperate with the White House and each other in order to accomplish the goals we want. Feeding the poor, lifting up the disenfranchised, and fighting lobbies and the military industrial complex requires numerous other officials and institutions to cooperate with a president trying to do all that. If they refuse to cooperate then a president will be ineffective regardless of motivations. We need to work to pass a constitutional amendment to change or get rid of the electoral college. We also need to push for other electoral reforms, including ranked-choice voting, eliminating caucuses, etc. Finally, we need to make a point to care about and vote for local candidates. Everything from governor down to county councils. The problem I see is that a lot of Progressives/young people don't have a lot of tolerance for political projects that take longer than 6-12 months to enact. Everything I mentioned above needs to be done and sustained over a period of 10-20 years, and it requires us to focus on Congress, state legislators, governors, and cabinet secretaries, not just the president.

@ikechristyii4970

6 күн бұрын

I agree with your frustrations but a better way to think of it is you are choosing who you're going to fight for the next 4 years not who you're going to support. If the Democrats only ever give us one thing on our wish list every couple of years that's still better than getting nothing or actually losing rights to the GOP. I'm sure someone's going to put it in your ear to vote third party but let's face objective reality third party never ends they're never going to win until we change the system. The only people that currently have access to power who are willing to change that system happen to be Democrats. It sucks but it's as simple as that. Choose your opponent and choose wisely.

If only voting actually made a difference or used a system worth supporting of course if voting actually mattered we wouldn't be allowed to vote.

I’m maintaining my current stance of refusing to comment on my actual vote, and in large part because of the point Steve makes in the end of the video: creating pressure to maintain Biden’s change in direction is still paramount, and the more people there are declaring they’ll support Biden no matter what and advocating others to do the same, the more that pressure is blunted. While I understand the instinct to include it here, as a way to connect with those people who do advocate that way, if I’m honest it’s clear too many of those people haven’t done the hard look at themselves or done the work of learning about this atrocity that the moment requires. There’s a rush to push past just how harrowing this all is and boil it down to the voting, and along the way ignoring all the things that can and must be done. For months I’ve seen people I used to respect claiming that there’s nothing Biden could do and that the slaughter of Palestinians is inevitable so we have to ignore it to stop Trump, and in the last week we’ve seen all the things so many have argued that entire time, the ways the executive and Commander in Chief can slow and hobble military aide within the confines of the law. And how much sooner could that have happened if not for the insulating bubble created by moderates and liberals crying “but Trump!” from the first sign people were angry about the carnage they were seeing. There is something to be said for being more conciliatory now that change is starting to come, but for myself I think it’s best to wait and see if something lasting can be achieved.

@mramachandran9830

22 күн бұрын

Well said!

@nicholassmith7984

22 күн бұрын

As an outsider, I understand this viewpoint completely. But I hope that you understand, "but Trump" is going to be so much worse, for Palestine and for everybody. Real opportunity for change is going to come with the next US Presidential Primary season. It will be interesting to see who the options are there.

@lukey19920

21 күн бұрын

Very well put

@CmdrKing

21 күн бұрын

@@nicholassmith7984 why, exactly, when I spend the entire post talking about tactical considerations and how emphasizing the danger of Donald Trump negates the efforts to move Biden’s politics, do you feel it’s necessary or appropriate to lecture me about Donald Trump? You, and many like you, are the problem here. You think it’s more important to stop people criticizing the *President of the United States* than to do what you can, even in a small, infinitesimal way, to push our elected leaders to stop participating in a genocide and start listening to the people who elected them.

@Teletheus

19 күн бұрын

I completely understand what you’re saying. But I wonder if refusing to comment-and more broadly, if those refusing to express support for Biden over Trump because of Gaza, even if they know they’ll vote for Biden in November-might make it *harder* for Biden to take firm action right now. I know that sounds backwards. But Biden rightfully views Trump as an existential threat to American democracy. Biden also seems to understand that elections are generally won or lost by the middle of the voting spectrum, because they are the ones whose votes swing between the parties to affect the overall outcome. If support for Biden *seems* weaker than it actually is, then Biden might feel he needs to appeal *more* to that middle, including those who don’t like the atrocities against the Palestinians but are less vehement about it because “Hamas started it.” And including those who are loyal to Israel for religious reasons (and may be ignorant, even if willfully so, about Israel’s own recent atrocities). I don’t have an answer to this. I’m not asking as a rhetorical device, and I certainly don’t pretend to know whether this is actually happening. This is just something that occurred to me reading your comment. I genuinely wonder whether Biden thinks he simply doesn’t have the political cover right now to do more than he already is.

Really well said, Steve! I for one will be holding my nose with you, and I am hoping a few of my dear friends get this message. I hope your video will help!

People keep saying that foreign policy isn't about morality, it's about power. Like that is some kind of natural unchangeable property of nature or logic and not the ongoing cruel human choice it is.

@DaraelDraconis

11 күн бұрын

We can and should oppose that situation, and we can also acknowledge that now and for the next decade or so at minimum (because foreign policy shifts more slowly than domestic, in _every_ country) it _is_ the situation. These are ideas that can _and must_ coexist.

While we in Germany don't have the Voting system the US has. We are of course also struggling right now what to do with the Gaza Conflict. What really troubles me is that I've seen a lot of people internationally attack us from both sides. If we support Israel, we are seen as Authoritarian genocide Supporting Nazis And if we don't support Israel we are Antisemitic, Holocaust Denying Nazis. Even the question if the mass murder in Gaza should be called a Genoside or not is something that will get people attacking you from the other side. So matter what side we pick people will take it as an example of us being "the bad guys once more"

@TheRatsintheWalls

22 күн бұрын

If it helps, I don't know anyone who doesn't think your country has completely and successfully moved on from that dark period in your history. You've come up more than once as a model for how we in the US should be handling our own.

@mariyamwaniki

22 күн бұрын

​@@TheRatsintheWallsI wholeheartedly agree with you. Germany has anti Nazi laws I wish we had in the US.

@ryvyr

22 күн бұрын

That is something I think about and do not envy - anything Germany does is especially scrutinized. Hopefully everyone in your community stays in best health as feasible.

@dreye3215

22 күн бұрын

It shouldn't be about how people will perceive you, it should be about what's right. American criticisms of Germany are hypocritical anyway, Lebensraum was literally inspired by Manifest Destiny, they're in no position to judge.

@dwc1964

22 күн бұрын

I've heard - and it blows my mind - that most of the people being prosecuted under Germany's anti-antisemitism laws which equate opposition to Israel with antisemitism, are Jewish.

I always appreciate your eloquence, thoughtfulness, and skill with driving home points in a measured, deliberate manner. All of the truths in this video matter, but the third is arguably the most important, especially within the context of the first two. Go figure, I came to your channel for the Star Trek videos (which I definitely still enjoy and appreciate), but your videos dealing with social and political issues have me hooked, as well.

@jefft5152

22 күн бұрын

What's crazy...is that there are extreme right wing Star Trek fans...he goes over this in a different video.

Voting is a responsibility. To shirk that responsibility out of moral outrage is still a shirking of that responsibility.

@GSBarlev

22 күн бұрын

A text I've seen cited is "The Ones Who Leave Omelas," which is ironic because Le Guin herself did not believe that "leaving" was actually the moral choice.

@AndreTJones

22 күн бұрын

It is also a moral duty. If the American voting public were imaginative enough to hold Biden to account there wouldn’t be a choice between genocide and democracy. All I see ppl doing is looking at a genocide and saying “eh? It’s just a genocide 🤷🏽‍♂️”

@darthelmet1

22 күн бұрын

Political participation is a responsibility. Voting is only a valid form of political participation if it actually expresses the will of the people. If you are obligated to vote for a government that is actively opposed to your moral principles, then it is not a valid form of politician participation and you must seek to exercise it in another way. In this view, merely accepting the system as it is and limiting your political participation to ineffectual elections and protests is a shirking of responsibility. The default state of the world isn't cruelty. That's a choice. It's a choice that is renewed every election and every year that people fail to make the choice to stop it. The choice is not between more or less cruelty, the choice is whether or not you will support that cruelty or challenge it.

@iceblaster1252

22 күн бұрын

@darthhelmet If you don’t vote, you shouldn’t complain if the government that is voted in is acting against your interests plain and simple. If you won’t participate in literally the smallest bit of change you can do as a normal citizen, you shouldn’t complain when the wheels turn.

@Code_Dee

21 күн бұрын

Problem is with the way Joe Biden has been conducting himself, he's lost all the people that would have otherwise been knocking on doors and getting out the vote for him in November. Even if politically savvy people understand that Biden would be better than Trump and we should vote for him, how many of those people are going to be cheerleaders for him now? All those kids on college campuses that he's calling antisemitic for supporting a free Palestine, those are the ones who would normally be going door-to-door to get out the vote for Democrats.

Great point Steve, the MAGA party would be worse on Gaza, heck Trump would probably send US troops to help the IDF, even with the small cutting off of arms shipments the Republicans are saying Biden is supporting Hamas.

@under20over40

22 күн бұрын

US special forces have already been on the ground in Israel aiding the IDF

@jefft5152

22 күн бұрын

It would be "River to the sea." Only filled with Palestinian blood and craters.

@GSBarlev

22 күн бұрын

​@@jefft5152Quoting the Likud manifesto, I see. Really ticks me off that people claim that sentence fragment is antisemitic when literally _everyone_ in the region has used it in their rhetoric at some point.

@AuntieMamies

21 күн бұрын

Im surprised more people don't talk about how we would almost certainly end up sending troops to help Russia take countries that were once our allies

Could an American please explain to me why the US government is so committed to helping Israel even now, when it is crystal clear that Israel is on the wrong side of this? What is America getting out of its support of a genocidal regime here?

@OG_Agrivar

22 күн бұрын

$$$$$$

@juliedaubigny7564

22 күн бұрын

Israel is America's unsinkable aircraft carrier in the middle east, a disruptive force close to major political rivals like Iran. Some of us on the left have even called it the 51st state; the relationship is that airtight. Plus... supporting genocidal regimes is kind of an American Tradition. Look at the CIA's activities throughout the back half of the 20th century for proof of that. Imperial capitalist hegemonies require constant maintenance in the form of slaughter, lest a different country's capitalist monopoly, or, even "worse", a socialist power starts to threaten it.

@1fareast14

22 күн бұрын

I wish I knew for sure

@charleskeeling2187

22 күн бұрын

Foreign policy has nothing to do with what is right or moral in this case. If that were the case, our history would be dramatically different at all times. Israel, Saudi Arabia and Iran represent the strongest tentpoles in the region. The US wants as many of those as possible on their side, so we can continue to use the region for stability and money. More pressing is the need to divert US assets to Africa long term for the next regional fight. Again, none, nothing of this is about morality. It isn't 'right', but the last thing in your life that was fair was probably the division of birthday cake when you were 10. We need Israel for not very nice things, we cannot go out into the world and just be crass about it, so we go about it this way. After this is said and done, we will go on supporting them, because we need a stable Middle East where we can continue to be powerful in the region and generate wealth. It is about the good of this country at the expense of other countries. All countries play this game, we just have more levers and it looks far grosser when we let it happen.

@bretttaylor3787

22 күн бұрын

Our politicians are getting big money from the Israeli lobby AIPAC, and from the military industrial complex (our politicians love war and genocide because it makes them money). American politicians care more about money than their constituents. Doesn't matter what side of the aisle they're on, they all love that sweet, sweet cash. Our government will weaponize antisemitism and call protesters antisemitic, but it has nothing to do with Judaism or being Jewish.

The only one of your points I take issue with is the last one. I don't think it's totally wrong but it is incomplete. I live in Illinois. Biden won my state by over a million votes in 2020. He did so without my vote then and he will do so without my vote in November. If I lived just a few miles north, across the border into Wisconsin, I would be facing a much harder decision. But I don't. If Biden is going to win my state no matter what, I refuse to cast a ballot with his name on it. I'm not going to tell people in swing states who to vote for. I fully understand how difficult that decision is, given our options. All I ask is that others extend that same courtesy to people in states where our vote for president truly could not matter less.

Yeah, the third one is hard to swallow. I just keep thinking about how another Trump Supreme Court Justice would ruin us all. That keeps my throat open for that hard to swallow pill about needing to vote for Joe.

Biden: Here another billion dollars, now please stop the genocide. Netty: No. Me: gee, I wonder why it isn't working. 🤷‍♂️

Could not have been better said. Not voting, voting for a third party candidate, or voting for the unspeakable is not punishing Biden, it is refusing to use the one tool at our disposal that could help avert a global catastrophe. On climate change, on human rights, on democracy, on civil rights, on Women’s health and Women’s freedom, on lgbtq rights, and yes,on Gaza.

@masaufuku1735

14 күн бұрын

Genocide is unspeakable. Voting for either of the major candidates is a vote for genocide. I am not looking to "punish Biden". I am voting for someone does not support genocide - specifically, Jill Stein. I genuinely can't believe so many shitty liberals like yourself and Steve don't view fucking genocide as a red line to get you to stop with the "vote blue no matter who" bullshit.

Man you said all those things I was thinking already but couldn’t find elegant ways to put them in words! Thank you!

For people who live in swing states, I think some of what you said deserves serious thought. As someone who lives in a state where Joe Biden will not be within the margin of error, I see no reason to compromise my personal morals to vote for a man who enables genocide. If you live in a swing state, If you live in a blue state, follow your conscience. I, from my red state hell hole, will be voting for a third party.

@skramzy6628

19 күн бұрын

Same

@shuttlecrossing1433

16 күн бұрын

I hope you do not apply this logic to races down-ballot. Your state and local elections are decided by far smaller margins and are not only improved by blue votes from you but show that those places are worth attempting to oust Republicans from. I assume you left out "vote for Biden" in your "if you live in a swing state" statement?

Well said Steve. As livid as I am about Gaza, Trump being defeated has to be the goal. For the sake of the people of Gaza, as well as us.

Outstanding video, especially that final point.

Thank you Steve for making this video.

I don't know exactly how to say this, but I hope I get my point across: My concern isn't with the people saying "you need to vote for Biden". My concern is that before/during the primaries I was told "I needed to vote for Biden, or else." as if he was the only candidate who would be able to defeat the incumbent. Instead of voting on issues of importance to left-leaning voters, we were told it was of upmost importance to defeat Trump. And now we are faced with the choice between a dude unable to ask someone not to do a genocide and a different dude that is worse. Our choice is between a regan-era republican that doesn't appear to mind if two dude's kiss and an actual psychopath. That's why people are mad. Am I going to vote for Biden? Yeah. Am I going to hope the other dude doesn't win? Yeah. Am I mad as fuck about it? you betcha. So, now when people say, "you need to vote for Biden" my first thought is, "okay, look where that got us."

@TheRatsintheWalls

16 күн бұрын

Vote practically now, and then spend the next 3 years working to fix the system so you and the rest of us can vote for our values rather than against the worse evil. If everyone who complained about not having a good choice had done this, we'd probably have a better system by now.

Thank you so much, Steve. People have already said this (literally the pinned comment), but as awful as Biden is, and as much as people need to understand that he's NOT good for the people in Gaza, we still must vote for him. You're really awesome, dude. I hope more people see this video. ❤❤❤

Awesome video and well said. I've tried to tell my friends the same thing.

Steve, I've been enjoying your content for a long time. I honestly thought I'd have to leave a crazy comment... You really really dug deep on Joe. You clearly have done your homework. I, like you, have already made up my mind on this so I was kind of yelling at my phone for a little bit. 😅 Your message is the best message for this country. Like Joe says, "Don't compare me to the almighty; compare me to the alternative."

I'm an elderly Jewish atheist who has long been used to voting for the lesser of two evils; so I'm voting for Biden.

Thank you for making your voice heard on this important issue

Thank you for including that final point. We may not like the choices that the electoral system provides us with, and we can attempt to change them, via support for ranked choice voting, or protesting, or whatever. But right now, THIS NOVEMBER, the choice that we have is between Biden and Trump. Not voting does not send a message of "both these guys suck", it sends a message of "I don't care who wins".

This is what I’ve been thinking this whole time whenever I see people say that they can’t vote for Biden because of how he’s been handling the Gaza situation. Also I feel like complaining to the Biden administration that what they are doing is “too little too late” is a bit counterproductive. I mean hasn’t our whole goal been for him to change his policy in Gaza? I feel like we should be welcoming any change regardless of how small it is. Even if it is true that he shouldve done a lot more a lot sooner we should show that he’s moving in the right direction. Because if we act angry towards him no matter what he does then he might just think “well they will be mad at me no matter what I do so why even try?” I’m not saying that what he’s doing isn’t too little too late but I just think if we really want to make things better for the people in Gaza then we should be adopting a different aditude when it comes to Biden changing policy towards Israel.

@jemiller226

22 күн бұрын

I think a lot of people who currently say they can't vote for Biden because of Gaza will end up voting for Biden once they get a ballot in their hands. Many of them were referring to the primary, where a protest vote will hurt exactly nothing. Personally, rather than vote for Biden or vote for "uncommitted", I wrote in Rashida Tlaib's name. I felt that voting for a Palestinian woman in the primary made my point more clearly than anything else would.

@turner3d1

22 күн бұрын

I completely agree. Saying "too little too late" is essentially punishing someone for doing what you wanted them to do in the first place. It's a form of the Nirvana fallacy with which there is a refusal to accept any solution that isn't absolutely perfect.

@shovknight3008

22 күн бұрын

@@jemiller226 Yeah that’s what I think too. At least that’s what I’m hoping is the case since I don’t know how anyone could see Biden as “just as bad” as Trump.

@TheCatherineCC

21 күн бұрын

@@jemiller226 Or they will just work their shifts at 2 jobs instead of standing in line for 2-8 hours. Record low voter turnout and general disenfranchisement isn't a "this year" phenomenon, it's a trend that has only increased through much of our adult lives.

Thank you for saying this out loud. Point #3 is what keeps sticking in my craw - I wasn't a huge fan of Biden even in 2020 and still wasn't before his support of Israel, but he remains the least-bad option this November.

@GSBarlev

22 күн бұрын

I don't remember if it actually made it onto a tee shirt, but I remember a particularly effective slogan from four years ago: _Biden 2020: Because a shot to the leg beats a shot to the groin_

@Ootek_Imora

22 күн бұрын

Jill stein. Although I understand that 3rd party candidates aren't viable because of how the system itself is set up. But since I live in a deeply red state it won't matter if I vote for her or biden cause trump will win oklahoma regardless

@TheRatsintheWalls

22 күн бұрын

I think of it this way: in politics we basically never get to pick our opponents. We get to pick this one, and I'd much rather have Biden across the table while I push for my ideals, than Trump while I defend already established human rights.

@JDHutchison

22 күн бұрын

@@TheRatsintheWallsoh man, well said. I’m going to steal this line.

This I think is a fantastic argument for ranked choice voting. It would be much more expressive as a way for citizens to state their preferences, rather than a reward bestowed for running a good campaign.

With you all the way Steve.

thank you for sharing this. It means a lot to. me.

It needed to be said.

How dare you say something so controversial! That I completely agree with.... This is the "Bad Place" isn't it?

That last sentence sums up a lot of my frustration with the progressive left, speaking as a Black woman veteran. People (read: the white liberals in blue havens such as California, where I lived most of my life) are too in their own feelings, having been born with what I call moral luck: that is, people who have had the benefit of choosing between two good options instead of having shit options or no options at all. I was against the Iraq war in high school, but thanks to the recession that kept my brother from getting hired for years after his graduation, my mom never keeping jobs and my stepdick being terrible with money (to put it very mildly), I didn’t have the time to wait four years for a degree. I needed money now and 25 hours at Target at 8.50 an hour wasn’t cutting it. So I plugged up my nose, joined the Navy and that was that. But frankly, I can attest that Black folks (and indeed every marginalized group) have always had to go for the lesser of two evils. The only President anyone in my family has been warm on was Obama and that lasted till 2010. If White folks only just realized in 2016 or 2020 that the government don’t care about any of us….join the club. Vote anyway because if Trump wins, it may be the last time you ever get the opportunity to do so.

Thanks for saying what I've been thinking.

I'm sick of the lesser of two evils, I'm sick of holding my nose at the voting booth. But the Republicans are and have been putting forward an overt fascist so I can't in good conscious sit this one out. If it were a choice between Biden or a guy like Romney, I'd sit it out.

That needed to be said.

💔 thanks, Steve.

This video needs to be shared and posted EVERYWHERE that it can be.

Concur. All of this.

well said!

Thank you Steve. You’re a good man.

I love this guy. Great video.

Yep.

You're 100% right on this, and doing a much better job explaining just why it is essential to hold one's nose and vote Biden in the next election than 95% of other commentators across the media. Good job. I'll be saving this video and forwarding it on to many othets

Excelent video. I’m glad someone finally said it.

Love this! ❤‍🔥I don't like our choices either, but I am voting for Biden too.

@jefft5152

22 күн бұрын

"Don't compare me to the Almighty; compare me to the alternative." -Joe Biden

@scottn2046

22 күн бұрын

Jared Kushner recently commented about the “very valuable” potential of Gaza's “waterfront property” ... there's no harm voting for the lesser evil when there's daylight between the lesser evil and the greater evil.

Steve, as a willing Biden supporter, thank you for giving me something to think about. (Also, thank you for focusing on the issue not the terminology used to describe it.)

Agree 100%. For all of Biden's faults, and he has been tragically weak on this issue, he can at least be pushed in the right direction. Trump, in all things, will be actively malignant.

Steve saying a whole mess of truths here

I couldn't've said it better myself.

I like this dude and mostly agree, however I am not participating in the S-show any longer. Good luck, everyone.

As someone who considers himself to be a progressive but who also lives in the real world, the fact that it is necessary for people to make this case over and over again causes me more than a little despair that the left will ever get past its tendency to self-pwn.

@scorinth

22 күн бұрын

Yep. Although, I doubt a majority of it is really coming from the "self" the extremely wealthy have been spending incredible amounts on convincing progressives to give up prematurely for decades.

It took courage to make this video about a bad and a worse option. And Steve didn't even mention, what many people across the globe fear (I am not from the USA), that the next presidential election in the USA might be the last one... at least for quite a while and in the sense what you call a free election.

excellent video

That 35,000 number is low, it's actually closer to probably 100 to 200,000 but that just came out like a day ago

@EnlightenedMindset

22 күн бұрын

It will be 2+ million if Bibi has his way (which it seems he will).

Well said. And I should point out that I was and am a staunch supporter of Bernie's movement, but I held my nose and voted for Hillary in 2016, and for Joe Biden in 2020, even though I had voted for Bernie in the primary both times. We don't have to like the choices in front of us, but in the end they're the only ones we have. And no amount of chest thumping or public posturing is going to change that. Casting a vote for somebody who isn't a candidate is the same as throwing your vote away and if that's what you think you must do, don't even bother getting up on Election Day. The outcome will be what it will be regardless.

Original script: "This is a genocide!" (Looks up UN definition of genocide) "I don't care what you call it!"

Honest question Steve. Who would you tell Palestinian Americans to vote for. I guarantee you wouldn’t tell someone that’s lost a quarter of their family to vote for Joe Biden

yep

Thank you so much, Steve! You give me hope that one day we might really get that optimistic future that Star Trek dreams of!

I've been watching this game longer than you.. The sons of bitches can earn my vote' by doing what they promise

I really appreciate you taking on this issue. Hope you have a good week.

I feel like this breaks down at a certain point, for Palestinian Americans or people who have loved ones in Gaza, it's hard to say they are obligated to vote for someone supporting a genocide against their own family/loved ones, even if the other guy would be as bad or worse on that front, and come with a strong possibility of fascist dictatorship besides. That said, if I were American and lived in a swing state, I would absolutely swallow any sick feelings it gives me and cast a ballot for Biden to keep Trump out.