• @Crackhappy@lemmy.world
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      18 days ago

      If there is one thing you can accuse Bernie of, it is definitely not being a good human.

      Edit: Welp I totally fucked up and said that wrong and then went to sleep. I intended that to be a double negative and missed the double part. I caucused for Bernie and I think he is one of the most amazing people to ever live. Sorry guys, I goofed big time and I deserve the downvotes for my fuck up.

  • @N0body@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    19 days ago

    There’s an alternate timeline where Bernie won in 2016 and restored the middle class in America. Living wages, affordable housing, affordable everything, universal healthcare, and a common sense foreign policy.

    I’m not saying he’s perfect. He would have made mistakes. But he would have been the best president since FDR.

    • @jeffw@lemmy.worldOPM
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      11819 days ago

      There’s an alternate timeline where he wins and can’t get anything through because there aren’t enough progressive Dems in the senate.

      • @TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world
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        3819 days ago

        Or where upon it seems he’ll be blocked, he goes individually to each of the blocking members states or districts, and campaigns his ideas directly to those who will be most affected, both upsetting precedent and dra international attention to individuals blocking the legislation.

        You act like there wasn’t a plan. I assure you , there was a plan.

      • @would_be_appreciated@lemmy.ml
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        2019 days ago

        Being in a position where the entire country hears his very reasonable, very easy to understand words over and over again would eventually have an effect. Even the die-hards would eventually be asking themselves if it is in fact reasonable that corporations are assfucking each and every one of us every single day. Some of them would vote in a more progressive representative.

        Would he get everything passed? Absolutely not. But he would get some good stuff through.

        • Flying Squid
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          318 days ago

          Being in a position where the entire country hears his very reasonable, very easy to understand words over and over again would eventually have an effect.

          How did that work out for Jimmy Carter?

          • @would_be_appreciated@lemmy.ml
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            618 days ago

            It worked out pretty well for Carter’s policies, even if he only got one term. Carter ran openly as a centrist, and his fiscal conservatism was very popular. The left-ish wing of the Democratic party started an “Anybody But Carter” campaign during the primaries for exactly that reason. Lots of policies he advocated for got passed during his presidency: he deregulated the airlines, the trucking industry, railroads, banking - and that was a great trial run for Reagan’s followups (and Bush, and Clinton, and W).

            But Carter was both too conservative and wildly incompetent for the job. With somewhat liberal Dems having the majority in both houses and universal health care being a big issue at the time, and with Ted Kennedy as majority leader trying to push it through, Carter still opposed it on the basis of cost. Of course it died, as did any other progressive or even moderately liberal ideas that cost money.

            What I’m saying is fuck Carter. He’s done a great job rehabbing his image but he was a bad president his presidency is rightfully maligned by both the right and the left. But he got a lot of policies through that he liked.

            • That’s all really interesting, i need to learn more. I don’t know tons about Carter, but I do know he put solar panels on the White House in the 70s, which is pretty rad. Of course Reagan took them right off, that fucker

              • @would_be_appreciated@lemmy.ml
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                118 days ago

                Yeah, his alternative energy push was definitely positive, he just didn’t have the political capital or savvy to make anything of it. He admittedly walked into a pretty raw deal with stagflation and an energy crisis, but he handled them so poorly it’s hard to justify cutting him any slack. Telling the public energy is in short supply so they’re going to have to make sacrifices is a losing strategy no matter what you’re advocating for.

      • @N0body@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        1219 days ago

        In that case, Bernie’s executive orders would have blotted out the sun. How do courts strike down student loans being forgiven under a new legal theory every month?

      • @Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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        518 days ago

        And yet it’s a better timeline than what happened when Clinton was too bad at being a politician to beat Trump.

      • @VinnyDaCat@lemmy.world
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        318 days ago

        It doesn’t take too many traitors to the party to ruin any attempts at passing progressive legislation sadly. Even if it’s not the usual suspects like Sinema or Manchin someone will always step up, and if they don’t get voted back into office later then they’ll just cash in those connections with a lobbying firm.

      • If i remember right, he said if he won he would go to places like WV and hold rallies demanding senators help his agenda or he’d back their primary challengers. That’s the kind of guts I’d like to have seen

  • @Etterra@lemmy.world
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    9118 days ago

    Thank you Bernie for having both sense and moral courage. I mean it’ll fail to pass because almost everyone else are bastards, but thank you anyway.

  • @Jamil@lemm.ee
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    7618 days ago

    It’s not a ‘sale’. It’s a handout to the welfare apartheid state, while Americans are wondering why their roads are falling apart, their education sucks and no universal health care.

    • @Mr_Blott@feddit.uk
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      1918 days ago

      Tell that to the arms companies that are supplying about 5 bil worth of stuff for 20 bil of taxpayer’s money

    • @takeda@lemmy.world
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      318 days ago

      It is a sale. US policy now is get the hell away from the Middle East. If Israel wants to fight, we can sell them weapons, but we won’t be sending our soldiers to fight their wars. This is why we also pushing so hard for EVs.

      As for roads and education that’s actually covered local government and local taxes.

      The reason we don’t have universal healthcare is because Republicans consistently block it (they even trying over and over remove ACA). Universal healthcare not only wouldn’t cost us more it would actually be cheaper to what we have right now.

      • @kibiz0r@midwest.social
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        818 days ago

        It is a sale.

        If I give you $400 per week for 5 weeks and tell you to spend it at my store, and you come in and buy $2000 worth of stuff… did I actually make a sale?

        • @takeda@lemmy.world
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          116 days ago

          A government is not a business and doesn’t operate as one.

          This is why, for example if government starts spending money to improve infrastructure, like fixing bridges, building rail etc it causes GDP to grow. This is also the reason when during recession there’s a lot of projects like that. It simulates the economy.

      • @ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world
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        518 days ago

        we won’t be sending our soldiers to fight their wars

        Lol sure.

        we also pushing so hard for EVs

        Lol Part Deux. Yes, America is leading the way in EV adoption while phasing out big, gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs as rapidly as humanly possible.

        Universal healthcare not only wouldn’t cost us more it would actually be cheaper to what we have right now.

        Congratulations on not being completely wrong in your comment.

  • @some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
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    7318 days ago

    I like taxes. I want them to fund things in my community. I don’t want them paying for the deaths of an entire people.

  • @foggianism@lemmy.world
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    5818 days ago

    Bernie is a national treasure. His qualities as a politician and as a human being are going be recognized by the generations to come.

  • Flying Squid
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    3918 days ago

    I wish Bernie would weaponize the filibuster the way Rand Paul does to block these things. I’m glad his heart is in the right place and I’m glad he does these things, but he doesn’t want to play dirty and it’s 2024, you need to play dirty when they’re willing to.

    • @stormeuh@lemmy.world
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      3318 days ago

      The problem with using the filibuster is that it only works when you know the other side doesn’t have 67% in the senate. With both the democratic and republican parties being in the pocket of AIPAC, I suspect they could easily get the votes to break Bernie’s filibuster.

    • @Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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      718 days ago

      If anything could get the Democrats to actually get rid of the filibuster, it would be blocking weapons for genocide.

      • Flying Squid
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        18 days ago

        That’s sort of my point…

        You don’t need to do that to filibuster anymore. And Rand Paul doesn’t.

    • @takeda@lemmy.world
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      218 days ago

      I see this differently. For decades US was involved in the Middle East. Trying to preserve peace and of course get the sweet sweet oil. As we know it failed. Peace isn’t easy when the fighting sides’ goal is to wipe out each other.

      US decided that enough is enough, and is very open saying that it wants or of it. It pushes EVs and so is EU.

      Bibi is trying to start a war in the region, hoping that it will force US to get into yet another war. US is not taking the bait and its position is that if Israel wants a war, we can sell them weapons, but they are on their own.

      This is contrast to trump who openly advocates to get our soldiers involved to help Israel.

        • @takeda@lemmy.world
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          218 days ago

          “I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists.”

          That’s not the same as “I will help Israel with reaching their goals”. It is clear that what she was saying is that if Iran or Iran-backed proxies attack US military they will get a “proportionate” response.