I may hear it from both sides for this but I can't imagine I am the only one who sees the potential:

A Biden / Haley ticket.

Biden has always said he is bipartisan. So prove it.

Run on a Bipartisan Democrat/Republican ticket to prove to Americans that the divide can be mended. That there can be common ground and purpose in service of the country.

If I was American right now, that's what I would be hoping for.

#uspoli #politics #usaelections2024

@chris

I'm a US citizen (and I vote) and I don't think it would work. The GOP is too corrupted by corporate money (and the Dems are not far behind). It's going to take a total collapse of the GOP and some way to overturn the Citizens United ruling to remove the massive influence of corporate and foreign money before anything will change.

@chris I get the sentiment, and I think the admin working with Haley - giving her a key appointment on some kind bi-partisan commission to help undo the damage that has been done, or giving her an ambassadorship in Europe for example would be good for the country.

But there is no scenario in which VP Harris should or would step aside for anyone.

@chris that comes across as a nakedly political move that nobody actually wants, including Republicans, even though they're the only ones who practically benefit from the Democratic party self-kneecapping like that.

But that sounds like exactly the kind of thing Democrats would do.

@evanpeterjones It's meant to be the opposite. It's supposed to be a move toward reconciliation. Maybe things are too far gone for that.
@chris @evanpeterjones Republicans no longer have any interest in bipartisanism and reconciliation. It would be a chance for them to grab power. Do you actually think a President Haley wd work with Dems? I don’t.
@Archergal @evanpeterjones what if it's between taking that chance, or Civil War?
@chris @evanpeterjones Choosing Haley as VP would not stop idiots who want a civil war. No collaboration with Nazis
@chris @evanpeterjones Seriously: last century’s reasonable Republicans are gone. They’ve been poisoned by Trump & the MAGA cult. If I truly believed there were still a majority of Republicans who are reasonable people, that would be one thing. But now it’s authoritarianism and Christian Nationalism and anti-migrant/anti-poor/ anti-LGBTQIA+ bullshit, and that stuff CANNOT be accepted or appeased

@chris maybe, idk! At this point I don't think we need to reconcile anything and I really dislike the "we need a strong Republican party" mentality.

I understand wanting to play nice on a personal level, but politics is about claiming and using power and the consequences of not doing that is an immeasurable amount of suffering for the people you care about. It's not nice. If Dems need to compromise on anything, it's their hope that we can do anything to make these people play nice.

@chris I appreciate your perspective, but mostly that would serve to drive away D-leaning voters (for many of whom voting D is already a “lesser of two evils” choice) while bringing in zero new voters (Haley has no base).

In my experience, bipartisanship is a thing you do once elected (if at all), not to get elected, in US politics.

@chris

I get it short term strategy wise but Haley is too much of a self-hating misogynist absolute racist dirtbag to be put on a Dem ticket.

I'd also stay home. I do not want her NEAR the Presidency and the Dem party would irrecoverably jump the shark if this were to happen.

We need a Medicare-For-All Progressive VP.

@artisanrox so what kind of initiative would attempt to bring the Republican and Democratic parties together in some way. Not as a matter of diluting policy, but as a matter of reconciling the divisions that have made the country basically ungovernable and seem likely to move it toward Civil War?

@chris

There is no mending this strategically.

We have a political party that wants to END the existence of massive amounts of people for one resaon or another.

You cannot debate or "find middle ground" with nazis, cannot compromise with them, validate their worldview. I'm in a way less concerned about civil war than a slow cancerous invasion of political power because at least a civil war would be more honest than THIS, and there are MANY more armed libs than nazis here in the US.

@artisanrox depressing and frightening statement for someone living on your northern border…

@chris

I know. And you have my sympathies.

but even locally, I have been told that they want to "line illegals up and shoot them". I've been told women should not own businesses. Old men who live off five different federal social programs wear Trump hats and cry about the "oppressive government."

There's No reforming some people, and making the Democratic party even more right-leaning than it **already** generally is will just.....well, eliminate any pushback to these nazis at all.

@chris @artisanrox

The Right in America have been working towards this goal for 50 years.

Due to many factors, but mostly voter apathy, they've gained ground every election but a few.

Due to most DC Dems being beholden to corps since the 80s, they've done no pushback on this. They won't even acknowledge it or talk about it, except Bernie Sanders and his followers.

So here we are; literally on the cusp of full fascism in America.

Be ready for refugees up there.

@504DR @chris

Bernie was the one to out health insuramce companies in that they drive employers to get rid of tenured/elderly/older employees, because they're less profitable than younger employees with fewer health conditions.

@artisanrox @chris

Bernie has been with the ppl since day one of his career.

We blew our only chance at really fixing this country's political scene when he was cheated out of the nomination in '16 by "iT's My TuRn" Hillary.

Thanks for trump in '16 Hillary. 😡

Everyone except die hard Clintonistas knew she wouldn't win.
Even the talking heads/news outlets knew it. 👇

https://youtu.be/7FJV0jUeOHw?feature=shared

FeelTheBern 9 - The Sandstorm Cometh (The Bernie Sanders 2016 Hype Video)

YouTube

@504DR @chris

this country doesn't deserve Bernie 😓 😞 😡

@artisanrox @chris We furiously agree. *sigh* punch a Nazi.

@Dianora @artisanrox @chris

I agreed so hard I pulled a muscle.

Except for one bit - the assumption that there are many more armed libs than nazis here in the US. I contend there's a shitton of armed nazis who are blithely ignorant of the fact that they're nazis. They think they're "Conservatives".

@kelvin0mql @artisanrox @chris I suspect many "Conservatives" (Fash) are deluded into thinking libs hate guns so never shoot them or know how to use one.

@kelvin0mql @Dianora @chris

and "Libertarians"!

@artisanrox @Dianora @chris

I don't get what everybody has against Librarians.

"Oh, what? Oh, that's different. Nevermind."
--
Emily Litella

@artisanrox @chris Even if 9/10 outcomes result in civil war, that 10% possibility of rerouting our trajectory through strategy is more than worth the attempt.

@lannan @chris

Yes! but I'm rural and I'm telling you these white, Oakley-big-truck-muhfreedum" dudes and their wimmin with the pink camo rifles are absolutely frothy mouthed that someone else that's not them has access to something nice.

@chris @artisanrox

There is no coming together at this point.

No one should ever side or work with literal Nazis.

Yes, it's that bad over here.

@chris @artisanrox

The state of Oregon was locked in a cycle of far-right initiatives funded by certain religious organizations targeting women, indigenous, etc., and queer people - in particular Lesbians. Few succeeded, but they polarized the electorate.

In Portland, a group of lesbian activists contacted the wives of far-right leaders, and invited them to a no-politics coffee, and the wives were to host them in return. And it became a regular event.

1/2

@chris @artisanrox

The next time the husbands tried to target queer people, their wives said no.

They had gotten to know the lesbians, and their families. Their kids were playing together at these coffees. They now knew who would be hurt by these initiatives.

They just said no. And the cycle was, mostly, broken.

2/2

@usul @amgine @chris

there's a terrifying subtext to this feelgood story in that these fashwives literally don't think ANYTHING is real until they go out for tea and madeleine cookies with it.

I mean..."mostly" this is an ideal result, but the basis of all this interdemographic haterd is a huge majority of fash-conservatives convinced nothing exists beyond their own noses and hands, and their women pretty much coddled from birth to think nothing else is out there but Scary Dirty Heathens.

@artisanrox @usul @chris

This is true of everyone. For example, in your text you use 'fashwives' to other a group of people you have few details about.

As humans, we tend to be more compassionate, more accepting and supportive, of people/things/ideas with which we have personally interacted or know.

So maybe one way we can work on de-polarizing our world/culture is to get outside our comfort zone, and just talk/meet with people who do not think like us.

The #social in #socialmedia.

@amgine @usul @chris

Libs need to understand that you need to be focused critically on people who literally want us all dead, sick, and in irrecoverable debt, and tone policing will get libs nowhere but more annoyed with one another instead of the people we should be annoyed at.

@usul

Humans do not tend to be homogenous. The organizations funding these initiatives are still trying to force people to follow their religion when they cannot convince them to join it. And not every wife refused to be involved with anti-queer political activity.

It is also hard for a grass-roots community building to continue long term. This was 20+ years ago. #BLM was especially violent and hate-filled in Oregon.

I do not know. Maybe they need to start again, with new young families.

@chris

Nope - Haley is far right to be on a Dem ticket.

Hell, we have enough trouble getting most DC Dems to be left as it is.

Diluting Dems with right-wing nutjobs hasn't worked so far.

@chris I totally get your "hoping for reconciliation of the parties" vibe here, Chris - but sadly, it has gone beyond that at this point.

US citizen and always-voter here. The R side only wants to destroy. This has infected governance all the way down to the state and city level. "We know better than the people"

The only way for change is to overwhelmingly crush them at the ballot box. Then they will come to the table.

I see no other way...sigh

@DWTSquawk7600 @chris Without #RankedChoiceVoting/#InstantRunoffVoting, we will return to this same "win at the ballot box" by voting for the "#LesserOfTwoEvils" reality. Let's end that and restore #democracy. https://bit.ly/RCVProCon
Pros and Cons of Ranked-Choice Voting

Better understand the advantages of ranked-choice voting as well as critiques of the method.

@adirtyhippie @chris I'm all for ranked choice - but nothing is going to change in voting procedures as long as the Republican party is in control of the many states, and US governments.
Honest Government Ad | How to rig elections

YouTube

@chris Oh honey, no. Something happens to Biden & we get Trump-loving President Haley.

Fuck no.

@chris

Well, as a dual-citizen who left the #USA to become a #Canadian… you may not realize into how deep a quagmire you have stepped.

The simplest, shallowest way to explain, although almost no one in the USA realizes this touches directly on their motivations:

South Carolina is the source of the concept of "nullability" - that a state can declare a federal law null. It hastened the #uscivilwar, its 1st battle @ Ft.Sumter, in SC. Haley is a proud SCarolinian, and former governor.

1\2

@chris

Ms Haley also, during her term as US Ambassador at the #UnitedNations, acted to weaken the #USA abroad, to disable/weaken international institutions, to disrupt diplomatic channels. In particular she undermined international courts and justice.

Conversely, M Biden's area of focus as a Senator was Foreign Relations and Diplomacy, and built a reputation as a somewhat spineless but successful bridge-builder. He worked to extend intl cooperation, particularly in globalisation of trade.

\2

@chris Chris, my dude, abso-fvcking-lutely not. She's just as fash, but with a polished delivery. Ten times worse than any Canadian tory. She wants to make lgbtqia+ people like me illegal and non-human.

The best I could possibly say is she somehow fvcks up trumps run and Biden wins because of it.

@chris This is a real dumb idea. A bipartisan ticket is maybe conceivable as a political maneuver (not for incumbent though), but Biden-Haley definitely ain’t it. Their policies are not close enough.
@chris To add to this, a vote for a presidential ticket is a vote for a particular vision. The VP and president should be aligned, so in the event of the president dying or similar there is a continuity of vision. There’s still some bipartisan overlap on the fringes, so you can imagine a right leaning dem on the same ticket as an extremely moderate republican. But the farther apart their political views are, the worse this idea becomes.
@chris Not only true in US politics. Just look at how the Tory-lib dem coalition destroyed the latter in the UK. Their political views were simply too far apart.
@chris Appeasement didn't work for N. Chamberlain. Why would be dumping an honorable black woman off ticket be better? Honestly? After this election, working together may be a good idea, but giving in to Fascism is not. Never. I appreciate you thinking, but please think some more. 😊
@chris As a fellow Canadian, I understand the impulse, as we have floor-crossers and minority coalitions here, but that would be a disaster for the US. First, you'd lose a fair number of votes for tossing Harris aside. Second, it doesn't make a lot of sense in the American system (particularly the order of presidential succession) to have someone who is ideologically opposed to you be on the same ticket. Finally, I don't think Haley has a demographic that wouldn't vote Biden/Harris already.
@chris wow, you figured out a way to make Biden even less appealing
@chris @etherdiver Biden and the lady who has to talk herself in circles when asked what caused the civil war? Nah.