cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/22680392
Thinking of red states vs blue states is busted. Plenty of good visualizations of this over the years, but this election in particular feels really important to point out “We” did not chose this.
When I say we I mean registered US voters, but even less so citizens, and even less so again residents.
Even of the voters who did vote for the GOP candidate, who can say how many really wanted him or his policies vs they just didn’t want more of the status quo Dems.
The popular vote tallies in this graphic are out of date too, He definitely didn’t win in a landslide the way it can appear with red and blue maps. His win in the popular vote was also pretty small now that more votes have been counted. https://www.thenation.com/…/donald-trump-vote-margin…/
So, what if Biden used broad immunity SCOTUS granted to declare a crisis of democracy - That between massive disinformation campaigns by enemies both foreign and domestic, voter suppression, as well as many other factors, the will of the people can’t be discerned from our recent presidential election. That it would be a dereliction of duty both to the people and to his oath to defend the constitution to hand over power to someone whose clear and declared intent is abuse the power of the office to fundamentally reshape or demolish our republic based on this highly suspect and incomplete result (remember, most people didn’t even vote)
Here is my off the cuff proposal for what to do after that
A new election, everyone must vote. Trump and Harris on the ballot, but each major party must offer 2 candidates, and we’re using Ranked Choice Voting. 1st place gets presidency, 2nd place gets VP.
Biden almost certainly won’t do anything like this. He is clearly a coward with a stupid sense of optimism - a “things will be just fine, no need for any drastic measures” ever, mentality, and despite some rhetoric has shown no signs that he thinks there is anything to actually be concerned about from the party which has veered hard towards fascism. But, hey, a guy can dream.
I hear you on just wanting what’s best for your community, but checking out will only harm them further. Our communities need support now more than ever. I’m not trying to harp, either, I get it. I am demoralized as fuck these days, and honestly have little to zero hope for humanity in general. But even so, I won’t be a part of letting these fucks just walk into office unopposed. Votes matter, and especially at the local level. Vote for the best candidates at all levels, every election. I am not even suggesting that means your choices must be for a democrat, vote independent if that’s who the best option is. I live in a blue state, but my county historically leans red. What’s promising is that even in this shit show of a situation, a couple postions that usually go red went to non-red people this time (yes, someone who ran without party affiliation won, AND they were running against a Republican). I hope my community can keep that trend moving. Nobody good is going to get through without support. Be there to support the people who have the guts to try to unfuck this mess.