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deadpresidents · 19 hours

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Which President, in your opinion, was the most reluctant to seek the position? Which wound up hating it the most by the end of his term?

I am a strong believer that nobody truly becomes President of the United States "reluctantly". That's not exactly the kind of job that seeks you, especially the modern Presidency.

For a significant slice of American history, many of the people nominated for President acted as if they were being called upon to run when, behind-the-scenes, they were very active in building their campaigns and corralling supporters. Until the 20th Century it was frowned upon to openly run for the Presidency, but almost all of the Presidents wanted the gig.

I'd say that George Washington was probably more reluctant than most of his successors and likely would have preferred retiring to Mount Vernon after the Revolution, but I think he also recognized that he was the guy who needed to be the President that set the precedents. I think Ulysses S. Grant would have been perfectly happy to not be President, but once he was elected in 1868 he also wanted to keep the job. He even tried to run for a third term in 1880.

That 1880 election might have been the one case where the winner -- James Garfield -- genuinely wasn't interested in the Presidency at that point. He had gone to the Republican National Convention to support fellow Ohioan John Sherman (and defeat Grant's hopes for a third term) and gained some major attention after giving a well-received speech placing Sherman's name in nomination. When the candidacies of Sherman and James G. Blaine -- another anti-Grant candidate -- stalled, Garfield became a compromise choice and was eventually nominated on the 36th ballot. Garfield was apparently legitimately shocked by the events leading to him leaving Chicago as the GOP nominee.

By most accounts, William Howard Taft was far more interested in a potential seat on the Supreme Court than becoming President. At heart he was a judge and believed himself to be better suited for the judiciary than the Executive Branch. But Taft turned down three offers by Theodore Roosevelt to be appointed to the Supreme Court (in 1902, 1903, and 1906) because he felt obligated to complete his work as Governor-General of the Philippines and then Secretary of War. But Taft's wife desperately wanted him to become President and by the time of President Roosevelt's third offer of a seat on the Court, Taft was already being talked about as Roosevelt's hand-picked successor in the White House. And, as with all other Presidents, once he had a taste for the job, he didn't want to give it up, running for re-election in 1912 against his former friend, Roosevelt.

Gerald Ford is the only other President who hadn't spent a significant portion of his political career with his eyes on the White House. Ford spent nearly a quarter-century in the House of Representatives and his main ambition was to be Speaker of the House, but Republicans weren't able to win control of the House when Ford was in Congressional leadership positions. But even with Ford being a creature of Congress, he did attempt to put himself forward as a nominee for the Vice Presidency, first in 1960 and then in 1968, and Nixon kicked the tires on picking him as his running mate in 1960. No one wants to be Vice President without seeing it as a potential stepping stone to the Presidency, particularly at that point in history before Vice Presidents were empowered with some real influence within the Administrations they served in.

As for who wound up hating it by the end of their time in office, I think it's safe to say that John Quincy Adams didn't shed too many tears when he was defeated for re-election in 1828. And I'm sure he wouldn't use the word "hate", but nobody can convince me that George W. Bush wasn't thoroughly ready to escape Washington by late-2007. There were times in 2008 when he seemed like he just wanted to hold a snap election like they have in parliamentary systems and go home to Texas. If some Presidential insider published a book that said that Bush asked if he could just give the keys to the White House to Barack Obama in July 2008, I wouldn't be the least bit shocked.

On the other hand, if there were no term limits, Bill Clinton would have been running for President in every election since 1992 (and the crazy thing is that he's still younger than both of the presumptive 2024 nominees). I'm kind of surprised that he didn't make an effort to repeal the 22nd Amendment in the past 20 years. Clinton loved being President and was trying to find something Presidential to do until minutes before his successor was inaugurated in 2001.

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decolonize-the-left · 3 months

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I just found out about Jasmine Sherman and they look really cool. Like, the policies that they say they’re going to do? The fact that they have an audiobook option for people to listen to what the policies say on their platform? (If people don’t have JAWS or screen readers on their devices, JAWS for computers.) I really hope they get far enough in the presidential race.

vid source

It's time to actually put the people in America first. We do that by meeting everyone's basic human needs. This includes guaranteed housing, universal healthcare and education, UBI, and environmental/infrastructure reform. In doing this, we give people a fighting chance to create a more sustainable model for society that ensures the general welfare of people within our borders for generations to come.

1) Housing- Decommodify housing and eliminate rent, mortgages and property taxes 2) Healthcare- 100% coverage including vision and dental 3) Education- universal education up to and including doctorate level studies 4) UBI-a monthly disbursement based on the cost of living in a resident's state 5) Environment/Infrastructure reform- Abating the damage caused by climate change through sustainable development and creating an infrastructure that fosters community

The Jasmine Sherman for President campaign envisions organizing through various strategies. They aim to leverage social media and technological advancements for rapid outreach to a wider audience. Direct action and mutual aid will be prioritized to attract like-minded individuals and build a strong support base. The campaign will also focus on nurturing relationships established through past coalition-building efforts, aiming to strengthen connections and amplify the campaign's impact. By combining these approaches, Jasmine Sherman's campaign aims to effectively engage, mobilize, and expand its reach in pursuit of its organizing goals

Source on ballotpedia

Their campaign site:

MISSION STATEMENT/ Political Views

Jasmine Sherman wants to help the at-risk and vulnerable communities by providing Guaranteed housing, Landback, Universal basic income, Free Education, and Universal healthcare, for all. They also believe in the rights of the child, the rights to gender affirming care, ending the disability restrictions, restorative justice, abolishing the police, abolishing prisons, triple bottom line accountability for corporations, reparations, a progressive tax, an index living wage, immigration policy reform, sustainable energy, decriminalizing all drugs and sex work, age caps and term limits for all elected officials, and rewriting the constitution.

••••

They seem like a very good candidate and I hadn't heard of them before, tysm for bringing them to my attention!

Looks like the Green Party has ballot access in 46 states as well! Additionally, The Green Party will host a primary debate on May 11th. Definitely something to pay attention to!

#asked #answered #jasmine sherman #usa election #2024 election #socialist candidates #presidential elections #presidential candidates #vote #voting #usa #usa politics #us election

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sissa-arrows · 3 months

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Interesting parallels between French and US politics: in both countries, elites have nurtured the rise of neofascists (Trump, Le Pen); bullied left voters and marginalized communities into voting for elite candidates to block the neofascist; & enacted policies of the neofascist to keep the neofascists at bay.

In both countries we are told “Stop the far right white supremacists (Le Pen, Trump) with us by voting for this super liberal candidate (Biden, Macron) sure he is not perfect especially regarding marginalized communities but it will be easier to convince him and we will help you don’t worry” and then once their fav is in office they throw us under the bus and refuse to protest alongside us…

Babies in cages under Trump? Bad. Babies in cages under Biden? *crickets*

Racist anti immigrants law and police violence under Le Pen? Bad. Racist anti immigrants law and police violence under Macron? *crickets*

#French politics #US politics #far right candidates #presidential elections #ask

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dicapiito · 5 months

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House is controlled by GOP white evangelical Mike Johnson and for things to pass, 218 votes are needed and the GOP has the most House seats

Senate is only marginally Democratically controlled but for things to pass; Senate needs to have 60 votes and with Manchin retiring; it’s imperative to vote or Mitch McConnell gets to be the Senate majority leader again

Supreme Court is GOP controlled since Trump elected THREE Supreme Court Justices and got to overturn Roe Vs Wade and have even more overturning up their sleeves. Something Hilary Clinton warned people about should he have been elected

So for those who want to not vote; here’s the GOP plan for everyone who’s not white

So DO NOT listen to those idiotic leftists who don’t know basic shit about US politics but once again a reminder that white people vote in every single election. EVERY SINGLE ELECTION.

They’re counting on leftists and third party candidates to help the GOP get back into power in all three branches and if they succeed; then we will never see Democracy again but live in a fascist country where only yt people get to live even more comfortable lives while the rest suffer.

#us elections #presidential elections #state elections #us politics

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jstor · 7 months

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On this day in 1960, the first televised U.S. presidential debate occurred between John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon–impacting United States presidential election cycles for decades into the future.

This article by David Greenberg describes the ritual of presidential debates and their role (or lack thereof) in the selection of United States presidents.

Image: Students watch the 1960 Presidential debates in Mather Hall Student Center (Trinity College, Hartford Connecticut). From the Trinity College Archival Images collection on JSTOR.

#this is the kind of stuff i studied in college so forgive the special interest #JSTOR #american government #american history #presidential elections #presidential debates #open access #research #media studies

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questioningespecialy · 3 months

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question for people who ain't voin' (2024 Presidential Election)

Is that actually better than votin' for a 3rd party candidate? Or just writin' somebody in?

#Questioning Questions #random shit #politics #elections #vote #disclosure:#i'm in the “fuckin' vote” camp #i'm mostly wondering if non-voters have the right idea and ma ass just don't know #and also suspicious of... “plants”#2024 Presidential Election #Presidential Elections #edit: forgot the last word in a tag somehow

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baronfulmen · 2 months

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#politics #us politics #Biden #Trump #presidential elections

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news4dzhozhar · 1 month

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Between the upcoming US Presidential elections and the ongoing siege of Palestine, Instagram is limiting anything its algorithm considers "political content". Please make sure to update your settings using the instructions above to continue to see the content of accounts you follow and make sure to share this to let other IG account holders know.

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fandomshatepeopleofcolor · 5 months

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I feel stuck in my head and I need to ask someone: what's gonna happen to us when biden's reelected? What can we do to stop the genocide? What can we do to get roe v wade back? How to we make things okay?

Answering the last question first — how do we make things okay? We get informed, and we get involved.

If you want to change how things work, first you have to understand why they work the way they do. I’m not saying you have to become an overnight expert, but you gotta know the basics. You have to know who *really* makes the decisions about the stuff you care about. And I’m not being snarky here, but there’s a very very very good chance that that person is not Biden.

(long-ish more in depth USA-specific thoughts under the cut)

Let’s look at the two specifics that you mention. Yes, the president may be commander in chief of the armed forces but that “just” (air quotes bc obviously that is hugely consequential power, but it’s not the only power at play) means he’s the guy who says yes or no, stay or go. A more effective tool to address the United State’s relationship to Israel? Money. You know who controls the federal money? Congress. You know which political body has elections twice as frequently as the president? Congress. Look into who your Senators and Representatives are, look into their voting records, look into their hiring choices, look into their public statements and appearances, look into the company the keep.

If you like what you find, let them know, and if you have the resources, donate money and/or volunteer your time to make sure they win reelection. If you do not like what you find, and you think they might be responsive to public pressure, let them know you didn’t like what you found. If you found it abhorrent or do not trust that they will adjust to their constituents expectations, figure out if they have a competitor, and if they don’t, make sure that someone steps up to the plate. That someone doesn’t have to be you, but while we live in an ostensible democracy, these people can lose their jobs if and when we vote them out.

Regarding Roe v Wade, this might be upsetting to hear but you need to get used to the idea that it’s not coming back, and if anything, things might get worse. If voting and the legal system is your jam, I can recommend researching the circuit and district judges that preside over your region. If organizing and direct action are more your thing, there’s probably a Nurse’s Union in your area that can point you in the right direction. If your school district has an elected body where you can run for a seat to make sure that kids in your area are getting appropriately scientific sexual health education, do that. If you feel brave enough to start actively having conversations about sexual health and reproductive rights among your daily/weekly social groups, and maybe even start a book club style study group to learn about the legal and medical aspects most relevant where you live, do that. Even on the most individual scale, if you can make it clearly known that you are a safe person for people to talk to about this stuff, that’s a great step in the right direction.

To wrap this up, I think I’ll just say that I think big picture, if Biden wins a second term, things will be fine. If anything, maybe his administration will be able to bolster the environmental wins in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) but at a basic level he will probably maintain the status quo and then after the four years are up, he’ll leave office.

Let’s please not pretend the same can be said about Trump.

But in the spirit of ending on a more hopeful note, if you do not want Kamala Harris to be the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party in 2028 (and/or if you want a third party other than the Democrats and the Republicans to stand a snowball’s chance in hell) the time to start organizing is now. We deserve better than the status quo, we can do this, let’s fuckin go 💪

mod dyr

#political posts #us politics #presidential elections #pragmatism vs pessimism #feel your feelings and then do something about them #maybe this is a can of worms but Biden is not the walking incarnation of the devil that a lot of internet leftists claim he is #and i’ll personally take democrats over republicans any day of the week any month of the year

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deadpresidents · 6 days

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"It hurt to lose to Ronald Reagan. But after the election, I tried to make the transition as smooth as possible. Later, from my experience in trying to brief him on matters of supreme importance, I was very disturbed at his lack of interest. The issues were the 15 or 20 most important subjects that I as President could possibly pass on to him. His only reaction of substance was to express admiration for the political circumstances in South Korea that let President Park close all the colleges and draft all the demonstrators. That was the only issue on which he came alive."

-- Former President Jimmy Carter, on losing the 1980 election and the transition leading to the inauguration of Ronald Reagan, interview with TIME Magazine, October 11, 1982.

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decolonize-the-left · 6 months

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Real talk

You know it's funny, the way liberals sound saying "if you don't vote blue then you're allowing project2025 and fascism" sounds just like an abuser saying "it's not My fault I'm hurting you, you're the one who didn't wanna talk to me"

Like actually you could just vote 3rd party. That's an option. Like 63% of Americans would. Most. The majority would.

In fact!

Source

You know what this means?

It means now is the time if you've wanted a 3rd party president. Those are good polls for this early in the campaigns. 20% is a lot of votes.

For perspective: 33% would be the even divide between 3 parties.

Which means the only people in the way...are in fact Democrats. The singular people unwilling to sway from their shitty party.

The rest of us are fed up and are just waiting for an actually good candidate

"if it had votes" they say, holding the votes hostage. Not even all Democrats would have to vote 3rd party if RFK is gonna split republican votes too 👀 just the progressive Dems probably

Like nobody even WANTS Joe. People say it, social media says it, polls say it.

Why are y'all arguing if you meant it when you said "if third parties had more support, I would"

Now is objectively the best time to try risking it.

And before y'all something: Bernie started out by having events in peoples backyards.

You know who made him big? Fill stadiums?

Progressives. Leftists. Socialists.

So don't tell me that we can't do it or there's no chance of it's unrealistic when it's already been done before.

The only reason he lost is because Democrats scared voters with threats of fascism to settle for a conservative democrat. Cuz they said she had the "best" shot of fighting trump.

And you know what happened? She lost. And she wasn't even commiting an active genocide.

But you think that people will stay loyal to the party of the guy currently being referred to as Genocide Joe and Genocidin' Biden?

And Democrats (before at least) agreed on Hilary- progressives wanted Bernie but Dems wanted Hilary, you know? But even those people are now swearing they're never voting for Joe specifically, that they don't know Who to vote for but it ain't blue.

....and I see y'all still trying to push the same tactics and rhetorics expecting it to work the way it has before and no. Y'all can learn right alongside Israel that you're gonna have to step your propaganda game up for that. Cuz we aren't buying it. I'm even making this post half out of posterity to say someone called y'all out.

Wake the fuck up.

Anyone further right than Bernie Sanders does not stand a fucking chance; has no business running. This is me telling you, telling any dem listening.

Just like we meant it when we said we'd rather Not Vote than vote Hillary, I mean I'd rather not vote than vote Biden.

Please don't take this as an invitation to harass me or change my mind. You won't. You wont gaslight me into consenting to genocide. You aren't going to change a LOT of minds. People have watched that genocide play out on our phones for a month. Some of us have fundamentally changed as people and renewed our values and humanity.

And humanity is more important than comfort. Than Democrats.

And this year that won't be something we compromise.

Listen to yourselves ask us otherwise, do you hear yourself? And each time you ask, understand our resolve is stronger because it shows how little you care for human lives.

Understand that's why you'll lose the vote and election. Not because anyone split the vote by exercising their right to vote in a democracy, but because your party is undeniably supporting genocide and it disgusts us to even think about supporting that same party.

For those undecided:

Learn about Claudia de La Cruz. She supports Palestine and her party has organized events for BLM, for Palestine, against ICE, etc. They're politically active, aware, engaged, and on the ground. Most importantly, they have not ever funded or committed genocide. As far as I know they also actively challenge bigotry of all kinds meaning they also fight for women's rights, queer rights, and civil rights.

I think if we rallied behind her like we did with Bernie this would be a piece of cake for her to win. She just needs the voices of support online to get the ball rolling.

#Democrats #liberals #progressive #3rd party #Claudia De La Cruz #2024 elections #usa elections #presidential elections #voting #electoral politics #decol rants a bit

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rinascence · 2 years

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If you don't know what's going on the in the Philippines, the short answer is that our elections happened on May 9, 2022 and the results are an embarrassment to our history and we, as a country, are fucked. Currently in the lead, based on the unofficial and partial results of our commission on elections (COMELEC), is the son of a dictator we ousted in 1986, whose family has yet to payback the BILLIONS they owe the people and apologies for literal YEARS WORTH of crimes against humanity. Instead, they gave history revisionism through TikTok and fake news to the masses, manipulating voters to think the years of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. were the best in the Philippines, when it was anything but. Now, his son Ferdinand "Bong Bong" Marcos Jr. (BBM) is being pushed into power when he has NO DEGREE, NO CREDENTIALS, AND HAS MULTIPLE CASES OF TAX EVASION, and that is just the tip of the iceberg for this family of thieves and plunderers. According to COMELEC's partial and unofficial results, BBM's winning over Leni Robredo, the current Vice President of the country, who has an amazing track record as VP for 6 years, an ACTUAL POST-GRAD DEGREE, and is an attorney.

I refuse to accept this result, not because Leni is my candidate, but because there have been multiple reports and evidence of around 1,800+ Vote Counting Machines (VCMs) "malfunctioning", missing or corrupted SD cards, vote-buying for Marcos and his party, some reported attacks at voting precincts, and just mass electoral fraud. COMELEC has done jack shit about all these accusations, even claiming they've received no complaints about the election when we know that's a lie. COMELEC also dismissed several disqualification cases against BBM just today, May 10, 2022. They even transmitted the unofficial results at lightning speed last night when this has not happened before and we know for a fact people were still lined up at precincts waiting to vote, some even until 3 AM, because of the aforementioned broken machines and SD cards and they refused to leave their ballots in the care of staff at the precinct for fear of tampering with their ballots. They claim it's because they were "prepared", but it's clear to us that this election has been bought and rigged in their favor.

We have hundreds of youth protesting these unofficial results and they are already being labeled "militants", when all they carry are cardboard signs and their passion to give the country a leader it deserves, while the opposition is preemptively celebrating and trying to declare themselves the winner when the fight is far from over. We are still waiting for official results, but we are not satisfied with this election. They have failed to ensure it is fair. We will not acknowledge a presidency built upon lies, deceit, and oppression.

Fuck Marcos and, if need be, kitakits sa EDSA🌸

#philippines #philippine elections #philippine elections 2022 #presidential elections #halalan2022 #eleksyon 2022

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tomorrowusa · 5 months

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« [H]aving a voter who stays home or votes for a third party is really the same thing as losing a vote to Trump because the person who gets a plurality of votes in states is the one who wins all the electors. That's our system. It's not a popular vote system. »

— Mara Liasson at NPR's All Tinings Considered.

There's a tremendous amount of civics illiteracy in the United States.

In 2024, the only way to prevent a far right takeover by Trump or some other anti-abortion or homophobic extremist is to vote Democratic. Inaction or a half-witted "protest vote" for an impotent third party candidate has the same practical effect as voting for Trump or a Trump clone.

Contrary to what Ralph Nader supporters were saying in 2000 when they tanked climate activist Al Gore in favor of George W. Bush who put Samuel Alito on the Supreme Court, you do not make things better by making them worse.

To use a cliché, progress is a marathon rather than a sprint. Republicans know this and worked for 49 years trying to overturn Roe v. Wade. To achieve a better country and planet, we need to be in it for the long haul and not get distracted by the political equivalent of "one hit wonders" dangling shiny objects in front of us.

#civics #electoral college #presidential elections #third parties #election 2000 #ralph nader #roe v. wade #vote democratic #smart voting #mara liasson #election 2024

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mockva · 3 months

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There should only be one left

#russia #2024 #presidential elections #putin #Old cinema

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thoughtlessarse · 20 days

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Languages: Français | Deutsch | Polski | Slovak | Bulgarian

Slovaks will choose between pro-EU diplomat Ivan Korčok and Robert Fico’s coalition partner Peter Pellegrini in Saturday’s presidential election, with one analyst and the opposition warning that while the fate of liberal democracy in Slovakia is at stake, it may also strengthen extremist forces within the EU. The candidates’ current preferences are unusually even, with most polls showing that both have a fifty per cent chance of winning. Analysts say that, as a potential president, Pellegrini would be loyal to Robert Fico’s coalition, while Korčok would follow the legacy of the current pro-Western president Zuzana Čaputová, who has opposed the government’s controversial steps, such as the reform of the Criminal Code. Grigorij Mesežnikov, a political scientist and president of the Institute for Public Affairs, said Pellegrini’s victory could threaten a liberal democracy in Slovakia: “In these elections, the preservation of liberal democracy is at stake. I am not saying it is already being eliminated or that a liberal-democratic president like Korčok could save everything – he could not, as he does not wield as much power as the government,” the expert told Euractiv Slovakia. “However, if Pellegrini is elected, the process (of a liberal democracy disintegration) would run without major obstacles and quickly,” Mesežnikov added.

Slovakia is heading to where Poland was before the Law and Justice party (PiS) lost power.

#slovakia #slovak pol #presidential elections #50-50

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boatgameenjoyer · 4 months

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Kinda crazy that there’s people on here begging people to vote for Biden to do that we don’t have a republican president when trump won in 2016 without the popular vote. 2.9 million more Americans wanted Hillary Clinton to be president but it didn’t matter. Unless you’re one of the electors who actually votes for the president you’re vote really doesn’t matter. I would still urge people to vote for the democrats in non-presidential elections and would really like people to remember that the primaries exist before we miss those completely, but for the actual presidential election, vote for whoever. We’ve known it doesn’t matter since every election that a candidate has won without the popular vote, and everybody on here has lived through one (if you were born after 2016 how the fuck did you find this website).

#american elections #presidential elections #PLEASE PLEASE VOTE IN THE PRIMARIES #PLEASE #196 #idk what else to tag this

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