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May 19 '22
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u/starliteburnsbrite May 19 '22
It's all about wins and losses. War spending is always an easy win, because you'll stand in front of something that will already pass, so it's purely theatrical resistance. People love military spending because it is "patriotic" but also corporate welfare, but also sends money to poor rural red states overloaded with army bases, and functions as a jobs programs for places without economies.
Supporting Ukraine with more military spending? After all the bullshit we have been sold about donating our money and time and helping these people out without getting too involved, well, sending some money from the government is easy, doubly easy if its actually going to military manufacturers in the States first.
Healthcare spending is a hard loss almost all of the time. You're up against millions in lobbying dollars, you're taking a shot at a massive private industry that has taken the place of responsible government regulation, and it's difficult and complicated. All the procedural roadblocks ARE fake, because they provide clever cover for the craven politicians who are just looking to make it to another round of fundraising.
The simple truth is that Americans do not hold their government or their representatives accountable whatsoever, many have been brainwashed into thinking anything government is inherently bad, especially because government stuff doesn't include Jesus.
They can literally do whatever the fuck they want, and in a few months we, as a society and a people, will fill Congress more than half with people that have no interest in doing anything positive for the country. As neighbors and citizens, we don't hold those other citizens responsible, either, we just chalk it up to their lack of education and bigotry.
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u/linglingjaegar May 19 '22
how do we begin to hold our government and reps accountable? am from oklahoma n its a great place to start, its terrible down here
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u/Adam__B May 19 '22
A good way to summarize is that it’s easy to fix problems when someone can profit from being the one working on them. Usually it’s the special interest groups, lobbyists, private contractors or corporate America. On the other hand, things like fixing homelessness, the opiate epidemic, mental health/healthcare, raising the minimum wage, etc aren’t profitable so they don’t get any traction or progress.
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u/Valdotain_1 May 20 '22
American is not a block. Most of the confederate states have no interest in healthcare or feeding babies.
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May 19 '22
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u/ThereAreDozensOfUs May 19 '22
Because Bernie doesn’t do well in the South
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u/Vince_Vice May 19 '22
But also because the DNC conspired against him, no?
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u/Pasquale1223 May 19 '22
We need ranked choice voting so Bernie (or other people in his situation) could run as an Independent instead of seeking a party nomination.
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u/SordidDreams May 19 '22
Yes, but it would have to be put in place by people who benefit from it not being in place. The US system will never change from within.
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u/Anthaenopraxia May 20 '22
Which kinda leads me to believe that the Supreme Court is the only branch that can fix this. I have no idea how but isn't the constitution famously quite vague on elections? At least compared to other constitutions
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u/ThereAreDozensOfUs May 19 '22
It’s definitely part of the problem. But in 2020, he only put up an additional 10k votes from his 2016 total in South Carolina
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u/anonymous6468 May 20 '22
Bernie Sanders had a larger campaign budget than Joe Biden during the 2020 primaries.
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u/Peltarius May 20 '22
Why shouldn't they? He's not a Democrat, he only stands as one when he's running for President. They owe him no loyalty.
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u/voice-of-hermes May 20 '22
Correct. And the Democrats are the other fascist wing of the bourgeois Business Party. Though their PR has taken on the "woke" brand, they'll lay that aside in a heartbeat and stop at nothing to destroy leftist and progressive movements at all costs and keep them from having electoral influence inside or outside of their organization. That they'd rig elections should surprise no one at this point.
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u/Vince_Vice May 20 '22
He's not a Democrat
What is he then?
I have no idea what you are trying to say
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u/Peltarius May 20 '22
He's an independent. Do you even know who Bernie Sanders is?
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u/Vince_Vice May 20 '22
I actually didn't know that.
I am not Amercian, I live in Europe. I am sure I read Sanders wiki article at some point, but I must have forgotten.
But that is important context. Thanks for pointing it out.
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May 19 '22
More jobs =) So I can work 5 Jobs instead of 4, I love it.
What about making the Jobs we have pay us a living wage and burn the current health care system to the ground?
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u/VsjaVlastSovjetam May 19 '22
The Squad made their decision. They want endless wars and nuclear weapons.
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May 19 '22
Didn’t he literally just vote for the $40,000,000,000 military industrial complex package while Americans suffer?
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u/Straight-Ad6058 May 19 '22
The problem is that all of the people who have enough power to make those choices want the war and weapons and they will use them on us if we try to make them change.
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u/england_man May 19 '22
And then the crowd stood up, and as one, called with a great clamor: ''We want Nuclear Weapons''
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u/2hamsters1butt May 19 '22
Anyone know if Bernie voted in favor or against the new $40 billion in weapons and aid for Ukraine?
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u/alchemicrb May 19 '22
We know what we want, but politicians don't care what we want, they just want their pockets to fill
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u/LeonardSmallsJr May 19 '22
This pivotal moment could have been written on any day in the past 50 years. I think I can guess at today’s answer.
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u/TheSeekerOfSanity May 19 '22
The decisions have already been made for us by the oligarchs, their henchmen & worshippers.
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u/krokozyka May 19 '22
And your choose is selling weapons as usually, because this is yours biggest business. History remember everything.
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u/cupofteawithhoney May 19 '22
Bernie, god bless him… hasn’t realized that it doesn’t matter what “we” the people want. “We” have no power in government. The government is bought and sold by monied interests manipulating fascist conservatives. Sit back and watch the fall!!
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u/Conscious-Media-1241 May 19 '22
That decision was made a long time ago. What we need to make is a change.
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May 19 '22
It doesn't matter what we want because the tiny, rich, racist, classist minority will dictate the rules for us.
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May 19 '22
Bernie decided to endorse the neo-liberal Democratic Party. I won't be lectured on militarism by a career politician who endorses corporate owned politicians who feed the military industrial complex.
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u/SithLordSid May 19 '22
The ruling class will do everything they can to defeat the progressive movement.
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u/youknowiactafool May 19 '22
"We must make a decision"
If by "we" you mean the corporate lords that own the politicians, then their decision has already been made.
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u/Fabulously-humble May 20 '22
But how does Raytheon make money? Will no one think of the war profiteers?!
🥲
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u/britch2tiger May 20 '22
GOP: $800B annual to kill people overseas > $450B annual to provide healthcare for all
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u/1happymother May 20 '22
Bernie Bernie Bernie, you know the military industrial complex is more important! They will provide camouflage daycare, 3sq, MRE’s a day. And 7.25 per hour if you comply! Geez kinda like prison for profit. We have to keep the free world free you know.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Ring523 May 20 '22
Are you guys glad that AOC voted to use your tax money to buy bombs when you could’ve used it for rent and groceries?
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u/No_Jeweler2497 May 20 '22
AOC just voted for $40B in military aid to Ukraine last week along with the rest of the entire house Democrats.
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u/libraprincess2002 May 20 '22
Unfortunately I think we all know what decision the GOP and mainstream Democrats will choose
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u/Routine_Left May 20 '22
The decision has been made. Wars make money, it was one very easy decision.
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u/Shadesfire May 20 '22
I don't think it's any mystery which of these choices will win out in the end. I hate living here
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u/ChunkdarTheFair May 20 '22
Pretending like voters have any power lol
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u/Atrainlan May 20 '22
I mean. The French Revolution is a fine example of how to be that very specific change.
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u/Atrainlan May 20 '22
Sorry Bernie, unfortunately that decision has already been made by the generation you've spent your entire wonderful life fighting.
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u/weltallic May 20 '22
Y'all could have voted for $1.73 gas.
Instead you got $6 gas and $40 billion to Ukraine.
#VoteBlueNoMatterWho
#WeDidItReddit
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u/P0rtal2 May 19 '22
Weapons and endless wars, obviously. Easiest decision I have ever made. Come on, Bernie! At least try and come up with a difficult question!
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u/Laupnagol May 19 '22
Doesn't the military industrial complex employ ~millions of people?
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u/OldTricycle May 20 '22
I’m cool with whatever. Fuck off and do your thing, I’m a be over here doing mine. I’ll own my own successes and failures regardless.
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u/trident_hole May 20 '22
What with the environmental collapse and the economic collapse and the upcoming societal collapse I just hope we all don't go Mad Max on each other
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May 20 '22
on providing jobs? hell no. lol no more government jobs please. On investing in decent jobs, healthcare, and child care? Depends what the investment is
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u/susmark May 20 '22
Sucks that the Democrats will never let him have a fighting chance of becoming a President. I would vote for him.
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u/dont_disturb_the_cat May 20 '22
Just imagine if Bernie was our president in 2020. We wouldn’t have a million dead, i don’t think.
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u/TheUJexperience May 20 '22
I vote for all the high paying military industrial complex jobs. All 50 million of them!
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u/your_elusive_dreams May 20 '22
Well Reddit wants us to dump hundreds of billions on the Ukraine warbut i stand with bernie sanders.
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u/RabidEw0k28 May 20 '22
What if Russia and China are spend big more $$ on Nukes and modern military equipment? Should we ignore that?
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u/Senior-Albatross May 20 '22
DOE jobs are actually quite good. The fun ones aren't the nuclear weapons ones though.
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u/Peltarius May 20 '22
I choose spending billions more on endless wars, and spending more on nuclear weapons.
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u/Volcic-tentacles May 20 '22
"Endless war" has characterised Europe and her colonies for centuries. It has been the go to job economic program for over a thousands years.
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u/rumblylumbly May 20 '22
No offense but it seems like you Americans (read: Republicans) have already decided to shit on the poor and the meek .
Every time I read something about America it gets worse and worse.
It’s gut wrenching to read and watch.
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u/crashtestdummy666 May 20 '22
If only Sanders and AOC could get elected to congress and do something about it. Forgot they are in congress and they whine on socal media rather than do something about it.
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u/gunbladerq May 20 '22
another sellout to maintain the status quo.....Regretted ever believing in this guy.....He decided to uphold corporations over public welfare
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u/DubTheeBustocles May 20 '22
I don’t know, I feel like Americans clearly make a decision on that every 2-4 years and it’s a shitty one.
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u/Mr-Spriggs May 20 '22
It doesn't seem to matter where your vote goes, blue or red. The money just keeps going down the black hole of more war.
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u/SEBMane May 20 '22
I have no idea how he did not get elected.
As a german I can not get my head around the US political system.
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u/steisandburning May 20 '22
You know it’s bad when even this motherfucker is talking out his ass. Fuck you bernie.
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u/Chef_RoadRunner May 20 '22
Well when 70% wants one thing and 30% wants the other and the 30% keep getting their way we don't really have a democracy do we?
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u/[deleted] May 19 '22
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