Deron Overpeck

Is anybody else suddenly getting a lot of German-language posts in their discover feed?

YouTube video by NettwerkMusic MC 900 ft. Jesus - Truth Is Out of Style [Official Music Video]

His flow was wack, but MC 900 Ft Jesus was a prophet.

youtu.be/8vgDpI8kU98?...

Such bravery.

Oh, well, if your ancestors were Welsh, then that excuses everything. You’re not even really living in the US then, are you?

You also have problems recognizing the contradiction in “things I *think* are *objectively* stupid.”

The term is inherently gendered: it is a Middle English word for female genitals. I’d be interested to know why you feel an inherently gendered word *is* yours to reclaim. But in the other hand, whether or not things have to be catered to you seems to be a theme of these conversations.

Republicans *don’t* listen, else the Epstein files would have been released, the shutdown ended and the ACA preserved.

I’d love to know your plans for the n-word.

And for the record, I voted for Sanders in the 2016 and 2020 primaries. I would have voted for Warren in 2020 but she dropped out before the primary in my state.

Why? Why not use the party structure that exists to transform the Dems? That model worked very well for the conservatives.

Should =/= does. You need to get off of this “they should respond how I want them to when I ignore them!” fixation you have.

And you’re not in Great Britain; the c-word is a gendered insult in the U.S.

Should =/= is. Do you want a completely different party—for the Dems to die—or do you want to try to reform the Dems by working within it?

If you vote third party, then at least you vote. But I have yet to find a third party presidential candidate who isn’t full of shit too. The Green Party needs to do better than nominating a national scold (Nader) or gullible stooge (Stein).

Yes, and? It’s better than the far right GOP. The GOP hasn’t always been far right. Get involved and make the Democrat a center left party.

No. They might not yank it back left, but they’re no longer shoving it right as did the Clintons in the 90s.

And no I’m not telling you to shut up. I’m telling you to speak up and vote.

You need to go back farther. The conservative movement began its infiltration of the GOP in 1960 and refused to let that loss deter it. The Southern strategy and courting of evangelicals are part of a longer campaign.

All you’re doing now is watching the Overton window get yanked ever rightward while thinking “this isn’t my fault; the Democrats didn’t run someone I liked enough to try to pull it back.”

The conservative movement didn’t get ahold of the GOP by refusing to participate until it ran the perfect candidate. They made the GOP listen by flooding into the party and elevating their candidates—by participating.

You’re not holding them accountable by not voting. Candidates will just go after the voters they think they can get. Show up to primaries, support the candidates you want. Even if your person doesn’t win, a strong showing makes their issues more important to who does.

It’s not a test; if you treat politics as something that has to meet your threshold of acceptability before you participate, you will wind up with something worse. In November 2024, 45% (give or take) was the best we were going to get. Not voting wasn’t going to make that percentage higher.

Would you rather have 45% of something or 5%?

It won’t achieve unity unless the firing squad mentality stops. Harris and the Dems weren’t remotely perfect on, say, Gaza, but they were objectively better than Trump. If the left would learn that common cause is acceptable, conventions, a Party, etc. might become reality.

For what it’s worth, the conservative movement in the 60s didn’t have megadonors either; they out-organized the liberal Republicans. The left’s problem is that it’s too busy complaining and purity-testing. We need more AOCs.

Exactly. I think people on the left need to read Before the Storm and Nixonland by @rickperlstein.bsky.social, specifically the parts about how the conservative movement took over the GOP in the 60s and 70s. The left needs to do it for the Dems. Having a reliable media outlet would help tho.

So the left-wing should organize, support candidates that reflect their values, use those candidates to create leverage within the Democratic Party, etc. If those candidates don’t get nominated, vote for the ones who do—the other side is much worse—and stay involved. Pique isn’t a winning tactic.

First of all, they’re not disenfranchised: they can vote but don’t.

Why spend resources going after people who probably won’t vote because they see a candidate as their personal representative? “Swing” voters are already invested in voting, so they’re a more likely pick-up.

Shouldn’t be how the system works? I could agree with that. But it is, and behaving otherwise isn’t going to cause any positive outcome.

At least voting for a third party candidate is participating in the system. Refusing to participate because no candidate “speaks” to you is solipsistic. You’re voting for society, not your personal benefit.

If the poor turned out, they might get a voice in getting corporate control out of the Dems, or they could support other candidates loudly enough that a meaningful third party might be viable. But sitting out elections because no one appeals to you gets you only candidates who ignore you.

Harris never won me over. But Trump sure as hell repelled me, and I knew not voting was not going to send any message to anyone. Nihilism is never a winning strategy.