Younger people can still be terrible politicians
Progressive Americans have to defeat the mini-boss (DNC) before they can on the main-boss (GOP).
There’s a chance the GOP can crack open for a Progressive popout but the MTGs and such already got there years ago so I wager thats about at 0% odds now.
Once we kill every billionaire, yes. A chance.
There’s a lot of doomerism happening in these comments, so I’m just gonna add in that yes, I do think there’s a chance. A small chance, but a chance nonetheless
Right now shit sucks real bad. People know this. That’s why Trump won the first time. He ran as an anti-establishment everything candidate and people—not just his bigoted cultists—ate it up. But things didn’t get better. So then people voted for Biden bc he was the opposition to Trump who had become the establishment as the sitting president. And Biden won and shit still sucked. So then they went back to Trump bc there was no viable republican or democrat candidate outside of Trump and Biden/Harris. (Yes Bernie should have been the answer but America is currently a two party system and he was robbed of a primary election.)
So now that everything sucks and is getting worse and we’ve tried republicans and democrats and none of it is working and most candidates refuse to talk about real issues like affordability, people are starting to say “fine. I’ll find a different candidate then.”
And that’s how we got Zohran Mamdani, an openly democratic socialist as mayor of New York City. All across the country progressive candidates are using this momentum to primary out establishment dems. Not all are winning, but many of the races are close, like Kat Abughazaleh’s race. Even that helps because it shows dems that if they want to keep their seat as the controlled opposition so they can keep getting their bribes, then they have to change their messaging and priorities. People aren’t satisfied with a campaign to return to pre-Trump business as usual. People want a candidate that works for them
So check who’s on the ballot of your dem primaries (which are happening rn and through the summer depending on where you live) and see if there are any progressive candidates and do what you can to support them. Donate, volunteer, spread the word, and most importantly, show up and vote in the primary and the elections in November. Even local candidates like city council members and judges can have a lot of power if they have enough numbers and the support of the people
I know a lot of people on lemmy say that America is beyond repair and that the only answer at this point is a violent revolution but not only is this not realistic, it’s not helpful. A violent revolution would be devastating and the amount of lives lost would be horrifying. Theres also the fact that most violent revolutions result in a military authority taking power rather than a true democratic rebuilding. It’s much easier to fantasize about a violent revolution than it is to do the slow, tedious work of creating real change from the ground up
There’s no need to jump to the worst case scenario when we have a prime opportunity to make real change and build grassroots movements. Like I said, this is our chance to capitalize on people’s anger and dissatisfaction with the system to build class consciousness and grassroots movements. Do what you can, even if it doesn’t seem like a lot, and stay hopeful. We’ll get through this together by supporting each other
As someone looking in from the outside, I can’t back this message enough.
I don’t know if the country will ever go progressive but if it’s going to, this is the only way it will. One of the two major parties has to be infiltrated and overhauled so to speak, by primary.
Third party voting is not really any good yet, the FPTP system has to be fixed, well, removed, to maximise the minor party usefulness. It would be, though, if enough progressives get in to make those changes (which I imagine would be via the Amendment system? I don’t know) for what you know as ranked choice, which really does build worthwhile third party candidacy.
But they have to vote and they have to make use of the primary system. That’s your ticket out. The Republicans have already shown the way because that’s how they got to where they are…using those electoral systems and voting as a unit. Voting the letter on the actual day, too.
The fptp system was broken not long after it was created. It wasn’t always broken like it is now.
That happened under the guise of making it “safer”
Used to be, the president didn’t have a running mate, the runner up was the VP.
By removing that, we’ve made our system into the 2 party monstrosity it is today.
That barely existed as a system because it didn’t work well in practice. It was amended in 1804, there were only 3 presidents elected that way, Jefferson was in office when it was ratified.
Interesting, thank you.
Imagine what difference that would have made over the years.
The guys who set it up originally were actually pretty smart. And we spent the next 250 years screwing it up…
Ranked choice can be done state by state. Alaska, maine, and New York City elections are ranked choice.
The electoral college can be nullified by state by state adoption of the popular vote compact.
That’s only a few states short but all the blue states have signed on, so it needs support from red states which is a much heavier lift.
The original setup was basically a ranked choice system already. The top two vote getters were the president and vice president.
That was changed, ostensibly to “stop assassination” but like all good ideas, it had bad follow on effects.
Not in my lifetime or the lifetimes of my youngest family members. Bernie is a centrist and he’s seen as too radical left.
Not for a while, but that door is going to swing back the other way so hard it’ll damn near come off the hinges. Then back the other way it’ll go. The 1% thrives on our division.
We’re in the grip of corporate control and we’re not seeing light till that’s resolved. I think eventually it’ll happen though, whether it is through regulation or by the way of the green plumber is unclear.
E: then again, this was the next post: https://sfstandard.com/2026/04/12/sam-altman-s-home-targeted-second-attack/
And I hear there were 6 more warehouse fires, but I can’t back that up. Media isn’t covering it.
Yes, we elected progressive presidents in the early 20th century. A century ago.
Then we decided in the 70s to stop being progressive.
It’ll be the progressive that gets elected to preside over the decline. Once we’ve been bled dry and the other nation(s) take the world lead, like China.
And they’ll worship trump like they currently do Reagan. Forgetting all the shit he caused and blame whoever is head of state regardless of their decisions.
at this point it’s hard to say if we’ll even have an election in general
I hope so. I hope the country remembers or realises the importance of it this time.
After this it may not carry the international weight it does. That vote used to carry a lot of weight and privilege, worldwide and many people gave their lives to try and get the right to do it. Each citizen should have been proud to step up and take it.
Elections 2028:
90y old republican with dementia, salivating to the microphone
Vs
88y old democrat on wheelchair, suffering terminal cancer, taking painkillers directly to the bloodstream.
Unfortunately during the debate, republican saliva shorted out cables in the microphone, while Democrat fell into coma.
Elections are won by the republican, democrats are weeping on bluesky, wondering why people voted for a shitty president again.
The End.
But this will ne a fully self driving wheelchair with AI built in.
Not very long anymore.
They will be so very far behind in all fields of tech and business because of the extreme conservativism. The world isn’t going to watch anymore who gets elected there, if at all. Nobody cares.
👏👏👏
Until the US military gets fried and the dollar collapses the rest of the world will care.
That day may not be far off, but it not here yet.
Edit- sinking the navy would do it.
Won’t happen until both the Republican and Democratic parties are dead and buried. As we’ve seen over the last decade, they’re more than happy to work together if it means keeping progressives out of office.
You’ll have trouble finding someone worse than trump, but if you do I’m sure he’ll win with a landslide.
Meh you just need to find a man with a vision, and WW3 would be guaranteed
Just look at who’s been winning all the special elections. The fascists either lock this shit in like Russia in the next 3 years or they’re fucked
They will be fucked for exactly 2 election cycles. 2026 and 2028. 2030 will be a red wave year. Calling it now.
Voters have memories worse than goldfish. Dems will be a shoe for the white house in 28 but will be lucky to hold it in 32 unless something historically tragic in the scale 9-11 or COVID happens in 31.
Liberals here just enable the fascists. I think OP was asking if we’d get something that isn’t just fascist enablement, if we’d ever have a situation where we broke out of this cycle you’re referring to with effective liberal policy instead of half-measures that just give the fascists an excuse to call liberals incompetent.
(I don’t think so)
It isn’t just that Democrats are winning seats. It is young progressive Democrats in many cases
*until the next mid terms
Define progressive
Exactly.
People asking this question have their own definition, which is why “isms” are tools to drive wedges between people.
Additionally, focusing on the president is excusing congress from doing their fucking job.
For the last 30/40 years they’ve basically sat back and said “let the president do whatever - he’ll take the heat and not us”.
So for OP - there are 500 assholes in Congress not doing their fucking job, so maybe focus on getting your rep/senator out and someone in who will do their job.
Until the apathy of congress changes, nothing will change.
