Gretchen Whitmer responds to calls by some Democrats to vote ‘uncommitted’ in Michigan’s primary on Tuesday

Gretchen Whitmer responds to calls by some Democrats to vote ‘uncommitted’ in Michigan’s primary on Tuesday

Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan governor, pushed back on calls to not vote for Joe Biden over his handling of the Israel-Gaza conflict, saying on Sunday that could help Trump get re-elected.

“It’s important not to lose sight of the fact that any vote that’s not cast for Joe Biden supports a second Trump term,” she said on Sunday during an interview on CNN’s State of the Union. “A second Trump term would be devastating. Not just on fundamental rights, not just on our democracy here at home, but also when it comes to foreign policy. This was a man who promoted a Muslim ban.”

Whitmer, who is a co-chair of Biden’s 2024 campaign, also said she wasn’t sure what to expect when it came to the protest vote.

Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat who is the only Palestinian-American serving in Congress, urged Democrats last week to vote “uncommitted” in Michigan’s 27 February primary.

  • KaTaRaNaGa@lemmy.world
    12·
    9 months ago

    Yes, the “fascization” of the US government has been unfolding for decades.

    To make a leap from that to an inevitability that “destroying the system to start over” is the only cure…

    Well, isn’t the cure is worse than the disease?

    What are the practicalities your presumptive solution hand-waves away?

    Insurance and reinsurance markets, for example, provide regional/national/global stability for business to happen in the face of mass catastrophe. Medicare and Medicaid provide millions of people with healthcare.

    These details, and literally thousands like them, make up the everyday function of government—even if they are currently not working in some places or not working as well as we’d like in many others!

    If you’re actually committed to the welfare of millions of ordinary people, then your position has got to be more nuanced than “destroy the system!”

    What are we destroying? What are we replacing it with? What kind of work are we doing to ensure a reasonable transition? Who is the we that is organizing toward a new vision? How do we work with opposing forces inside and outside of our camp?

    All of those questions fall under the banner of politics and the answers are constrained by the agendas of the participants engaging with the existing system.

      • KaTaRaNaGa@lemmy.world
        2·
        9 months ago

        I appreciate that your answer was something other than violent revolution or its buddies. Thank you for elaborating!

        If you’re willing to share: where would you go?

          • KaTaRaNaGa@lemmy.world
            2·
            9 months ago

            Yes, very well said.

            I’m considering the Lusophone world for myself and my family. My vision is to find a place where my kid can put down roots. I’m having a hard time working out the details, though.

            I have climate-driven concerns about living near the equator or in Europe. And as part of the contraction you mentioned, I expect moving around the globe will become difficult or problematic.

            That doesn’t leave many options.