You do not understand the US primary system.

These registered Dems, the only people who can vote in the Democrat primary, know full well the fascist guy is worse https://web.archive.org/web/20240306112504/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-israel-gaza-finish-problem-rcna141905 he has already said it explicitly on just the genocide of the Palestinians. And we all know that he tried to overthrow the US government and did many illegal things already.

The US can do anything it wants at the drop of a hat. That’s an appeal to authority. Israel is almost completely dependent on US trade and support, they’re literally our proxy in the Middle East. They have fought in explicit proxy wars for us already against other nations. There is plenty of leverage, which is why this movement has stayed urging Biden to end the genocide.

If you stand with Palestine, you should vote uncommitted in the Democratic primary to let the Dems know how many people actually want the killing to end. Because until it does, more and more will be killed. They literally die and are dead. A protest vote with no systemic consequences that boosts the call to end the genocide of the Palestinians is worth it, as many people have calculated.

Do you understand that in the primary there is no contest between Trump and Biden? Biden’s going to get the Democratic nomination anyway, so voting uncommitted in the primary has no negative consequences in the actual election that happens in November?

This type of vote will not be called for in the general because in the general, even if Biden does not change his stance on ending the Palestinian genocide, because the fascist republican alternative is worse.

Anyone who is calling for “don’t vote Biden” in the general election is a fascist. You can disregard them as they’re very likely just Russian bots trying to sow discontent.

I see many people who keep commenting here are not in tune with the “uncommitted vote” campaign because no major news org has really covered it. They don’t cover it because it is to end the Palestinian genocide and major news orgs have held a pro-Zionist line the entire time (e.g., there was a 400,000+ anti-genocide-in-Palestine march in DC maybe a month ago, and no news orgs covered it in any meaningful way (AP had coverage downplaying it the day before and none the day of) or at all (NYT did not cover it).). This is to once more try to enact the end of a US-funded genocide via the will of the voters in a safe way, as Biden is guaranteed to win the primary.

I’m gonna push back a little on that thought.

Saying “don’t vote Biden” is very important, actually, and it’s hardly bullshit.

First and foremost, when you are in the mindset that voting is all you can do, saying “Don’t vote for Biden” opens up a great conversation about voting, democracy, racism, and pretty much any issue that is tied to the US government. These conversations are important, and must happen. There is a radical praxis to not voting, whether you’d like it or not. If voting for one of two parties is the only acceptable form of political action, than not voting, voting third party, or something else (such as setting up prefigurative structures) is a good, radical action.

Before you point this out, I do have issue with how many leftists, communists, and anarchists just skip this conversation online, or say something like “Oh, these conversations have happened before, just read this book” or some nonsense. I get that having this conversation a million times is exhausting, but it’s important. You don’t have to do it every time, but if you are able to jump in and take over, you should!

If this conversation is good, it should point out that the supposed “democracy” we have is not only fragile, and being taken over by fascists, but that it was really only a democracy for a small group, not the idyllic idea of the majority getting their say and representation. It should also point out that this “democracy” has been a tool used against minorities as a cudgel, bringing pain and suffering for centuries. It should point out that there are many positions that the majority of the public want, like social/single payer healthcare, yet we have a top aide to the democratic speaker of the house, telling lobbyists to not worry about it!.

Second, Biden is not entitled to any voting, and he needs to be reminded of that with the threat of non-voting, and anti-voting advocacy. The idea that someone is entitled to your vote on the basis that they are not someone (IE: the lesser evil) else is antithetical to the core concept of democracy: bringing power and representation to the people (often through majority voting). Imagine that you have two candidates in a FPTP voting system, one person that is 100% hitler, and another who is 80% hitler. It is obvious that the lesser evil is the one that is 80% hitler, but if the country consists of primarily people who want a 0% hitler candidate, how is the 80% hitler, the lesser evil candidate, a representative of the people? How does that 80% hitler candidate represent the majority of the people? Isn’t that antithetical to the very concept of democracy that such a candidate can exist?

I get that it is a tactical position to vote for biden, considering that trump is so awful. I don’t think it’s fair to criticize someone for voting this way because it is genuinely a logical and reasonable conclusion, but I do think that the thought process that got them there needs a bit of evaluation.

Third, threatening to not vote for biden (and especially staying true to that threat) is good, actually. I’ve already mentioned that biden is not entitled to a vote, but it’s also important to mention that biden is a human being who has the capability of acting to fix this. “Remember to vote for the lesser evil!” is, unfortunately, placing the blame for biden’s actions on the individuals affected by it, rather than the person who did the actions in the first place. Thinking solely from this mindset does not hold biden accountable to his actions, and often leads to blame being placed on people for not voting against their interests.

Finally, you mention “writing to your congresspersons”. I think this is a great idea, but it should not be the only mechanisms of political action aside from voting. I can safely tell you that this is often ineffective. One of my best friends was an aide to a representative in congress for a few years before and during Trump’s presidency. He has been at the receiving end of a calling campaign from some bigots in my state advocating for an anti-trans bathroom bill, and he told me at some point, he stopped paying attention to it, and he was getting pissed off because it was taking up his time that could otherwise be spent working with residents of the state with other problems, such as social security, VA benefits, etc.

Since my dinner break is coming to a close, all I can really do is be that annoying leftist who shoves a book in your face and recommend a short(ish) book that I loved reading about democracy and voting, and the myths it promotes. Crimethinc.'s “From Democracy to Freedom” is freely available as a PDF online through the publisher, Crimethinc.