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.

    • phillaholic@lemm.ee
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      8 months ago

      Both sides of the line support Israel. Either you’re saying it in bad faith or need to take your head out of the sand. Anti-Israel isn’t on the ballot. If you want a full fledge war in the Middle East, feel free to not vote Biden and give the GOP the conflict they’ve been wanting since the bush admin.

      • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        You’re confusing me. If I’m getting a genocide either way, then it doesn’t matter if I vote Biden or Trump.

        • sailingbythelee@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          Yes, you are confused, and you are also trying to confuse the issue with false equivalence. The outcomes of a Trump presidency and a Biden presidency are not going to be the same, either in the Middle East or more broadly.

          • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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            8 months ago

            So we can stop the genocide by voting for Biden? Which vote stops the genocide? Or, do we want the genocide, but not if Trump’s doing it? Or, do we not want the genocide, but it’s okay if Biden’s doing it? Or, is genocide bad regardless of who is President?

            • sailingbythelee@lemmy.world
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              8 months ago

              You are being obtuse intentionally, I assume, to make a point. Withdrawing support for Israel is not one of the options. Your choices are status quo or fascism. And if you choose not to choose, then you are still making a choice. Trump can be elected by a combination of active support and negligence on the part of those who could stop him.

              • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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                8 months ago

                write this down …

                For some of us who have empathy, a genocide is more important than an election. Some nebulous, abstract, distant fever dream future, where Trump is president is immaterial to the actual current conditions in Palestine.

                Hope that’s acute enough for you.

            • phillaholic@lemm.ee
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              8 months ago

              Show me a federal election that a green candidate has won. The goalposts haven’t been moved, they never were in a place where green could win in the first place.

              • HACKthePRISONS@kolektiva.social
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                8 months ago

                you said it wasn’t on the ballot. now you seem to understand it is on the ballot and are looking for an excuse not to vote against war.

                • phillaholic@lemm.ee
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                  8 months ago

                  There won’t be a question on the ballot asking if I’m for or against the war. So you clearly understand I wasn’t speaking literally and just chose to be pedantic. The Green Party will not win the Presidential election. Voting for them will get you close to the opposite of what you want. Literally.

                  • HACKthePRISONS@kolektiva.social
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                    8 months ago

                    >Voting for them will get you close to the opposite of what you want.

                    it will increase the number of votes for the candidate i want to win, so it will definitely get me closer to what i want. unlike voting for someone who i don’t want to win.

                  • HACKthePRISONS@kolektiva.social
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                    8 months ago

                    >There won’t be a question on the ballot asking if I’m for or against the war

                    someone is being pedantic, but it’s not me.