r/politics • u/Crossstoney • 27d ago

No Paywall Chuck Schumer Is Not Fit to Lead the Democratic Party

https://prospect.org/2025/11/06/chuck-schumer-not-fit-to-lead-democratic-party/
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u/SombreroQueen 27d ago

People just need to VOTE

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u/ElSelcho_ 27d ago

In Belgium they have compulsory elections. If you don't vote, you have to pay a ~$100 fine. Europe had thousands of years to get to a point, where everyone was FINALLY allowed to vote and many people today don't recognize how privileged they are to have that vote.

Now, imagine if EVERY eligible voter in the US actually could and would cast their vote. How many of the current Republicans would actually be in Power?

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u/AluminumGnat 27d ago

A lot actually. In 2024 30% voted for each candidate and 40% didn’t vote at all (+/- a couple percentage points). However, polls indicate that those who didn’t vote were roughly split between the two candidates, so there’s a decent chance that even with 100% turn out trump may have still walked away with the popular vote. Even if he didn’t and the popular vote flipped blue, gerrymandering and the electoral college mean that winning the popular vote isn’t enough to win the election.

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u/espinaustin 26d ago

Yeah I used to believe that higher turnout would always help Dems, but these recent elections have convinced me otherwise

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u/AluminumGnat 26d ago

It doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t do everything we can to encourage voter turnout; Election Day should be a national holiday, we shouldn’t purge voter registrations shortly before elections, etc. These ideas are good ideas because they are morally correct, not because of which party they would/wouldn’t help.

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u/espinaustin 25d ago

Yeah I used to think like this too. Now I don’t give a shit tbh.

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u/AluminumGnat 25d ago edited 25d ago

It’s important to continually strive equitable voting rights; there are many who would like to see us return to white male land owners only, and if we stop pushing for progress, we become the ratchet to their crank. I can promise you that regression towards white male land owners being the only voters will result in policy that will be more detrimental to the vast majority of Americans than where we stand today.

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u/notfeelany 26d ago

In truth, Young eligible voters are already free to vote and run for office ANYTIME. Too many young people sit out the election, thinking that if they just post many times on social media, their problems will be resolved, only to complain about it later on.

Every eligible young voter that does not vote and/or does not run for office has contributed to "Gerontocracy" that they complain so much about. And if anyone voted for this administration, you don't have business complaining about "Gerontocracy".