cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16955018

“Jamaal and our movement were such a threat to right-wing power, to GOP megadonors, and to AIPAC’s influence in Congress that they had to spend $15 million to defeat us,” said one progressive organizer.

  • @11111one11111
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    6 months ago

    Eli5: How does record AIPAC spending prevent people from voting? It still comes down to people voting so isn’t it safe to say more people voted for the person who won than people who voted for the losing candidate?

    Edit: come on this isn’t reddit. I’m not concerned with this question of who was running and what they are in favor of. As far as I have been attentive to politics there has always been campaign contributions from lobbyists with the intent to have their interests protected. I do not understand why or how that would affect the outcome of the election unless one candidates total campaign funds were a pot more than the others. I also don’t understand why is thes any new precedent? Hopefully with this added clarity the down votes won’t burry the comment and further discussion can be had.

    • @Pfeffy
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      146 months ago

      Do you think that people are pouring millions of dollars into elections because they are stupid and wasting it? This seems like a bad faith question.

      • HobbitFoot
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        -16 months ago

        Organization trumps money. The problem is that a lot of progressive organizations aren’t able to mobilize voters for elections like this.

        • @Aqarius
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          76 months ago

          Organising requires funds, though.

        • @Crashumbc
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          26 months ago

          It hasn’t yet, so that’s a false statement.

      • @11111one11111
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        -36 months ago

        But how does that keep people from voting? I’m not being a dick it’s a genuine question. Corporations dump trillions into advertising but that doesn’t prevent me from comparing products and choosing the product that best fits my needs. Matter of fact, there was a post today I saw that was about the futility of targeted ads having no better results than traditional marketing.

        • Mike D.
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          146 months ago

          It does not prevent people from voting.

          It may, however, amplify distortions of the truth or bold-face lies.

          With regards to AIPAC it amplifies the voice of a group that is ONLY concerned with the advancement of Israeli interests.

        • @[email protected]
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          6 months ago

          Sorry you’re getting downvoted to hell. You’re right. Sometimes people want everything to be a conspiracy or something aside from the simpler truth which is that voters just wanted somebody different.

    • @[email protected]
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      6 months ago

      It doesn’t. But it puts their agenda up front and center for those that can be manipulated by it a whole lot easier.

      Sort of similar to how people here will urge you to not vote for Biden. Most people will see this as people essentially just shitting into a fan, but at its core, it’s really a way to circumvent having to directly show support for Trump on a left-leaning social media platform where they’d get banned.

      • @11111one11111
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        -26 months ago

        So where did all the pro-Isreal propaganda get pushed to? The anti-Isreal propaganda is everywhere. (I don’t know a better word than propaganda to use here but I don’t mean it as any sense of invalidating or dismissing eirher the anti-Isreal/pro-Isreal sentiment)

        • Tiefling IRL
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          76 months ago

          TV, Facebook, Instagram, radio ads, billboards, etc. Basically all the places where boomers bask

        • @[email protected]
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          6 months ago

          Personally, I think there’s a fuck-ton of nuance to the issue and I find that it’s best not to listen to a bunch of high-school kids lecturing everyone on who to vote for based on foreign affairs that they weren’t even aware were happening less than a year ago.

          Where the others went?

          This is lemmy. You’re not allowed to accept that the situation is nuance led as fuck. Even if you mostly agree with the hive.

          • @Ensign_Crab
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            46 months ago

            high-school kids

            “Anyone who disagrees with me on anything must be younger than me and therefore wrong.” - Boomer logic.

            • @[email protected]
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              6 months ago

              Yawn…. Is there anything that doesn’t offend you? Seriously man. I’m not engaging with you on this anymore.

              • @Ensign_Crab
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                36 months ago

                You said you were gonna ignore me last time you spewed your hatred for the anti-genocide left.

                That does not obligate me to ignore you.

                • @[email protected]
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                  6 months ago

                  I said I was ignoring you then. And I did. And now I’m ignoring your current nonsense now. You see, it’s a thing that can be activated at will. And don’t mistake my responding to you as some form of hypocrisy. Or that your little trolling attempt was successful. I’m fully allowed to respond to whatever bullshit you bring me. That is my right. I will however choose when I wish- to ignore discussing whatever dumb shit you try and bring up as a means to distract from the point to create a straw man as is pretty much ALL you do.

                  And considering that you’re incapable of stopping yourself from mouthing off at anyone who dares to disagree with your little agenda, it’s pretty easy to do.

                  You should probably get used to it. I have seen that I’m not the only one that does it.

                  Oh, and for the record- and on the topic of ignoring things… As I’ve said and you’ve ignored before- I don’t have a problem with the far left.

                  I have a huge problem with the “far left.” And you should too.

                  • @Ensign_Crab
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                    26 months ago

                    You’re spectacularly bad at ignoring me.

                    Two things. Opposition to genocide is not a “little agenda” just because it pisses you off to see people who don’t unconditionally support everything centrist Democrats do.

                    And your distinction about the far left versus the “far left”? Bullshit. You hate everyone to your left and tell yourself that they’re to your right to justify it.

                    Now go back to “ignoring” me.

    • @[email protected]
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      46 months ago

      ^Holds finger right near your eyeball and says, but i’m not touching you, see, i’m not touching you.

      • @Fades
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        16 months ago

        Are you implying that by spending more money they are blocking you from seeing the opposition? That’s absolutely not the case.

        It would be more like people raising hands around you and you see mostly green hands and only a few blue hands and thus less-informed people will be more likely to lean towards the majority.