> The platforms are just so different

Red team and blue team differ on plenty of things, but are they really so far apart on healthcare? It's not like the Dems are working overtime to get universal healthcare done. (Biden said he'd veto it even if it passed the house and senate, lol.) During Obama's brief period with a supermajority, all we got was a blue-branded version of a Heritage Foundation policy paper, to the right of even the Clintons' limp-wristed effort in the 90s.

Meanwhile even right-wing opponents of universal healthcare at Koch-funded thinktanks have been saying for years that M4A would save $300 billion yearly. I suspect they're willing to be so out in the open about that instead of spreading FUD in the usual Republican style (see climate change) because they know there's no party willing to even try for M4A, despite the obvious material, economic benefits for regular people.

> But in my eyes free is not costing more than today. If we could go socialized for what we pay today that would be a win. And really we could do it for much less. Between myself and my employer my healthcare costs $12,000 a year. On top of that I have a 3k deductible. So my baseline is 15000 a year in cost for healthcare. Everyone bitches “well taxes will go up” but they fail to realize that currently wages are just held down in equal proportion.

It's even better than that. Under Bernie's M4A plan, my family would have saved ~$2500 yearly, just in premiums, not counting copays and deductibles. (My family's deductible was $14k last year, lol.) Even Koch-funded thinktanks that oppose universal healthcare have admitted for a few years now that M4A would save $300 billion a year.

Keeping the current private system is the fiscally irresponsible option. We're basically flushing $300 billion down the toilet, so that a few people atop a useless, parasitic industry can buy yachts. It's insane.

> Vote blue.

If the Dems were actually going to do anything about universal healthcare, this would be a good option. Instead, almost none of them mention it, even the "progressives" don't even want a vote on it, and the "most progressive president since FDR" said he'd veto Medicare for All even if it passed the house and senate.

Even the worst-case right-wing estimates from Koch-funded think tanks that hate universal healthcare estimate M4A would save $300 billion a year. My family would have saved ~$2500 a year under Bernie's M4A plan, just in premiums. My fucking deductible was 14k last year.

> No free healthcare until we vote out those that block it.

Hear, hear. Regular people can get this done if we band together and make politicians - of all parties, especially the dems - fear that we won't vote for them if they don't deliver things that benefit us in real, material terms, like universal healthcare.

Who cares? Citizen's United makes massive amounts of corporate dark money "legal". What's legal is such a minutely low bar. Being beholden to a rapacious, amoral financial cartel should be disqualifying, regardless of party.

> Funny how that happens, when the Republican party goes full fascist and attempts a coup.

The very wealthy will never permit a fascist coup unless it benefits them financially, and it's hard to see how it would - the status quo is massively profitable, and implementing an authoritarian state would cost money both now and in the long run.

> Let's play "Guess the party".

It's actually worth playing this time! You have this guy - I'll let others give it a go - and then the other candidate, who took the overwhelming majority of their funding from one single crypto ghoul. Awesome electoral system we have! I love these meaningful choices, and am really sure my views will be well-represented!

> I hope that anyone eligible to vote in Vermont takes time to look past the decisive rhetoric, and see these amendments for what they are intended for, which is to preserve our freedoms.

The abortion debate is very depressing. Both sides craft their pitches for their respective bases, not to win anyone over. This is a great case in point: if someone believes abortion is murder, why would they want to preserve anyone's freedom to do it?

Help me remember: is book-burning good or bad?

Be sure to check out /r/shitlibsafari , it sounds right up your alley.