Peter's American TL: American federal election, 1931

[Peter the Lefty]

Why so many Communist votes, may I ask?  Labor is promising to nationalize industry, may I remind you.

To put pressure on Labor and make it deliver on it's promises?

Yeah, because losing parties very often deliver on their promises.

They haven't lost yet. Plus a Labor-Communist coalition would be the best of both worlds.

Tell me, what is it about a Stalinist party that could be considered a positive which Labor wouldn't have at this point?  And any coalition with them would be impossible at this point.  I'll also remind you that they have more than enough votes for their maximum number of seats, so a few of these votes would be far more effectively spent on Labor.

[Franknburger]

When people think a NPD-ruled Germany would be fun, turning the US communist becomes quite tempting. I haven't given into that temptation so far, remembering that it first of all affects the creator of this thread, but...

[TNF]

Why so many Communist votes, may I ask?  Labor is promising to nationalize industry, may I remind you.

To put pressure on Labor and make it deliver on it's promises?

Yeah, because losing parties very often deliver on their promises.

They haven't lost yet. Plus a Labor-Communist coalition would be the best of both worlds.

Tell me, what is it about a Stalinist party that could be considered a positive which Labor wouldn't have at this point?  And any coalition with them would be impossible at this point.  I'll also remind you that they have more than enough votes for their maximum number of seats, so a few of these votes would be far more effectively spent on Labor.

Dedication to the cause? I don't understand why it's hard for you guys to wrap your head around the idea that some of us would actually prefer to vote for the genuine article here. I don't mind Labor at all, but given the choice between Labor and a group to their left, I'm going to vote for the people to their left, because that's where my heart lies.

[Peter the Lefty]

Why so many Communist votes, may I ask?  Labor is promising to nationalize industry, may I remind you.

To put pressure on Labor and make it deliver on it's promises?

Yeah, because losing parties very often deliver on their promises.

They haven't lost yet. Plus a Labor-Communist coalition would be the best of both worlds.

Tell me, what is it about a Stalinist party that could be considered a positive which Labor wouldn't have at this point?  And any coalition with them would be impossible at this point.  I'll also remind you that they have more than enough votes for their maximum number of seats, so a few of these votes would be far more effectively spent on Labor.

Dedication to the cause? I don't understand why it's hard for you guys to wrap your head around the idea that some of us would actually prefer to vote for the genuine article here. I don't mind Labor at all, but given the choice between Labor and a group to their left, I'm going to vote for the people to their left, because that's where my heart lies.

"The cause?"  If by that you mean socialism, Labor is very strongly dedicated to it.  It is by no means not genuine.  And do you seriously think that it is always best to vote for whatever party is most most-left-wing, even if that implies voting for a party that admires the second-worst human being of the 20th Century and will, if put in power, murder millions of Americans in the most brutal way? 

It's actually quite easy to understand the reason why we can't comprehend why you're voting for a party like that AT ALL, let alone when there is a perfectly left-wing party that won't slaughter millions of people on the table.

[TNF]

Why so many Communist votes, may I ask?  Labor is promising to nationalize industry, may I remind you.

To put pressure on Labor and make it deliver on it's promises?

Yeah, because losing parties very often deliver on their promises.

They haven't lost yet. Plus a Labor-Communist coalition would be the best of both worlds.

Tell me, what is it about a Stalinist party that could be considered a positive which Labor wouldn't have at this point?  And any coalition with them would be impossible at this point.  I'll also remind you that they have more than enough votes for their maximum number of seats, so a few of these votes would be far more effectively spent on Labor.

Dedication to the cause? I don't understand why it's hard for you guys to wrap your head around the idea that some of us would actually prefer to vote for the genuine article here. I don't mind Labor at all, but given the choice between Labor and a group to their left, I'm going to vote for the people to their left, because that's where my heart lies.

"The cause?"  If by that you mean socialism, Labor is very strongly dedicated to it.  It is by no means not genuine.  And do you seriously think that it is always best to vote for whatever party is most most-left-wing, even if that implies voting for a party that admires the second-worst human being of the 20th Century and will, if put in power, murder millions of Americans in the most brutal way? 

It's actually quite easy to understand the reason why we can't comprehend why you're voting for a party like that AT ALL, let alone when there is a perfectly left-wing party that won't slaughter millions of people on the table.

I'm not sure why you assume that Communist automatically means "will slaughter millions of people." Communism in Russia and Communism in the United States are going to be very different things by their very nature, because the U.S. is not a third-world country and probably has the ability to produce to the very limit and make socialism a reality, if prodded along. Communism isn't inherently anti-democratic. It's actually hyper-democratic, if you've ever read up on what the Soviets looked like prior to the Bolsheviks turning the whole thing into a party-line dictatorship during the Russian Civil War.

[Peter the Lefty]

Why so many Communist votes, may I ask?  Labor is promising to nationalize industry, may I remind you.

To put pressure on Labor and make it deliver on it's promises?

Yeah, because losing parties very often deliver on their promises.

They haven't lost yet. Plus a Labor-Communist coalition would be the best of both worlds.

Tell me, what is it about a Stalinist party that could be considered a positive which Labor wouldn't have at this point?  And any coalition with them would be impossible at this point.  I'll also remind you that they have more than enough votes for their maximum number of seats, so a few of these votes would be far more effectively spent on Labor.

Dedication to the cause? I don't understand why it's hard for you guys to wrap your head around the idea that some of us would actually prefer to vote for the genuine article here. I don't mind Labor at all, but given the choice between Labor and a group to their left, I'm going to vote for the people to their left, because that's where my heart lies.

"The cause?"  If by that you mean socialism, Labor is very strongly dedicated to it.  It is by no means not genuine.  And do you seriously think that it is always best to vote for whatever party is most most-left-wing, even if that implies voting for a party that admires the second-worst human being of the 20th Century and will, if put in power, murder millions of Americans in the most brutal way? 

It's actually quite easy to understand the reason why we can't comprehend why you're voting for a party like that AT ALL, let alone when there is a perfectly left-wing party that won't slaughter millions of people on the table.

I'm not sure why you assume that Communist automatically means "will slaughter millions of people." Communism in Russia and Communism in the United States are going to be very different things by their very nature, because the U.S. is not a third-world country and probably has the ability to produce to the very limit and make socialism a reality, if prodded along. Communism isn't inherently anti-democratic. It's actually hyper-democratic, if you've ever read up on what the Soviets looked like prior to the Bolsheviks turning the whole thing into a party-line dictatorship during the Russian Civil War.

The problem is that this Communist Party is essentially a Soviet satellite which slobbers over Stalin obsessively, like all Comintern Parties at this point are, both in this tl and in rl.  I never believed (post-8th grade) that Communism automatically means "will slaughter millions of people."  However, when it's controlled by someone who admires a mass-murderer, and openly says he wants to make America a Soviet Republic along Stalinist lines, then it basically does. 

[Peter the Lefty]

Besides, moral reasons aside, Labor with these results will only be able to carry out a small part of its agenda, since the Libs will have to give it their approval.  If all of the True Leftists here actually want nationalization, a minimum wage, a meaningful welfare state, and significant banking regulations, you should switch your votes to Labor.  With the number of Communist candidates running (43 out of 750), there are several wasted votes here, which would not hurt the CPA's seat count if they went to Labor (whose seat count would be boosted).