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Locksmith-Pitiful OP t1_j1ut76y wrote

My opinion:

Brett Smiley, while appearing as a Democrat, is quite moderate and very pro business even at the detriment of the community according to previous debates and statements.

I'm not sure why eliminating a bike lane because "it's fragmented" is a logical conclusion. It would be most helpful to do the opposite, to construct more and connect them. Additionally, in that area, people use the bike lane to walk, bike, and even during certain events to use it as a seating and walkable area. Eliminating this for cars only degrades the community.

Of course, this also encourages pollution (RI is about to miss its 2030 goals solely due to lack of non-car infrastructure), makes it more dangerous, and ignores the large population of students and those in the area who bike, use public transit, and walk.

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kbd77 t1_j1vb108 wrote

“Moderate” lol

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AbigailFlippinfloppn t1_j1vdne3 wrote

Moderate is a euphemism for right wing, always

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Locksmith-Pitiful OP t1_j1vf6ky wrote

>Moderate is a euphemism for right wing, always

Trying not to go down a huge rabbit hole about liberal vs. democrat vs. progressive, right wing vs. modern conservative, etc...

I personally call him a moderate democrat because he isn't a progressive one. He isn't going to do stupid shit like ban gay marriage or abortion, but he likely won't fight for green energy, public transportation, income equality, etc. He's likely to side with businesses and developers.

If he was in congress, he isn't going to side with AOC or Bernie, he'd likely vote like Manchin. Overall, not much progress or change will happen, it's likely to be a slow 4 years.

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AbigailFlippinfloppn t1_j1vfh5i wrote

Tbf there is no left here. Bernie, AOC, etc are centrists. They can't even back up the rail workers ffs

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Locksmith-Pitiful OP t1_j1vg8fr wrote

After the rail worker shit, I understand... as a progressive, I'm like, WTF? At the same time, there were several statements released by the progressive democrats essentially saying their hands were tied and that "it was complicated." Many of them voted for sick days but it was dismissed. I still think the progressive democrats are doing pretty damn good work though, still, the rail union was fucked.

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AbigailFlippinfloppn t1_j1vhhlx wrote

Nah, there is no excuse. Always stand with labor. But that's the difference between actual socialists and these spineless social democrats.

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Locksmith-Pitiful OP t1_j1vhqh9 wrote

I need to research it more unfortunately, I feel unequipped to give any strong opinions or thoughts :( At a surface level, it appears super shitty, I need to dive in more.

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Sarcofaygo t1_j1w5avi wrote

Most democrats are moderate tbh

Joe Biden is a great example of this.

He literally voted to overturn Roe vs. Wade when Reagan was president.

He called for an invasion of Iraq as early as 1998.

He sided with Bush and voted to invade Afghanistan

He sided with Bush and voted to invade Iraq

In 2021, he rounded up thousands of black haitians refugees and violently deported him.

Yet in 2022, he called for 100,000 ukranian (white) refugees

That was where he lost me.

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