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An Appeal for Election Day
5 years ago
Alioth FoxPlease read my terms of service before approaching me for a commission!Commission status, prices, and offerings can be found here. I've mainly tried to avoid politics lately because it's just too stressful, but I do have a few important things I want you to consider. I know there are a lot of progressives who are very reluctant to vote for Biden, and I can understand that. He's a bit underwhelming. But here's the thing: let's look at this from a pragmatic standpoint first. It's kind of a "lesser of two evils" thing, but not exactly. The simple fact of the matter is that we have two viable political parties in the US at this point. You don't have to LIKE that, but like it or not, it is the political reality at this point, and that is realistically unlikely to change any time soon. Voting for Biden is voting for the party that has a progressive element. AOC and the rest of "The Squad"? Democrats.
Yes, you're getting the "milquetoast" Democrats too, but again - whether you like it or not, politicians have to play the game to win elections, and that is NEVER going to change. AOC Democrats are not going to win elections in places like North Carolina and Georgia. But when you empower the PARTY of officials like AOC and Ilhan Omar and the rest, you empower THEM. Politically. Biden is not just the "lesser of two evils" - a Biden win is objectively better for progressives than a Trump win. The needle CAN MOVE with Democrats at the helm. Biden is one man; although the presidential candidate is usually the face of the party, he's not the whole party. He's not even the whole administration. You have a shot at progress with the Democrats. You don't with Republicans. It is truly as simple as that, but there's more.
I've heard a lot of bullshit about the "ratchet effect," but the truth is that that ratchet effect can only happen when Republicans are allowed to remain in power. The country didn't shift to the right under Obama. Certain issues did, but his agenda stayed mostly progressive. We have gone backwards under Trump, and we will continue to do so if he is re-elected. Under Biden, even if things don't improve (and bear with me, because that's kind of a bullshit argument too), it's better than the continued backward path we are on right now. Biden's platform is not as progressive as a lot of you would like it to be. I realize that. But how many of you have taken an honest look at his full platform? How many have gone deeper than just the campaign messaging? His platform is more progressive than you might think.
But really, this does come down to a lot more than just "vote for Biden because he's better than Trump." You have to look at WHY he is better than Trump, and for progressives, it's as simple as this: every Democrat win (EVERY one) empowers progressives. Every loss weakens them. You don't have to LIKE Joe Biden or Kamala Harris. I voted for Bernie Sanders in the primary, and I wish that he or Elizabeth Warren had won. But they didn't. Not because the party stole it from them, but because they weren't able to build the voter coalitions they needed. I'm not even saying "vote for Joe Biden because he's our only chance." I do believe that, but that's not even the point I'm making here. The point (once again) is that the more Democrats win, the more political power progressives have. If you are progressive, that should matter. Not all Democrats are progressive, but most of the progressives who are currently in office are Democrats. (Find me a progressive who currently caucuses with Republicans.) Mainly because they realize that that is where they have the best chance to make the most difference.
"But what about third parties?" Sorry, I know this is a hard pill to swallow, but voting third party only tells me that you're more concerned with self-righteously (and idly) upholding nebulous principles than you are with actually making things happen. Third parties do not have the organizational resources to mount serious national-level campaigns right now. Don't like that? Start electing officials from those parties at the local and state levels so that they can become more of a force in national politics. "If everyone who complained about the two-party system voted for third parties, they'd win!" Maybe, but that STARTS with building a robust base of voters at every level. The idea that someday people are going to be fed up and all vote Libertarian in one fell swoop is a FANTASY. (Libertarians aren't even close to actually being progressive, but that's a whole other topic for another day. Point is, we're never going to have this overwhelming "exodus" from Dem/GOP to some third party. It's never going to happen. Not unless a third party builds a base.)
So I think I've made my point as well as I can. If you are progressive and you want to empower progressive political movements, then please vote for Biden, regardless of what you think of him personally.
PS: I wrote this as an appeal to fellow progressives, not to change the minds of Trump-supporting bootlickers; they're a lost cause. If you're a Trump supporter, don't reply. Unfollow me. I don't want you in my life. I already said that in an earlier journal, but I'm going to say it again now.
Yes, you're getting the "milquetoast" Democrats too, but again - whether you like it or not, politicians have to play the game to win elections, and that is NEVER going to change. AOC Democrats are not going to win elections in places like North Carolina and Georgia. But when you empower the PARTY of officials like AOC and Ilhan Omar and the rest, you empower THEM. Politically. Biden is not just the "lesser of two evils" - a Biden win is objectively better for progressives than a Trump win. The needle CAN MOVE with Democrats at the helm. Biden is one man; although the presidential candidate is usually the face of the party, he's not the whole party. He's not even the whole administration. You have a shot at progress with the Democrats. You don't with Republicans. It is truly as simple as that, but there's more.
I've heard a lot of bullshit about the "ratchet effect," but the truth is that that ratchet effect can only happen when Republicans are allowed to remain in power. The country didn't shift to the right under Obama. Certain issues did, but his agenda stayed mostly progressive. We have gone backwards under Trump, and we will continue to do so if he is re-elected. Under Biden, even if things don't improve (and bear with me, because that's kind of a bullshit argument too), it's better than the continued backward path we are on right now. Biden's platform is not as progressive as a lot of you would like it to be. I realize that. But how many of you have taken an honest look at his full platform? How many have gone deeper than just the campaign messaging? His platform is more progressive than you might think.
But really, this does come down to a lot more than just "vote for Biden because he's better than Trump." You have to look at WHY he is better than Trump, and for progressives, it's as simple as this: every Democrat win (EVERY one) empowers progressives. Every loss weakens them. You don't have to LIKE Joe Biden or Kamala Harris. I voted for Bernie Sanders in the primary, and I wish that he or Elizabeth Warren had won. But they didn't. Not because the party stole it from them, but because they weren't able to build the voter coalitions they needed. I'm not even saying "vote for Joe Biden because he's our only chance." I do believe that, but that's not even the point I'm making here. The point (once again) is that the more Democrats win, the more political power progressives have. If you are progressive, that should matter. Not all Democrats are progressive, but most of the progressives who are currently in office are Democrats. (Find me a progressive who currently caucuses with Republicans.) Mainly because they realize that that is where they have the best chance to make the most difference.
"But what about third parties?" Sorry, I know this is a hard pill to swallow, but voting third party only tells me that you're more concerned with self-righteously (and idly) upholding nebulous principles than you are with actually making things happen. Third parties do not have the organizational resources to mount serious national-level campaigns right now. Don't like that? Start electing officials from those parties at the local and state levels so that they can become more of a force in national politics. "If everyone who complained about the two-party system voted for third parties, they'd win!" Maybe, but that STARTS with building a robust base of voters at every level. The idea that someday people are going to be fed up and all vote Libertarian in one fell swoop is a FANTASY. (Libertarians aren't even close to actually being progressive, but that's a whole other topic for another day. Point is, we're never going to have this overwhelming "exodus" from Dem/GOP to some third party. It's never going to happen. Not unless a third party builds a base.)
So I think I've made my point as well as I can. If you are progressive and you want to empower progressive political movements, then please vote for Biden, regardless of what you think of him personally.
PS: I wrote this as an appeal to fellow progressives, not to change the minds of Trump-supporting bootlickers; they're a lost cause. If you're a Trump supporter, don't reply. Unfollow me. I don't want you in my life. I already said that in an earlier journal, but I'm going to say it again now.
That said, if those parties are going to have a shot, that local engagement is what it's going to take.
What is more likely to happen is that more young, progressive Democrats will be elected, and that sector of the Democratic party will grow and steadily gain more control until the existing party becomes more progressive. That's going to take time, of course, but if you take a historical view at how political parties have developed over time in the US, that's far and away the most likely scenario.
And if anything, the new crop of Republicans are notably worse than the old one
I Live in a consutuency that has been conservative held since its conception. I am NOT a conservative so you kinda have to vote for the next strongest party in the hope that enough of us do to shift the balance. It hasnt happened yet but it is getting closer.
Sadly the UK is also very good at protest voting and thats pretty much what got us into Brexit, a lot of people used the brexit vote to show the prime minister at the time that they didnt like him. He told everyone they needed to vote remain so a lot of people voted leave to snub him, thinking there was no way enough people would actually vote leave for their protest vote to count LOL. Dumb us.
I am worried for you all. I remember last time the US election was coming around everyone was reassuring me, dont worry trump wont get in....well...four years down the line im holding my breath again. I hope it goes better this time round. because it effects everyone, not just the US.