this post was submitted on 08 Aug 2023
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Since you're asking specifically about national elections, I'd say overall it doesn't matter. If you live in one of the few states (counties really) that actually decide the presidential election, then voting strategically for Dems makes sense, if it seems like harm reduction to you. I think the same argument goes for a senate seat or even congress that has a chance to be a toss up.
I think a lot of us overthink engaging in electoral politics because most of us were libs and therefore thought electoral politics is important, or have an over inflated sense of the importance of our own individual vote. The truth is as an individual, you might as well be asking, should i shout the name of candidate x into the void, or just forget about it. Our votes only matter as part of a group, an organization, or a movement
I think you're right, I might be overthinking it and the brainwashing is a bit hard to silence.
Are there any of these that you're aware of? I just know of R and D really. Is there even a viable alternative?
No viable electoral alternative nationally. But if you're specifically interested in voting, you should shift your focus locally. You may want to check out DSA. They sometimes back candidates or even run members
Thanks for the DSA rec!
The thinking here is more "X group is voting as a block and expects this list of things from this candidate, if they do not do these things they will lose the support of our group going forward." These days this is the domain of mostly right-wing white church groups but in the past (and potentially again!) unions would also do this. So like, your 1 vote doesn't matter as much as 100 people in a group voting as a block.
Thanks this is what i wanted to get across. If we had a real labor movement, it would be fine to engage with electoral politics through it. But ing just to doesn't really matter