Voting lesser evil is not a long term solution

agreed. It is about mitigating how much damage is done before change, of whatever form, can be affected. Mamdani's popularity, even if it is NYC, thus more fertile ground for progressives, is a good sign. The way all of the establishment reacted to him killing that primary tells me this is a guy I want to back. So I have. I am also active with several activist, and specifically leftist, groups. We have moved the little, dying, shit hole city, I currently live in, more progressive. We have restructured, what used to be, the worst projects in the state to a place, which is still all section 8, into a nice place, where people get town houses, and the same space has more resident capacity, and have yards, and have freedom to like repaint, redo the garden, etc. Things to make it feel like their home, not a human filing cabinet. This worked, super well. The crime in my neighborhood has plunged since then. We have also accomplished free public transportation, though it is pretty limited compared to more developed countries. We are working on ending the status of food desert for my neighborhood, and the surrounding ones, too.

There is more, primarily getting changes to the DA, a judge, and city council, and other local politicians, but I think you get the idea. The shift in crime from the project reform basically assured our current mayor was going to get re-elected, and even though I have some big differences in ideas than he does, he is very progressive, you know, for a US politician. If this wasn't a dying place we probably would have gotten further than we have thus far.