If we can't be bothered to vote in the primaries, wjy would anyone believe us that a progressive candidate would somehow lure millions more to vote?

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[–] 144 points 7 months ago* (114 children)

Progressive here. I vote in every primary and try to rally support for the most progressive in my coalition. Come November, I vote against fascists which means voting for Democrats because they're obviously better in every way.

If you don't vote or vote third party, congratulations, it means you were duped by right-wing propaganda or don't understand how our election system works and the inevitable binary outcome that comes with FPTP and whole you didn't give fascists +2, you gave them +1.

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  • [+] 48 points 7 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (73 children)
  • [–] 4 points 7 months ago

    Trouble is, sometimes voting for either of the two major parties hands a vote to people whom you don't want winning, and you know it will lead to a bad outcome: The march toward some flavor of authoritarianism has been obvious for decades. One major party welcomes it, and the other major party doesn't not welcome it. While the system isn't fair, neither is life, and sometimes the system itself is so flawed that it falls apart even if you play by its unfair rules.

    So what was the plan? Democrats win every election forever and ever, amen? The party was cooperating with the Republicans, actively or passively, to put the pieces of an authoritarian system into place. Was that supposed to be fine because Democrats would always be in control of the machinery of repression? Despite the long history of U.S. voters ping-ponging between parties?

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  • [–] 34 points 7 months ago (21 children)

    I've gotten more down votes saying exactly this.

    In 2020 Biden won with 81.3 million votes. In 2024 Trump won with 77.3 million votes. All we had to do to avoid the mess we are in is turn out with the same "enthusiasm" we had for Biden in 2020.

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  • [–] 15 points 7 months ago (19 children)

    It's the job of a politician to generate that enthusiasm.

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  • [–] 12 points 7 months ago (6 children)

    It's the job of my dentist to encourage responsible dental hygiene. But if I don't brush, it's my teeth that rot.

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  • [–] 4 points 7 months ago (11 children)

    I would argue that it is the civic duty of a citizen to vote. Enthusiasm is irrelevant.

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  • [–] 6 points 7 months ago

    I fucking loathe this mindset. I mean I hate it with such a passion. Cuz all you're saying is you don't care if you lose. You don't care if the worst happens to all of us you'd rather not change your ways. Cause guess what? You're wrong.

    You can say that until the cows come home but people turn out to vote when they're spoken to and engaged. Thinking anything else means you're okay with losing. And I resent the fuck out of my life being put in jeopardy because some of you are okay with losing.

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  • [–] 23 points 7 months ago* (1 child)

    I agree with this strategy but I think you have to also concede that anti-electoralists have some good arguments too. Since voting is relatively low investment, my personal view is that it's best to pursue a variety of strategies. But for the vast majority of Americans for whom voting is their only political activity, I would challenge them to figure out what the next step is in becoming a more effective political actor. Frankly, there are a variety of actions a person can take that are way more impactful than voting. And this moment demands more from us than passive participation.

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  • [–] 6 points 7 months ago

    This. And if one of the lesser progressive or AIPAC funded candidates get the nomination, I will speak out against their problematic policy positions and try to get them to move away from these views right up until election day (at which time I will go into the voting booth, hold my nose, suppress my gag reflex, and vote for whoever the D choice is (who will always be better than the R choice, at least at the state and national level).

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