The only real political power small minority groups can wield is as a spoiler. You can never win elections on your own, but you can make it clear that if someone hurts your group badly enough, you’ll vote so hard against them that your small numbers can make the difference in a close election. Look at how the Jewish community or the South Florida Cuban community have wielded their power so effectively. Or look at the Zionist lobby. They don’t say, “blue no matter who” and support Democrats regardless of their stance on Israeli issues. They pick and choose who they support and give money to, and they pull it away from those that go against their will.
Primaries are no panacea. Consider the spreading terf infection within the Democratic party. A lot of centrist Dems have now moved on from supporting Palestinian genocide to getting on the “liquefy trans people” bandwagon. Your advice to trans people would be to vote for these transphobes in the general election and to then fight against them in the next primary.
But here’s what that actually looks like. The first primary tells you nothing; snakes hide their colors. They wait to fly the terf flag until after the primary is over. You tell trans people, “blue no matter who, vote for the transphobic Democrat to keep the Republican from winning.”
So they get elected. Then the next primary comes around. Now, however, the message changes. Now instead of “wait for the primary,” the refrain becomes, “this primary challenge is irresponsible.! We shouldn’t risk an incumbent seat in a purple district just for the sake of trans people!” In the meantime, the terf infection has spread and become more normalized.
In practice, there is simply never a “correct” time to challenge these people.
In practice, there is simply never a “correct” time to challenge these people.
Judging by the people who talk about protest voting: it’s right before the election, and then radio silence on the issue until right before the next election.
They’ll spend more time opening a GoFundMe for themselves than trying to change the political landscape in any way that will work.
The Democrats destroyed the last 3 primaries, or don’t you remember? They didn’t have a primary last season and they rat fucked Bernie before that. You’re a fool if you think the Ds are going to let the masses of voters decide what happens via the primary system.
You’re right, if I vote for the party running on the “We will deport more people than Trump! We have given out SO many fracking contracts! We LOVE BOMBING BROWN PEOPLE! WE LOVE GIVING MONEY TO COPS!!”-platform, then I’m sure they’ll start turning left any day now. After all it’s what I’ve been doing since Carter and it hasn’t worked so far, so it has to be close!
It’s not like me normalising this hellscape by constantly voting for insane fascists could actually be harmful in any way. Oh well, there’s literally nothing else to do, I can’t vote for a third party, I can’t organise outside of getting people to vote for fascists, I can’t wipe my own ass, it’s really too bad.
I mean, I tried voting for Bernie in the primaries, but they fucked him over, so that didn’t work. I tried doing some political volunteering for a local progressive, but the DNC decided to throw a bunch of funding behind some insane TERF freak, who then went on to lose the election. Pretty weird, honestly. I tried to organize within my union, but Joe Biden broke it up. I tried striking, but he broke that up too. I tried protesting and then the cops showed up and beat the shit out of me. Well, I guess I better vote for the democrats again.
Abstaining isn’t going to help either. We need to vote in primaries. Blue no matter who is a last resort.
The only real political power small minority groups can wield is as a spoiler. You can never win elections on your own, but you can make it clear that if someone hurts your group badly enough, you’ll vote so hard against them that your small numbers can make the difference in a close election. Look at how the Jewish community or the South Florida Cuban community have wielded their power so effectively. Or look at the Zionist lobby. They don’t say, “blue no matter who” and support Democrats regardless of their stance on Israeli issues. They pick and choose who they support and give money to, and they pull it away from those that go against their will.
Primaries are no panacea. Consider the spreading terf infection within the Democratic party. A lot of centrist Dems have now moved on from supporting Palestinian genocide to getting on the “liquefy trans people” bandwagon. Your advice to trans people would be to vote for these transphobes in the general election and to then fight against them in the next primary.
But here’s what that actually looks like. The first primary tells you nothing; snakes hide their colors. They wait to fly the terf flag until after the primary is over. You tell trans people, “blue no matter who, vote for the transphobic Democrat to keep the Republican from winning.”
So they get elected. Then the next primary comes around. Now, however, the message changes. Now instead of “wait for the primary,” the refrain becomes, “this primary challenge is irresponsible.! We shouldn’t risk an incumbent seat in a purple district just for the sake of trans people!” In the meantime, the terf infection has spread and become more normalized.
In practice, there is simply never a “correct” time to challenge these people.
Judging by the people who talk about protest voting: it’s right before the election, and then radio silence on the issue until right before the next election.
They’ll spend more time opening a GoFundMe for themselves than trying to change the political landscape in any way that will work.
If a tree fell in the forest, but you weren’t paying attention, did it still fall?
This is weirdly specific. Do you have a cool leftist ex?
The Democrats destroyed the last 3 primaries, or don’t you remember? They didn’t have a primary last season and they rat fucked Bernie before that. You’re a fool if you think the Ds are going to let the masses of voters decide what happens via the primary system.
Ohh no there’s going to be opposition?!?!
/s
You’re right, if I vote for the party running on the “We will deport more people than Trump! We have given out SO many fracking contracts! We LOVE BOMBING BROWN PEOPLE! WE LOVE GIVING MONEY TO COPS!!”-platform, then I’m sure they’ll start turning left any day now. After all it’s what I’ve been doing since Carter and it hasn’t worked so far, so it has to be close!
It’s not like me normalising this hellscape by constantly voting for insane fascists could actually be harmful in any way. Oh well, there’s literally nothing else to do, I can’t vote for a third party, I can’t organise outside of getting people to vote for fascists, I can’t wipe my own ass, it’s really too bad.
I mean, I tried voting for Bernie in the primaries, but they fucked him over, so that didn’t work. I tried doing some political volunteering for a local progressive, but the DNC decided to throw a bunch of funding behind some insane TERF freak, who then went on to lose the election. Pretty weird, honestly. I tried to organize within my union, but Joe Biden broke it up. I tried striking, but he broke that up too. I tried protesting and then the cops showed up and beat the shit out of me. Well, I guess I better vote for the democrats again.
You should at least do that.
Oh wow now the woketariat is coming for my ass??? Woke 1 is crazyyy