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Desperate Times Don’t Call For Lesser-Evil Voting
I really wish I could post at DemocraticCircleJerk.com. I love to poke these “lesser-evil-ites” in the sternum.
The way I see it, it’s not business as usual.
Lesser-evil, fear driven voting from the Left does two things:
1.)Pushes the Left further right.
2.)Creates a false sense of accomplishment and security.
The only way I could justify this AGAIN is if we had an independent and forceful grass roots movement in motion… RIGHT NOW that would be setting up targets and taking them out one by one. What targets? Overturn Citizens United, campaign finance reform, fixing black box voting, busting up media monopolies and a host of other NECESSITIES.
Otherwise we just slide further and further to the right until one day shit heads at D.U. are defending the democratic party’s version of Michelle Bachman and Rick Perry against the “Greater Evil” of the day.
There comes a time when you have to face the fact that you can’t just take the path of least resistance, the safe route. You have to look inside and realize that, all things considered, if you throw in with the status quo you are actually aiding and abetting the delayed demise of your party and the things you “claim” to hold on to ideologically and morally.
How much worse will these people let it get? What will they eventually do? Will they EVER call out their own?
I’m saying that writing in a candidate or, if you’re actually okay with it, not voting CAN actually signal and initiate a sea change. Could it elect a Republican? Realistically? Yes. I know, that would be disastrous but consider this; not standing up, not taking the reigns, not calling out failure of our own can’t possibly help our cause. It only delays the slide into crazy corporofascist land. And judging by this new breed of Right Wing Democrats we’ve bred somehow lately, the situation calls for serious action.
We have to draw a clear distinction between reality and the world created by corporate money. Time and time again polls are ignored, Congress is despised, we WANT single payer health care, we WANT to make those who crashed the global economy pay-and on, and on but NOTHING really happens!
Desperate times..
Desperate Times Don’t Call For Lesser-Evil Voting
I really wish I could post at DemocraticCircleJerk.com. I love to poke these “lesser-evil-ites” in the sternum.
The way I see it, it’s not business as usual.
Lesser-evil, fear driven voting from the Left does two things:
1.)Pushes the Left further right.
2.)Creates a false sense of accomplishment and security.
The only way I could justify this AGAIN is if we had an independent and forceful grass roots movement in motion… RIGHT NOW that would be setting up targets and taking them out one by one. What targets? Overturn Citizens United, campaign finance reform, fixing black box voting, busting up media monopolies and a host of other NECESSITIES.
Otherwise we just slide further and further to the right until one day shit heads at D.U. are defending the democratic party’s version of Michelle Bachman and Rick Perry against the “Greater Evil” of the day.
There comes a time when you have to face the fact that you can’t just take the path of least resistance, the safe route. You have to look inside and realize that, all things considered, if you throw in with the status quo you are actually aiding and abetting the delayed demise of your party and the things you “claim” to hold on to ideologically and morally.
How much worse will these people let it get? What will they eventually do? Will they EVER call out their own?
I’m saying that writing in a candidate or, if you’re actually okay with it, not voting CAN actually signal and initiate a sea change. Could it elect a Republican? Realistically? Yes. I know, that would be disastrous but consider this; not standing up, not taking the reigns, not calling out failure of our own can’t possibly help our cause. It only delays the slide into crazy corporofascist land. And judging by this new breed of Right Wing Democrats we’ve bred somehow lately, the situation calls for serious action.
We have to draw a clear distinction between reality and the world created by corporate money. Time and time again polls are ignored, Congress is despised, we WANT single payer health care, we WANT to make those who crashed the global economy pay-and on, and on but NOTHING really happens!
Desperate times..
Love Teddy, Love Bush
Here we are after the Presidency of George W. Bush, an idiot that had approval ratings in the twenty percentile, a Congress that had approval ratings in the teens, a vice President that swaggered around lying and speaking like he was the President, a list as long as Shaq’s arm of war crimes, invasions of privacy, torture… and on and on; and now when someone criticizes compromise with this party that was so hated, so destructive, and championed these actions, they are labeled unrealistic dreamers or worse yet Republicans!
FireDogLake? Republican. Cenk Uygr? Republican, Bernie Sanders? Well… never forget he’s Not a Democrat! And what is it that these sites and people advocate for? Roosveltian policy! Yeah, that’s right, FDR or Teddy, take your pick! If you come around talking WPA, Big Sticks and “welcoming critics and confrontation” you’re a Republican!? Again, I can’t believe what I’m seeing.
Election cycles don’t offer many of us enough replays to see the patterns. I for one have never witnessed those within my own party strain so hard to cover failure and just plain weakness and bad performance. I would have thought if someone told me this is what an Obama Presidency would yield that no one in their right mind would sit still for it let alone excuse and justify it!
But this is a learning experience and a challenge for my self and many others. How we respond to these circumstances reveals things we may not have known about ourselves. For example, I once fought tooth and nail against those who claimed that the parties were run by the same special interests, that Democrats were playing good cop and I took the “lesser-evil” approach.
Today, after taking exactly that, the “lesser-evil” approach, and actually going so far as to believe that Barack Obama would be just the man to respond to the devastation of the Bush years–someone who would capitalize on the overwhelming popularity of the Democratic party and victories in both houses and the Presidency, I see that this leads to the same end as voting Republican but just takes longer, offers a false sense of victimization, and defangs the outrage and disgust commensurate with these right wing enabling behaviors.
Here’s a simple thought experiment, let’s say every Democratic Presidential candidate that runs wins the next two to four election cycles and each of these candidates performs like Barack Obama–where will we be? Anywhere NEAR Teddy or FDR or closer to, or beyond George W. Bush? If all of our rational becomes “lesser-evil,” what will the composition of our Congress be?
Many of us thought these questions would not even come up. Me? I thought Barack Obama would appoint Progressives and the brightest of the Left to his cabinet! When he didn’t I was like many still are… in denial. I thought “well he wants to keep his enemies close”. No! That is NOT what he wanted to do. He wants them to do exactly what they have done! Further Neoliberal/Free Market, Corporafascist, right wing fiscal policy.
Admit it! If Barack Obama cleaned house… that is to say, provided “Change” by calling in Progressive talent, would that then be Republican? Well, in one aspect it would be! Republicans play to win! Republicans would stock their cabinet with ammo of their choosing that will take out their targets. Maybe we should be more like Republicans!
