In the wake of the recent rout of the far right in France — with all the deserved attention to the ways in which leftists and centrists put aside their infighting to defeat a common foe — I thought I’d write a short post on a bizarre idea that keeps cropping up this campaign season in the U.S.
I'm an independent centrist. I'm voting for whomever the Democratic party nominates. My life depends on it. I'm a Black woman in America. Need I say more? I mean, I can, but this is *your* substack! LOL!!
If a citizen doesn't like what the two parties have on offer, that's your signal to work on building something different from the ground up. All those magical, unicorn non-dem/gop presidential candidates would still have to work with a dem/gop Congress (since they're usually only focused on their own candidacy, not building a true political party).
Voting, to me, is the price of admission - and it's free (for me - not so much for people that can't afford time off work to register or vote or pay for legal ID). Only the Dems want more people to be able to vote.
I've voted in every election since I turned 18 - that includes primaries and all numbers of local elections for mayors, city councils, the proverbial dog-catcher. Living in the blue dot in the middle of the sea of red, lately it's very rare that my vote goes to the winning candidate. I still vote. My kids vote. I even convinced my husband to start voting over 34 years ago.
I have given this lecture, more of a rant, to young voters for years. I've also asked what they have done to push the Democrats further to the left and usually get blank stares and told there's nothing one person can do. I usually respond with, "Really, don't tell AOC that."
Good article. As troubled as I am by Biden's Israel policy, of course I intend to vote for the Democrat nominee. And I neglected to thank you for responding to my questions about how best to use my limited ability to donate to candidates; I do appreciate you taking the time to answer those questions.
I'm an independent centrist. I'm voting for whomever the Democratic party nominates. My life depends on it. I'm a Black woman in America. Need I say more? I mean, I can, but this is *your* substack! LOL!!
Excellent take.
If a citizen doesn't like what the two parties have on offer, that's your signal to work on building something different from the ground up. All those magical, unicorn non-dem/gop presidential candidates would still have to work with a dem/gop Congress (since they're usually only focused on their own candidacy, not building a true political party).
Voting, to me, is the price of admission - and it's free (for me - not so much for people that can't afford time off work to register or vote or pay for legal ID). Only the Dems want more people to be able to vote.
I've voted in every election since I turned 18 - that includes primaries and all numbers of local elections for mayors, city councils, the proverbial dog-catcher. Living in the blue dot in the middle of the sea of red, lately it's very rare that my vote goes to the winning candidate. I still vote. My kids vote. I even convinced my husband to start voting over 34 years ago.
I have given this lecture, more of a rant, to young voters for years. I've also asked what they have done to push the Democrats further to the left and usually get blank stares and told there's nothing one person can do. I usually respond with, "Really, don't tell AOC that."
Great piece. Next can you do a copypasta about voting for non viable third parties ? (only half joking ;)
Thanks! And yeah …
Riding With Biden
Good article. As troubled as I am by Biden's Israel policy, of course I intend to vote for the Democrat nominee. And I neglected to thank you for responding to my questions about how best to use my limited ability to donate to candidates; I do appreciate you taking the time to answer those questions.
My pleasure!