Email to Common Dreams

[eridani]

[e-mail]

Skip voting?

Or vote for some idiot who isn't running to win? Are you kidding? Too many on the left have been executing this brilliant strategy for the last 40 years. If that works so well, where is our functioning participatory democracy working for the 99%? I'm all for supporting left parties instead of Democrats, but only if they take winning seriously.

In Seattle last year, many Democrats supported the Socialist Alternative candidate for the Seattle City Council, but only because she was a serious candidate. She won narrowly due to the efforts of 400-500 volunteers phoning and doorbelling for her. But if you think this means that people should stop voting for Democrats, get back to me when Socialist Alternative wins seats on the city councils of Federal Way, Renton, Kent. Auburn, Spokane, etc.

In reality, only Demorats can run serious candidates all up and down the ballot. Left third parties can win in urban centers, small towns with big universities, and rural areas populated by a lot of refugees from Woodstock Nation--and nowhere else.

Back here in the real world, we are now in a hellhole run by the 1% because conservative whackjobs took over the Republicans working from the precinct level upward. On the left, idiots of tender conscience have refused to to the same to the Democrats. Democrats at least make an effort to talk to their neighbors.

[freshwest]

1. Thank you, eridani, excellent observation. Your knowledge of what we face here is always impressive.

[Luminous Animal]

2. If you were actually serious about this, you'd direct your email to Carmen Velasquez. A remarkable

woman who would talk circles around your 'argument'.

Did you even read the article? Or are you responding to the headline alone?

[Spider Jerusalem]

3. I don't think you understand how that site works

they run opinion pieces from a variety of sources; the one you're apparently complaining about shows the author is someone called Carmen Velasquez. Further use of Google indicates that she has a LinkedIn profile which presumably contains contact details. And her ambivalence to voting comes from the lack of action on immigration reform, specifically, which is an important issue for the Latino community. As you are evidently not part of that community, perhaps you shouldn't be telling them where their priorities ought to be; just a thought.

[eridani]

4. Link doesn't work for me

However, the real reason so many Latinos are sitting out this election in WA State is that they are not registered to vote. A really good young Latino candidate in the 4th CD has mobilized the state party to put some effort into registration--unfortunately we have a Top Two primary and no Democrat made the general election ballot. At least Yakima might get a Latino city council member after one or two more election cycles.

[Spider Jerusalem]

5. This isn't just about Washington state?

And if you haven't read the article then you really have no business criticising it.

[eridani]

6. So--got any examples of how groups with less political power sitting out elections--

--gains them more political power?

[Spider Jerusalem]

7. I have plenty of examples...

of white liberals telling members of minority groups "hey, I know this stuff is important to you, but these things I'm concerned about really matter more; let's get those out of the way first and then we can talk about this civil rights/immigration reform/marriage equality thing, okay?", and I can understand why they're getting tired of it.

[eridani]

8. And not voting helps that how?

This white liberal has put plenty of money into supporting the WA State voter outreach program for native speakers of Spanish, Vietnames, Cambodian and several east African languages. That's all I can do, not speaking any of them well myself. Politcians will take more notice when they figure out that enough Latino voters are registerd to be a threat to reelection if they ignore their issues.

[Spider Jerusalem]

9. No more and no less than voting, apparently

again, you should actually inform yourself of what you're talking about before trying to discuss something. Here, from the article you didn't read:

It’s hard for me to imagine many of us voting for Republicans, who have at times been downright hostile to immigrant communities. But maybe Latinos in places like Colorado, Florida, Arkansas and North Carolina — states with closely contested Senate or governor’s races — should sit this election out. Maybe only by paying a price at the polls will Democrats finally stop throwing us under the bus.

http://is.gd/YbeTmB

[Fumesucker]

10. So people who are registered and vote are a threat to reelection?

But people who are too apathetic or disenchanted with the system to vote are not a threat to reelection?

[eridani]

11. Not particularly--most campaigns ignore non-voters

--and focus their efforts on existing likely voters. Estakio Beltran's efforts in WA-04 are going to take awhile to pay off.

[Fumesucker]

12. So GOTV isn't important in the eyes of politicians, political parties and political campaigns?

That doesn't completely coincide with I've been reading on DU through goodly number of election cycles now.

[eridani]

13. GOTV efforts ignore non-voters. By that phase of the campaign, it's too late for persuasion.

Most efforts are focused on known likely supporters sho vote, but inconsistently.

[Fumesucker]

14. People who stay home for an election in order to "punish" a party aren't "non voters"

They are being inconsistent voters.

The kind of voters who evidently lose elections for candidates.

[eridani]

15. IOW, they are going on a gut feeling that their lives are insecure and unimproved n/t

[mfcorey1]

16. This!!!!!!!!

[MisterP]

17. we're in this hellhole because the Dems do whatever the GOP says for 40 years

I know you know that, but I also know you feel stampeded because the election's around the corner--don't worry, everyone's brains will come back online in a few weeks again