Letters to the Editor: Your 'protest vote' for Jill Stein is really a vote for Donald Trump
Letters to the Editor: Your 'protest vote' for Jill Stein is really a vote for Donald Trump
Don't like Kamala Harris' recent comment on guns? The solution is to support gun control, not vote for a Trump-enabling third-party spoiler.
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If you live in a state that has even a slight chance to go red, yes, you should vote for Kamala. But if you live in a comfortably Blue or Red state, you should vote for the party that best reflects your ideology. I always vote for the farthest left candidate because I think that if my representatives see a strong third-party showing for a left-wing ideology, it will make them think twice before they pivot to the center.
If you live in a state that has even a slight chance to go red
You can only know that with accurate polling, and accurate polling doesn't exist. As long as we have a two party system, the electoral college, and no ranked-choice voting, voting for the "lesser evil" is the only sane choice. It sucks, but the choice really is binary. A third party vote is a discarded vote, but if you insist on discarding that vote, at least take the time to vote pragmatically down the rest of the ticket...
I think that if my representatives see a strong third-party showing for a left-wing ideology, it will make them think twice before they pivot to the center.
lol, and I cannot stress this enough, lmao.
You can only know that with accurate polling, and accurate polling doesn't exist.
C'mon dude. You really think California is gonna go red this year? Grow up.
lol, and I cannot stress this enough, lmao.
I mean, I'm represented by Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren, and Ayanna Pressley, so...it's not not working. It's certainly better than voting for Democrats unconditionally while I whine about the electoral college and first-past-the-post polling.
Not voting for the Democrat gives the Democrats all the reason they need to ignore absolutely everything you say.
Voting for Democrats and donating to them gives you persuasive power within the party to help steer it.
LOL, what? Are you high? No, they're not going to listen to you if they have your vote already; why would they work for it if they already have it? And if they only tried to appeal to people who already voted for them, then they wouldn't spend all this time and energy trying to appeal to moderate conservatives, would they? Why aren't they ignoring them, and instead only ignoring the left?
And you think they're going to listen to me if I give them money? How much money do you think I'm giving them? Do you think I have a super pac? What do you think the conversations are in DCCC headquarters are like? "Hey guys, I know that the financial-services sector gave us $462 million in 2020, but @pjwestin just donated $50, and he'd like us to reinstate Glass-Steagall, maybe we should listen to him?" Like, Christ, maybe in deluded for thinking enough third-party votes will scare them, but at least I'm not naive enough to think I can negotiate with someone by giving them everything they want upfront.
You sound like you've never called or written to your representative or their office, or dealt with a local campaign office. Because what I describe is true, and what you describe is you declaring to the world, "I'm choosing to make myself irrelevant to everyone."
I call my Senators and my rep all the time. I tell them I'm a voter in my district and I care about X. They've never once asked me if I voted for them or how much money I gave them.
I wonder who represents you. I don't get blown off my my reps. And I don't donate a ton of money, but I do volunteer.
Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren, and Ayanna Pressley. What representatives do you have at your beck and call with your amazing volunteering skills?
That's an assholish characterization. And when I lived in Walpole, I had Ed Markey, too. I called his office a couple of times, said, "I vote for Ed Markey, and I want <...>" and they took down what I said, and my info, and I'd a letter reply a little while later.
My current rep is Adam Smith. He has actually been less responsive than other reps I've called, but I've gotten letters from his office after calling with my requests. And in talking to office staff, you can often find out how pressured they are over issues that constituents call about. They definitely care.
Tell them you're withdrawing your support, and they'll apologize, but you're done getting listened to. They know it's a waste of time.
Uh-huh. I'll be honest, it doesn't sound like you have any more influence or sway over your representatives than I do. I also get replies for telling them that they will lose my support over an issue, and Ed Markey's office was never more responsive than when he was being primaried by Joe Kennedy. So if it's all the same to you, I'm gonna keep voting third-party and making sure my representatives know they are replaceable, since it seems to be working at least as well as your strategy of unconditional support.