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If we get a next time, everyone had better show up in the primaries to vote for the Bernie-equivalent or further left. If I'm the only person under 60 at my primary polling place again, I'm gonna snap.
Centrists don't win primaries because of Centrist Magic(tm). They win from disengagement of the young and high participation by fucking dinosaurs who still think it's the 1980s.
I’m with you. But our primary system fucking sucks and it disenfranchises people based on the staggered timings. I was so motivated for Warren and a ton of people I know were. But Biden had won by the time most people got a chance to vote, including me.
The timing thing I guess is interesting for giving people time to adjust but I would prefer a system where it was one day and one person one vote.
Every state I've lived in has had a late primary, and only once did I actually get to vote in it when it could have made a difference.
Centrists don’t win primaries because of Centrist Magic™. They win from disengagement of the young and high participation by fucking dinosaurs who still think it’s the 1980s.
And also by a pervasive campaign of suppression and character assassination of leftist candidates by corporate news media.
There was no primary. Biden won the farce of one that featured no competing candidates even appearing on a significant number of state primary ballots. And even that was thrown out the window. You're fucked again in 2028 if you put any amount of faith in that shitshow.
I meant the 2020 primary.
I've got an idea, and history would agree.
Violence.
I mean, that only works if you have a substantial base of supporters who are already willing to endure significant hardship for the cause.
Considering we lack a substantial number of people who are willing to turn out for one day just to vote, I'm thinking that's putting the cart before the horse.
I really don't like that you're right, but you're right. Let's just hope that it will be at some point.
That's a monkey's paw wish right there. Electoralism was our alternative to blood in the streets, I would really prefer no blood in the streets.
Me too, but the rich are using violence against us along with the worst political tactics. It'd be pretty hard to convince me it isn't necessary at this point.
I'm worried more that it won't be effective. Power is a numbers game, be it guns or dollars or people. Presumably, the strength of the left is that, properly communicated, it's the inevitable will of the majority of the people. That's the weapon.
The problem with the left isn't that the message is wrong, it's that it's not being communicated effectively to the people that empower it. If the people were unified, and organized, nothing could stand in their way.
I can't argue with that, I guess the next question is how we can get there.
What can we do?
Start using language that resonates with blue collar workers, instead of scary commie words. Organize. Organize, again because it's so important. Get elected; start small, don't shoot straight for president: city council, county commissioner, lieutenant governor, climb the ladder and flood government at all levels with hick-coded progressives. Organize, a third time because what's going to give the people the edge is direct open communication between them. This might be the age of the Vtuber senator, lean into it. Caucus with Dems until we have the numbers alone.
It's not impossible, we just have a lot of catching up to do. Lobbyists and PACs aren't intrinsically bad things, they are useful tools to navigate the political landscape. But at the end of the day it's gotta be people-first messaging. Embrace populism, embrace the circus, stop treating the average American as a rational actor. Grassroots propaganda.