I never thought I'd end up being that guy. You know, the guy arguing on Facebook until he gets defriended. I didn't even think it was an argument. To me, it seemed like a strongly worded discussion among Liberals. Hillary's name didn't even come up once.
We were two people on the same side of the liberal fence. We never even mentioned the candidates by name. So how did it come that karateexplosions is no longer my friend on Facebook?
It all started when he made a post about how all of the Democratic primaries should be closed. I can see the reasons for this. I can. It's the Democrats' party and they can do with it as they wish.
It's a complex argument there, choosing between a candidate who represents the party to a 'T', or a compromise candidate who incorporates a lot of what Independent / No Party Preference voters want to see. Do you go with the "big tent" of ideas and inclusiveness? Or do you go with the purist route, and let the others follow if they will?
Let's not forget what the real goal is here, to win the general election. In order to do that one must lure Indie/NPP voters. Plain. And. Simple. Everyone around here has been all up about "the math" as of late, well, "the math" says that you can't win the election without attracting the 39% of the electorate who identify as Indie/NPP.
And if you want the Indie/NPP vote in November, the party just might want to get their input in the primary. Here I'll stop you before you accuse me of writing a sour grapes diary. That's not where I'm going. This isn't about trying to get Bernie on the ticket. This isn't about whether Bernie or Hillary will bring in more Independent voters (remember, my friend and I never mentioned the candidates). This is about the process that creates the Democratic ticket and platform.
The upcoming election could be uniquely defined by the presence of Donald J Trump, who is so odious that no redeeming qualities can be found in his potential Presidency. But his candidacy is even more toxic than it appears, for it turns discussions such as this one into an irritation. To vote for anyone other than Hillary is to encourage the most unqualified, dangerous, and unpresidential major party candidate in our nation's history. It's a non-starter.
Because of this, there has developed a certain entitlement among Democratic pols that anyone who participated in the Democratic primary is now obligated to vote for Hillary in the general. As if one Democratic candidate is interchangeable with the other and we should all expect the exact same results regardless of which one won. Normally this would not be the case but Trump! The prospect of his presidency is so unacceptable that even suggesting there won't be an identical united front against him, regardless of the Democratic candidate, is to stoke the deep fires of anger in Hillary's supporters.
So there's been this argument that the Independent/NPP voters shouldn't get to vote in the Democratic primary, but if you look at it, it's really an extension of the Bernie's-really-an-Independent argument that says he shouldn't even be running for the slot. There are many who encourage the Democratic party to close ranks. To not allow the guy who used to be Independent, and not take the preferences of the Independent voters. I call this the purity route, and it's what karateexplosions was arguing for.
The Democratic party tells the Indie/NPP voters that their input is not welcome, and in the same breath the party lays on the guilt trip for not getting their full support in the general. The party says "it's my way or the highway," but if you choose the highway you deserve to get run over by a fully loaded semi trailer.
I'm not sure what is so magical about having a voter change their registration to Democrat. If they support and vote for the Democrat that should give them a seat at the table. But apparently that's not good enough to build a party. To build a party you don't attract diverse constituencies and crossover voters at the polls! No! To build a party you blackmail voters into changing their registrations so they can gain the franchise!
One thing I learned during this campaign is that despite my registration I'm not a Democrat. Every time someone remarks that Bernie isn't a real Democrat it reminds me that neither am I. When you take the sum total of all the things the Democratic party has supported lately, it only jibes with about 20% of my ideology. I guess that makes me a radical leftie or something.
The Democratic party talks a big game but when it comes to actually enacting a progressive agenda, it’s practically a zero tolerance policy. I’m tired of being frustrated by the party I support. It shouldn’t feel like a breath of fresh air whenever an Elizabeth Warren, Tulsi Gabbard, or Russ Feingold rises to the fore. The dejected futility felt when TPP was signed shouldn’t be the norm.
When someone tells me that I should just suck it up and vote for Hillary, I have to weigh my anti-Trump motivations against what it would take for me to vote for "safe and responsible fracking," nation building, and the continuation/expansion of a national healthcare system that prevents me from obtaining insurance on the private exchanges. But most of all I have to consider the fracking, which is the antithesis of my ideology. I don't think my readers can appreciate just how much of a moral and ethical breech it is for me to vote for "safe and ethical fracking." But Trump!!
When the Democratic party chose a 3rd way centrist they assumed that they would still get the full support of the entire political left just the same as if they ran with the progressive. There are consequences to that. There have to be. I think this is the big lie of the 2016 election, the public secret, the elephant in the room if you will. The Democrats did NOT choose the candidate who lures in younger, first time, independent, far left, and crossover voters, but the party expects all of these constituencies to still support the Democrat in the election.
To recap:
- Independents should not get to choose the Democratic candidate
- Independents should not get input nor allowances on the Democratic platform
- Independents are expected to turn out and vote for the Democrat
The temptation at this point is to make the argument personal. To make me the bad guy here for even considering sitting this one out. Look, I'm just the messenger here. You can call me a shit and make me feel guilty, maybe even guilty enough to vote for Hillary, but you can't change the minds of the millions of voters who are staying silent and aren't taking the time to blog about how they are being taken for granted and getting virtually nothing in return.
If the Democratic party wants to ignore the input of the voices of Independents, it's their prerogative. If the Democratic party wants to push the progressive candidate to the side, the candidate that has Independents interested in voting D, that's their right.
But if you think you can do these things and still rely on Independents as a voting bloc you've got another thing coming. They may not vote for Trump, but they don't have to assist you in your crusade, either. You made it this way when you chose the path of party purity.
And if Hillary loses in November you will be blaming the voters, and not the candidate.
