Coming down to the final days before the election, we are hearing more about the difficulties some people on the left are having about their vote. It is hardly revealing a secret, I think, to say that President Obama is a moderate Democrat. Nor have the difficulties that those farther on the left of ideological spectrum have had with many of his positions been kept a secret. There is a strong temptation for those dissatisfied people to vote third party or not vote at all. People say, "I'm tired of voting for the lesser of two evils. I'm tired of holding my nose and pulling the lever." I am not unsympathetic. I have also watched in dismay as the Overton window has gotten pulled rightward over the past few decades. It is unsurprising that many feel that their views are ignored as they are told to get in line each election year.
Although I am not even especially far to the left ideologically myself, many of the criticisms are things which disturb me as well. The coddling of the bankers. The accommodation of the insurers. Some aspects of the way the war on terror has been conducted, like Guantanamo and drone strikes. These critiques and others have been articulated at length by many people. There is no need for me to detail them. You know them as well as I, probably better.
So why am I voting for President Obama's reelection this year, and will do so quite happily and willingly? The phrase that came to mind the other day in an exchange on this subject was the definition of politics often attributed to Bismark. Politics is the art of the possible.
We need to look at what is possible from the place where we are standing right now, not the place where we wish we were standing. I understand the argument that unless people on the left can credibly threaten to withhold their votes, they cannot push the Democratic party to the left. Let's look at the argument in another way. If you withhold your vote and Obama loses, do you think you will be able to bring the Democratic party to the left? I agree that we need to move in that direction, but I do not see where voting third party or abstaining will accomplish that goal. We have good indication that Romney is not the moderate Republican he occasionally pretends to be. I believe that during a Romney presidency the Overton window will move even farther to the right. With tax cuts and military spending, he will run up the deficit and the thus force even future administrations to cut spending on social programs and infrastructure whether or not they want it. He will deregulate industries, including the financial industry, which will result in greater ecological degradation and increased risk of yet another financial collapse. We will be generations digging out of that hole if the climate holds out long enough to allow us to do it.
It is quite clear that we are not where we would like to be. My own feeling is that shortly after the election, it would be productive to have a brainstorming session, if not here, then elsewhere, to throw out ideas about what actions could possibly be productive. My own guess is that different people will opt for different actions depending exactly where on the ideological spectrum he or she lies and what his or her particular situation, interests and abilities permit. I am not at all in disagreement with the fact that we have not been getting the results that we want. What will get us those results, I don't know.
One thing I am fairly sure about is that there are only two outcomes that are possible for this presidential election. Either Barack Obama will become remain president or Mitt Romney will take his place. Ask yourself which of those two possible futures will lead you closer to your goals. The ideal is an abstraction and does not exist. You are not voting for the lesser of two evils; you are voting for the best of what's possible.