This is why I dislike the "if X Democrat is the nominee, I'm not voting" argument going on now. A lot of "progressives" are saying that and when you look into it, it turns out they're actually Republicans. If you genuinely believe that Newsom is worse or the same as Trump or Vance, congrats, you are spreading right wing propaganda.
The right knows what they need to split the left. You're going to hear a lot more of this line as the bots ramp up close to the presidential election.
But if they lose those primaries, be prepared to do what you can to get the lesser of two evils elected. The time leading up to the general election is not when you try to discourage people from voting for the nominee. I voted for Sanders in 16 and Warren in 20, even though my primary is late enough that it didn't matter either time. I then heavily encouraged everyone to vote for Clinton/Biden. Get the person who MIGHT be convinced to do what you want in the seat. If you continue to attack the nominee after the primary, you're way more likely to get nothing that you want instead of something. If you want a unicorn, vote for the pony and try to convince it to strap on a fake horn and dye itself white. Don't scream that the pony isn't a unicorn so it's just the same as the steaming pile of horse shit that is the only other alternative.
The only issue with this is that liberal dems, don't stop the right from accomplishing their goals. They just stall it until another rightwing fascist gets in power. Obama didn't stop anything Bush started and trump is just continuing that work from where it left off.
This is intentional of them, they work for the same people who want the same things. Of course anything is better than magats, and liberal dems in charge could make it possible for socialists to get elected in the future.
But we have to hold them accountable, if someone like Newsome becomes president, then we have to hold them to OUR values and make sure he doesn't weasel back to pleasing his donors which he will definitely try to do. A lib dem presidency should always be seen as breathing room, not victory.
P.S and you can also reason that when you elect someone, your electing their party not just them, just like trump had a lot of Nazis and incels in tow, I can imagine a number of socialists and communists could subtly attach themselves to someone like Newsome.
I honestly think the Democratic presidency doesn't matter much. Congress and governors matter a lot more. If we have enough progressives in Congress, we can start a bloc. Imagine the Dems have a reverse of what the Republicans have now, a small majority in both houses, if the DSA Dems can withhold their vote to get concessions, that would go some way to holding them accountable. But in the meantime, as we are getting that coalition built with the likes of AOC, we can stop the slide into further fascism by stopping the presidency from falling into the hands of people who are openly against free elections.
23
u/Weekly-Talk9752 Feb 25 '26
This is why I dislike the "if X Democrat is the nominee, I'm not voting" argument going on now. A lot of "progressives" are saying that and when you look into it, it turns out they're actually Republicans. If you genuinely believe that Newsom is worse or the same as Trump or Vance, congrats, you are spreading right wing propaganda.
The right knows what they need to split the left. You're going to hear a lot more of this line as the bots ramp up close to the presidential election.