There is this persistent misconception, maybe it’s intentional, maybe not, that this statement is synonymous with acquiescence. Some claim that it’s a reflection of weak principles, a belief that all candidates are easily interchangeable, that people should forget their values and fall in line. There’s a perception that this statement is about bullying the extremes into moderating their positions.
On the contrary, stand by your candidate, care who it is, focus on differences that will help determine who fits most with your own vision and governing philosophy, and work like hell to get them nominated!
We’re within days of real votes being counted and real results being reported. I hope you’re shouting from the rooftops who you support and doing what you can to earn them the nomination. I’m giving my primary vote to Pete Buttigieg. I’m spending time, energy, bandwidth, and miles on my car working and organizing to get him elected. I want him to be the nominee, but if he’s not, if it’s Senator Sanders, or Warren, or Klobuchar, or Bennet, if its Joe Biden, or Andrew Yang, or Tom Steyer, or Mike Bloomberg, or Deval Patrick, or Tulsi Gannatd, I’m going to put in the same work to get them elected.
I care about the blue who gets nominated. I also care about the implications of re-electing who that blue will be running against. I care that another four years of a climate denier in the White House would be a catastrophic risk for the planet. This may be more salient than everything else. I care that his re-election would guarantee an overturning of Roe v. Wade. I care about additional assaults on my rights from a president that has already defended employers claiming a right to fire people like me for being gay. I care about the attempted erasure of my trans friends. I fear for my Muslim sisters and brothers when an administration feels more emboldened to sow suspicion. I worry for the families on the southern border when a re-elected president assumes a mandate to increase his inhumane treatment, or the minimization of the struggles of our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico, or a Justice Department that will further erode protections against disenfranchisement of minority communities. I fear the hubris that will lead to Donald Trump believing there are no limits to what his office allows him to do.
The Democratic Party is debating various approaches to healthcare policy, educational disparities, foreign policy, tax rates, among many others. We must continue debating and working out those differences. That protest vote, or non-vote, in November might feel good in the moment. The risk that comes with it could prove to be irreversibly harmful to a lot of people you and I care about.
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