Monday, November 8, 2010

Principled Individualism does no good

In fact, it does great harm.  But it keeps grinding on, even after a huge setback like the 2010 elections.

The old my-green-party-or-the-highway set no longer commands the attention that it used to.  Most people rightly see Green Party types as useless elitists.  And they are.  And they cost Gore the election in 2000 but refuse to admit it.  In fact, principled elitists on the left, of which Green Partiers are but a tiny fragment now, are the proximate cause of all Republican victories.  They convince the people who suffer most from Republican policies stay home from elections so Republicans can get elected.

But now, covertly backed by plutocrats or not, and I believe they often are, Principled Individualists assume slightly modified voices to hide their continuing intentions to make democracy fail.  A good example is the rising radio star David DeGraw.  You can see the principled individualism in nearly every line he writes.

Democracy and voting is about coming together, trying to build an actual majority for your working class.  That means 51% or more.  In doing so, you must, you will have to abandon your principles temporarily.  Yes it stinks, like taking a shit, but you ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO DO IT.

Meanwhile Principled Individualists say you might as well vote for Daffy Duck.

It's fine to send messages, all the messages you want, as long as they are good messages that will not dissuade people from doing the right thing.  Write letters to politicians, newspapers, bloggers, whoever.  Get out in the street and wave signs.

But it is not fine to dissuade people from voting their working class interest.  That is pure evil.  Even more evil than voting Republican.  More than just one vote may be at stake.

Voting for Daffy Duck is not evil, it is simply pointless and useless.  It is not sending a message to anyone.  Nobody reads or cares about those sorts of messages.  It is a waste of time.  But convincing other people not to vote their working class interest is worse than that, much worse.

Voting for the lefter leading candidate is not pointless and useless.  Even if our best (ugh!) candidate doesn't win, you will see your vote in every report of the election returns, and so will everyone else.  Yes, dammit, one of those was mine!

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