Some exit polls seem to show Bernie victories where Biden won. (By and large, the exit polls do seem to support a Biden surge yesterday, as reported in People's World. However there have been some previous irregularities.) If things were reversed, would Biden withdraw? (Of course not, we've been there, Biden currently enjoys a small lead in delegates.)
But meanwhile, I must also demand that Democratic Party be fair and Democratic in every way. Any unfairness or rigging will produce exactly what they accuse Bernie supporters of doing, Suppressing the Vote.
How can I possibly demand these things, if I'm pledging my vote anyways?
I'm not pledging to turn off my pursuit and enunciation of fairness and justice.
We already know that the aparatchik filled electoral and party establishments are filled with Bernie Haters at all levels. Are they compounding fair politics with fraud? It would be worth looking closely, where evidence suggests this, though not drawing conclusions prematurely. Exit polls are not proof but indication that further investigation is warranted.
One thing is certain however, and also demands considerable attention. Biden's (shallow and/or near) victories have come in the wave of massive amounts of PAC money funded advertising, virtually all negative against Bernie. Totally twisted crap of which some I've seen. This is the Billions of the Corporate Anti-Socialism blowing hard against our Revolution.
Troll armies too, it has seemed. All of a sudden old lefty social media enclaves are filled with Bernie Busters intent on disproving "Bernie Myths" and blasting allegedly anti-social "BernieBros" for the predicted crimes of suppressing the vote by being critical of and suggesting they might not vote for the Democratic Party Candidate if it isn't the right one (a thought not at all unique to one side, but is always being blamed on one side--the people's side).
Yes, this is Stalinism in the actions of the DNC itself. Voting is not a choice, but a Party Mandate, with an army of thought police and the full participation of the media to ensure compliance.
Sadly, such is the power of the ubiquitous airwaves of the Mainsteam Media on Internet, in Print, and especially Over the Video Matrix, that armies of newly Concerned Citizens echo the establishment narratives, to their friends and especially in group gatherings, intimidating those who would dare consider not voting for the Democratic Candidate in the General Election, or might have even thought of it in the past.
Sadly, such is the power of the ubiquitous airwaves of the Mainsteam Media on Internet, in Print, and especially Over the Video Matrix, that armies of newly Concerned Citizens echo the establishment narratives, to their friends and especially in group gatherings, intimidating those who would dare consider not voting for the Democratic Candidate in the General Election, or might have even thought of it in the past.
The Mainstream Media has ignored Bernie, dismissed Bernie, then started it's own set of negative responses, and identical Stalinesqe whining that people mechanically echo everywhere:
"What do you think about those Bernie supporters who refuse to vote for the Party Nominee? They must really have been Trump supporters all along."
No. Trump gets his support from people who vote for Trump, and contribute to the Trump Campaign and pro-Trump PACs, not people who exercise their constitutional right to not vote for the Democratic Party Candidate. Trump is also helped by those who corruptly influence the electoral process or mindshare against the people's will.
We cannot, and should not, fault people for exercising their free right not to vote for the Democratic Party candidate. It is the role of every Candidate and Party Organization to win the support of the masses in an electoral process, not the role of the masses to lie down and assent to the Party's choices.
We cannot, and should not, fault people for exercising their free right not to vote for the Democratic Party candidate. It is the role of every Candidate and Party Organization to win the support of the masses in an electoral process, not the role of the masses to lie down and assent to the Party's choices.
Saying all this, I have decided pretty much unequivocally myself to support the Democratic Party Nominee, except in the very unlikely event that a 3rd party candidate looks truly competitive electorally. I am utilitarian, rationalist, etc., and anyone with those tendencies ought see the value in voting for the lesser of two evils on the simple grounds that less evil is better than more evil.
It's true that no imaginable Democratic nominees could be worse than Trump, so therefore they would lose my vote only for the previously unimagined. But that prospect is absolutely no justification for selling out by negotiating within. THAT approach never works, it never gains support, it never creates enthusiasm, it never creates a firm principled position that can be held in the wake of powerful opposition. (Classic Example: Gore's failure to call for a recount across ALL of Florida, which would have given him victory, and be more resistant to legal attack.) Medicare for All as Bernie proposes it in the most universal terms as a Right to Healthcare is an example, as are all Bernie's proposed programs framed in such Universal terms. These are the things we must fight for.
Another form of selling out is voting for awful candidates in the Primary because you fear others have less electibility. In Primary voting, you should vote for who you want to win, or at least the lesser evil of the choices present on your party ballot. There is ample evidence that selling out for "electibility" doesn't work, and adds to the unending corporatist drift of the Overton Window, and thereby even reducing the chance of victories further in the future.
My Party Member Bias shows up in my preference for voting the straight democratic ticket, even when the Presidential Candidate is unlikely to win the electoral votes in Texas. This is a case in which I should vote for the Green Party Candidate, or whoever represents my interests best, rather than bother to cast my vote for a losing elector, in guidelines once laid down by Noam Chomsky, who I consider less Very Deep Left than me.
It's true that no imaginable Democratic nominees could be worse than Trump, so therefore they would lose my vote only for the previously unimagined. But that prospect is absolutely no justification for selling out by negotiating within. THAT approach never works, it never gains support, it never creates enthusiasm, it never creates a firm principled position that can be held in the wake of powerful opposition. (Classic Example: Gore's failure to call for a recount across ALL of Florida, which would have given him victory, and be more resistant to legal attack.) Medicare for All as Bernie proposes it in the most universal terms as a Right to Healthcare is an example, as are all Bernie's proposed programs framed in such Universal terms. These are the things we must fight for.
Another form of selling out is voting for awful candidates in the Primary because you fear others have less electibility. In Primary voting, you should vote for who you want to win, or at least the lesser evil of the choices present on your party ballot. There is ample evidence that selling out for "electibility" doesn't work, and adds to the unending corporatist drift of the Overton Window, and thereby even reducing the chance of victories further in the future.
My Party Member Bias shows up in my preference for voting the straight democratic ticket, even when the Presidential Candidate is unlikely to win the electoral votes in Texas. This is a case in which I should vote for the Green Party Candidate, or whoever represents my interests best, rather than bother to cast my vote for a losing elector, in guidelines once laid down by Noam Chomsky, who I consider less Very Deep Left than me.
So, for all the reasons above and more, I pledge to vote for the Democratic Party Candidate. But I do not pledge to keep my mouth shut so as not to call things as I see them, as much as possible, backed by facts and real data, and to defend others speaking their minds about central authorities.
But meanwhile, I must also demand that Democratic Party be fair and Democratic in every way. Any unfairness or rigging will produce exactly what they accuse Bernie supporters of doing, Suppressing the Vote.
How can I possibly demand these things, if I'm pledging my vote anyways?
I'm not pledging to turn off my pursuit and enunciation of fairness and justice.
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