Politics Matter
If we’re successful, we’ll replace this government with another one as quickly as possible. To get there, we need to counter the idea that elections don’t matter. If they didn’t, we wouldn’t need to protest by the millions. While the right voted every local election, the left fell into cynical ennui, too cool for coarse, imperfect politics. We have less than a year to change that narrative: start talking about why politics matters. Talk about the small, concrete steps Biden took to improve our lives. Counter anti-voting propaganda wherever you see it.
How to do it:
Every government will disappoint you. Democracy cannot be radical, because elections select for the middle. The most radical on either end of an issue counter-balance each other, unless they walk away entirely. A widespread campaign convinced many far-left voters to withhold their votes, while far-right voters doubled-down, and we got GOP control everywhere. Hundreds of thousands of Russian posts fueling voter abstention weren’t working for more progressive politics. That was a ruse. An even larger group of non-voters say politics don’t affect them.
We have less than a year until the next election, and voter disenfranchisement (not space lasers) is how they plan to “steal” the election. That’s in quotes, because it’s entirely legal to convince you not to bother voting. It’s legal to purge records and hope you don’t notice. It’s legal to make the lines so long it doesn’t seem worth the effort. The steal is in plain sight, and they wouldn’t do it if elections didn’t matter. Countering disinformation takes time, so start now.
Begin by refreshing your memory about some of the things the Biden administration accomplished. You’ll probably find a few you don’t love, and a few you hadn’t heard of. That’s normal. You aren’t the perfect median voter on every issue, and the media really let us down. Start with these summaries:
- Politico’s top-30, with explanations
- Local party’s top-23 bullet list
- A fairly comprehensive, dense list from UC Santa Barbara’s Presidency project, for folks who read one of the above and thought “I never heard about that.” There’s a LOT we never heard about.
Next, start talking about how elections matter. For example, if a friend misses a flight and is fighting to be reimbursed, mention that Buttigieg implemented rules for that. Post about things that helped you. If your student loans were forgiven, talk about it. If you were grateful for free COVID-19 vaccine deployment, say so. If local politicians do something you want, like cancel a Flock contract, talk about it. Post about it. Be the news the media is supposed to be.
