Red State Conundrum 2.0

[XacerbatedDem]

Recently, I had posted about my frustration of living in a red state where it didn’t seem to matter how I voted as a Democrat as the Republican candidate always seemed to win. Today, I was surprised to find this article from Politico (via MSN) that actually went there.

Opinion | A Power Move for Democrats in 2022: Endorse Some Republicans By Juleanna Glover and Kalee Kreider

The embrace of Donald Trump’s Big Lie by large swaths of the country and much of the Republican Party is a direct threat to free and fair elections in the United States. At such a perilous moment, party labels are less important now; the real bifurcation is between those who are committed to our system of government and those who would see it collapse.

In the 2022 midterm elections, Democrats face a difficult path to holding onto their House and Senate majorities. If they want to improve their odds and deny the Trumpists a toehold back into power, Democratic leaders should join forces with anti-Trump Republicans to outvote the hucksters and fraudsters.

That means Democrats should take what might be an unpalatable course: In states and districts where the party stands little chance of winning in the general election, Democrats should endorse and enthusiastically support anti-Trump Republicans who run as independents. Because what’s really on the ballot isn’t one party or another, it’s democracy itself.

In the 2020 election, some in the GOP showed a willingness to cross party lines, as Republicans like Cindy McCain, Meg Whitman, Jeff Flake and the late Colin Powell endorsed Joe Biden for president. Those endorsements bolstered Biden’s bipartisan bona fides, and Cindy McCain’s support may have helped him win her late husband’s home state of Arizona. In 2022, pro-democracy forces in both parties should consider supercharging an inverse of this strategy.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/opinion-a-power-move-for-democrats-in-2022-endorse-some-republicans/ar-AATnh2Z?ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

What do you think?

[slightlv]

1. I hate to think of doing it

but the author may have a point. I live in one of those states. Very, very rarely has my vote ever counted for anything. Placing an X beside a Republican name would probably make me throw up, but he has a point about choosing a lesser evil to prevent a greater evil if possible... especially if it's a weak democrat, which we often get here in KS. Now, if it's a really strong Democrat, I dunno... I would probably still GOTV for the Democrat and vote that way myself.

Interesting conundrum... something to ponder. Would really mean studying *everyone* on the ballot in depth and that can be difficult.

[XacerbatedDem]

2. Howdy neighbor... and yes, it makes me sick, too.

But after seeing that idiot Billy Long running for the Senate, I'd do almost anything to stop him. I like what the article says about independents, also, and, actually, studying the ballot in depth would be a good thing for most people.

[peggysue2]

3. If I were still living TN . . .

Where I lived for over 20 years, I'd give this real consideration. Because the authors are correct, particularly in state-wide races. If our Dem candidates stand little to no chance in redder than red states and districts, then turning our attention to the opposition list of Never-Trumper Repubs would begin to dilute the system of the fascist poison threatening us all. Of course, that's if there were Never-Trumper candidates on the ballot. Too many of these suckers are attempting to out-Trump Trump.

Of course, the reverse is true: in competitive states Never-Trumpers and Never-Trumper Indies would need to support/endorse Democratic candidates to weed out the proliferation of crazies.

On paper this sounds reasonable but in reality I'm not sure it would work in the sort of numbers we need to flip the prevailing script. Plus, it would require a huge leap of faith. On both sides.

Still, an interesting idea.