The Democratic Party is the best chance you got re Dobbs [View all]

[In It to Win It]

On a few previous threads regarding Dobbs and Roe, I posted basically saying that the blame rests at the feet of the voters. I felt this deserved its own thread. Additionally, I will also include the non-voters, the "abstainers", in that as well. This is not directed at the consistently voting solid blue wall like the folks here on DU, or myself, or people like my mother and aunts will let nothing stand in the way of making it to the polls for every election to ensure that they vote for a Democrat.

For the "purists" and for the ones that sit out because politicians are "useless", I need you to realize that for our brand of politics, the victories are in not moving backwards. Sure, Obama didn't give us universal healthcare or a public option and the bill we got included the participation of private sector greedy self-interested insurance companies but he got millions more people access to health insurance, and therefore healthcare, that they would not otherwise have. That was in no way a failure because we didn't get a public option or universal healthcare. The victory was in pushing the country forward, being better off today than we were yesterday inch by inch. Sure, we don't have a Democratic Senate that would nuke the filibuster to pass an abortion rights bill but we have a Senate who will confirm every pro-choice judge that our Democratic President nominates to the courts. Again, the victories are in not moving backwards. We don't have a Democratic President who will pass a Green New Deal (or a Congress who will give him that), but we have a Democratic President who won't let oil and gas companies drill every drop of oil they can find or lower environmental standards for the sake of cheap car fuel.

For each time you decided to sit out because the Democrats only gave you a fraction of what you wanted is the reason Roe was overturned.

For each time you wrote in some other candidate on your ballot because HRC or John Kerry (for the ones old enough to remember) didn't excite you is the reason Roe was overturned.

Each time we didn't win an election because the candidate didn't fill you with passion is the reason Roe was overturned

Each time you sat out an election because you thought a candidate wasn't going to progress the country is the reason Roe was overturned.

EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. it was a step toward overturning Roe.

Reagan winning was a step toward overturning Roe.
GHW Bush winning was a step toward overturning Roe.
Bush 43 "winning" Florida* by only 500+ was a step toward overturning Roe.
Trump winning was a step toward overturning Roe.

Each time we didn't elect enough pro-choice Democrats to Congress was a step toward overturning Roe.
Each time we lost a seat in either chamber of Congress was a step toward overturning Roe.

We didn't vote; we didn't turn out; we didn't do what we needed to do in critical elections over the last 50 years because each election counted.

Each time we lost was a step toward overturning Roe.

Two of these people were only in office for 1 term. JUST. ONE. TERM! And nearly half the court was appointed by someone who was President for just one term. It only took them one four-year term to turn back DECADES and GENERATIONS of work. If that's not an indication that every election matters, I don't know what is.

...and truthfully, this is about so much more than abortion rights. This also applies to climate change and the environment, healthcare, gun control and the social safety net.

It took one-term of the wrong President to strike down a 100-year old NY gun control law.
It just may take one-term of the wrong President to severely diminish the EPA's power to regulate carbon emissions, and frankly change the administrative state as we know it. We'll find out in the next few days.

Sitting out any election over the past decade (and perhaps longer than that) meant putting gun control laws at risk; putting climate change regulations at risk; putting the ACA at risk; putting abortion at risk. For example, sitting out or writing in some bogus 3rd party candidate in 2014 got us Neil Gorsuch, who is possibly about to gut the EPA, just as much as sitting out or writing in some bullshit candidate in 2016 did. Preserving what we built was the prize all along. It is always the prize. Building on top of we have is always the goal.

Each time we don't win, we take a step back. If you don't vote for a Democrat, your only other alternative is trying to tear down everything we built and prevent everything we want to build. Even voting for a so-called "do nothing Democrat", every piece of progress we worked for won't be rolled back. With the alternative, they will tear it all down. The win is in preserving what you built so far until you regain power or gain more power. That's the win.

If you want universal healthcare or a public option, working with the Democratic Party is the best chance you got.
If you want universal pre-K, working with the Democratic Party is the best chance you got.
If you want action on climate change, working with the Democratic Party is the best chance you got.
If you want an expansion of abortion rights, working with the Democratic Party is the best chance you got.
If you are apart of the LGBTQ+ community and you just want to live your life and be left alone, working with the Democratic Party is the best chance you got.
If you want to preserve voting rights, the Democratic Party is the best chance you got.

Because the other party damn sure ain't working with you on any of that. You won't even be welcomed into the room. With the Democratic Party, everyone won't agree with you but you will have a seat at the table. I know sometimes it feels like it's not enough and you want more but abandoning the Party will take you backwards.

The Democratic Party isn't perfect. Sometimes you can't please everybody. We agree most of the time but not all of the time. The Democratic Party is not entirely made up of the most liberal or progressive people. We have a coalition ranging from pro-life Democrats to pro-choice Democrats because governing is a team sport, every election counts, and the Democratic Party is the best chance we all got.