General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: People vote when they have something/someone to vote FOR. [View all]Chathamization
(1,638 posts)party candidates, and then vote accordingly. But those get entirely ignored most of the time. Again, I think there's a certain learned helplessness - people seem to think of general election candidates or party members as something chosen by others, not something they choose. I can't say that I blame them - the media generally ignores these (our local party suspended elections for two years just because, it wasn't reported on, they largely won reelection over a group of progressives trying to clean up the party). Figures and sites on the left largely ignore local politics (I barely hear any talking about the importance of local politics; in fact, some big figures that live in the area treat it as a joke) and barely pay attention to primaries (often just the presidential primaries, and then often just 2-3 candidates approved by the establishment).
But we can and we do get better politicians if we vote for better politicians. We can also do a lot through ballot initiatives. Most of the time the support we need from average Joes isn't that they devote their lives to these things, but just that they pay attention and show up.