The lesser of two evils. [View all]

[MadHound]

For a long time now, the last great strategy for winning reluctant voters over to the Democrats is the phrase "Democrats are the lesser of two evils." Sadly, that is true, but the problem with voting for the lesser evil is that you still get evil.

That is borne out by our history. We have, in the space of eighty years, gone from a Democratic president whose programs and policies were actually socialist to a president whose signature piece of legislation originated in Republican think tanks and who governs from a position very similar to Eisenhower.

In other words, as liberals, progressives, the Democratic party isn't making much progress. In fact we're going backwards.

As Republicans have gone from center right to batshit crazy conservative, the Democratic party has followed along in their wake, picking up the center-center right vote. Yes, it can always be said that voting for a Democrat is the lesser of two evils, but now we are voting not for a liberal, a progressive, but rather for the least conservative party out there.

If this country is going to go forward, we need to change this paradigm. Presidents that range from center right to batshit conservative aren't going to restore our civil liberties, significantly reduce our military spending, or pass legislation that can push the people of this country forward.

We didn't get here overnight, and curing this problem isn't going to happen overnight either. But we need to start addressing this problem now. We need to start electing the most liberal candidates put forth, start pushing back against the tide of conservatism and corporatism, start making the Democratic party a liberal party again. For if we don't, then the simply fact of the matter is that in forty years, our choice is going to be between fascist and batshit conservative. Is that where you really want to go?