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[Garrett78]

11. Systemic change happens from the bottom-up.

1) Clinton wins big
2) Clinton wins by a small margin
3) Trump wins

Which of those scenarios is most likely to help enable the masses to lay the groundwork for progressive change? I think the answer is clearly #1, especially since #1 also means Dems have won more of the down-ticket races than they would in the other scenarios. Trump winning would send a horrible message (particularly to POC, women and the international community). A narrow victory for Clinton would give her administration even less reason to push for progressive legislation.

I know you said you'll be voting for Clinton, so the above is more for the benefit of others.

More to the point of your thread:

I get that there's a valid leftist critique of the Democratic Party and of the US political system as a whole. I really do. But I also think our individualistic culture overemphasizes the power and influence of individual actors, while underestimating systemic forces. Sanders was never viable and his was a message campaign (and, as a result, his campaign could promote a platform that never would have been realized), but even if he were to become POTUS, his administration would either end up operating in similar fashion to the Obama Admin or he'd be completely stymied.

And our instant gratification culture has an unrealistic expectation of how (and how quickly) systemic change happens. I don't invest much energy in national politics, as I think local politics and local organization are key to bringing about systemic change. Bottom-up, not top-down. Planting seeds in the collective consciousness, recognizing that the extent of change I'd like to see won't be fully realized in my lifetime (some--young and old alike--simply can't accept that, so they cling to unrealistic expectations, which is not the least bit constructive).

As for money in politics, campaign contributions don't have as much impact on election results or even legislation as many believe. The big money in politics problem is the way politicians are getting rich while in office (by having access to insider stock knowledge, by pushing legislation that increases the value of land they own back in their home state, etc.).