2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: What exactly will not voting for the nominee accomplish? [View all]HassleCat
(6,409 posts)By voting for the candidate the DNC gives us, we reinforce the authority of the DNC to choose a succession of candidates just like what they have been giving us since 1980. If we want candidates not so closely tied to corporate interests, candidates willing to stand up for traditional Democratic values, we have to reject what the DNC forces upon us. Only when the "authorized" candidate loses by a big margin in the general election will we get something different.
So far, there is no indication this theory is any good. We have been losing seats in congress, governors, state legislators, county and local officials for the past 35 years, and the candidates we offer to the voters have been consistently afraid to challenge Republican social Darwinism as public policy. Our only chance to change things is to nominate someone like Bernie Sanders and elect him to office. It doesn't have to be restricted to the presidency. We can, and should, change the party by electing progressives at all levels of government.