The electability argument is specious and fear-based [View all]

[iwannaknow]

Last edited Tue Sep 3, 2019, 09:10 PM - Edit history (1)

What motivates voters? Do they turn out on election day for the most likely winner? Or are they more likely to show up in great numbers for the most inspiring candidate who still stands a good chance of winning? What moves them to work hard for any candidate?

As most of us know, winning an election these days is likely to be more about turnout than anything, not flipping the other guy’s voters, mostly because of the polarized electorate. If our party can get its base and its youth fired-up with truly progressive policies, the chances of our winning will be increased. And after all that’s happened these past few years, who believes Drumpf’s Fox-addicted voters will ever go “DemocRAT”?

Party activists and visionaries are much less likely to work hard for a candidate who appears to be for the status quo or is nostalgic for 'the way it used to be.' We need to be the party of new ideas and of genuine economic and social justice, the party the politically inclined can get truly excited about.

Now, more than ever, we need courage, the courage to fight for what we really want and not compromise our dreams before we even get started. For example, if we take a stand for M4All, there is a chance we might not get it, but we're likely to end-up in a better fallback position for getting a Public Option. However, if we start with the Public Option, there is no room for rightward movement.

That was my gripe about the 2009 effort to provide a PO in the ACA, i.e., M4All was taken off the table before negotiations even began. And no, it wasn’t just Joe Lieberman’s doing. We need to be clear about that. Does anyone think the power elite will be any less threatened by the PO than M4All? Do we think they cannot see the writing on the wall? Regardless of what public opinion is now, the negative and dishonest ads will be ubiquitous, just as they were with the ACA. Please, let’s not kid ourselves. Power is never given-up. It must be taken.

I currently support Kamala, but I’d be more than thrilled to see Elizabeth nominated. In fact, I’ve switched my preference between those two more than once. Bernie is another candidate I would be happy with, but regardless, I do intend to support whomever the nominee turns out to be.

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ADDENDUM. I do not mean to imply that electability is not a significant factor, but that it is one of several important factors, not the least of which is the ability to ignite the base. If a candidate consistently demonstrates thru polling data that he or she can defeat Trump by a solid margin, that should qualify said candidate on electability. And the candidate with the highest electability score needs to have more than that going for him or her.