When Cornel West announced on Russell Brand's podcast his intention to enter the presidential race on the People's Party ticket (the phantom contrarian internet political branding championed by Jimmy Dore and some other questionable losers) an ostensible Green Party member of my acquaintance expressed the opinion that the move demonstrated the ultimate futility of electoral politics for the left. His tune mellowed a bit a few days later when Dr West was publicly convinced by his friend journalist Chris Hedges to switch to the Green Party, but my friend's commitment to the Green Party is tenuous at best inspired as it was by essentially well-placed if inchoate rancor at the Democratic Party dating back to 2016 at least. He tells me he will vote Green if he's in a voting booth election day, and somewhat more enthusiastically if the candidate is Cornel West, but his disillusionment with the political process is deep -- and who can blame him*?
For my part, I wish it were enough to say electoral politics are futile for the left, or at least I wish it were enough for me. It would be simpler that way. I have after all never really gotten what I wanted at the polls in 40 + years of voting (except when I did in 2008, but we see how well that turned out). But I’m personally too afraid of taking my powerless hand off the non-functional rudder to give it up to those who are eager for my disillusionment to get the best of me. It’s a hang-up I can at least admit to myself. I think what’s missing for me is a convincing alternative to just letting the wolves have everything. If I could be persuaded that the answer was just, “Hey it doesn’t matter anyway.” I might feel somewhat differently. But the answer from the electorally nihilistic left seems to be, “It obviously matters, but there’s nothing you can do about it so just lie back, relax and <insert politically incorrect joke punchline here >”
Or am I deluded? Is it like the AI thing, where the AI progenitors just want everyone to think AI is going to spell doom for humanity unless we give the AI progenitors our full trust to neuter AI so that it won’t destroy us, but actually AI is lame-o and they just don’t want you to realize it’s just code designed to look pretty clever but it’s the lame-osity that masquerades very well as genius that we need to be afraid of, because we’re too credulous to distinguish between fraudulent cleverness and actual super human intelligence? In other words, is the utter dominance of the right over every aspect of government nothing to worry about (fraudulent cleverness); or is it something to shit your pants over (super human intelligence)? I don’t think it’s super human intelligence, but it has real destructive impact, right? I don’t think we have any control over it and I don’t think a vote is anything other than therapy.
In other words, re left participation in the American political system, is the wised-up money saying don’t participate, just let the chips fall where they may? I.e., no alternative but also so what, kind of? I'm not judging, just trying to try the position of political nihilism as I understand it on for size.
I was hoping my erstwhile Green party friend had an alternative to the politics that impacts our lives where one who wanted some results could better spend their energy.§ Getting a bit frustrated with my persistence at taking the question seriously, he suggested that leftist efforts might better be spent on legislative and local races. While I 100% agree, try getting Jane and Joe Sixpack to care about congressional races in their own district let alone across the USA. If only our system were unbroken enough (while we’re waiting for sortition to kick in) that it were possible for people’s preferences to nominate a Bernie-like candidate in the primary who would bring along a wave of sympathetic new blood to congress and statehouses and governor’s mansions across the country in her wake as she roars into victory in November. People forget what primaries are supposed to do. They think they’re merely rehearsal for November.
Given our fucked up political system, there are really only two reasons to vote. In the primary, your duty is to vote for what you really want, to at a minimum try to put a bit of terror into the hearts of those who money wants (and usually succeeds in helping) to win. To this point in the 2024 cycle, for a person like me it is really a no brainer who carries the standard for the things I want. (Marianne Williamson for those needing help). In the general election, when those with their hands on the reins are chosen, you vote to prevent the worst of money's two candidates from winning.
I readily admit my position on electoral politics-- essentially fake it till you make it-- is as effective as my nihilistic friend's. The main difference is that my position temporarily relieves anxiety, sometimes. I mean with Bernie it actually instilled hope and I, unlike almost every other leftist I listen to who begrudges Bernie for giving hope and then not winning, I say, Not him, us dammit! He tried and we fucked up -- and give Bernie a life-time pass.
So in the absence of an alternative, my position in the primaries is by default, "My vote doesn’t count, so who gives a fuck if I vote?" I’m going to vote because for a second I feel I did my part even though fewer and fewer people who agree with me about where the country needs to go join me in it. Making my vote even less countable. ^_^ Thanks a lot leftists! (I’m not debating damn it. I’m internally debating and hoping I may accidentally overhear where the fuck I’m screwing up and can straighten myself out.)
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* He's not a complete nihilist. Like me he believes that the only true answer for politics-- the only hope for actual democracy-- is sortition. Like me he is realistic about the odds of sortition replacing our current system in our lifetimes. Unlike me he has decided pretty much it's sortition or nothing.
† I think it would be interesting if Cornel West and Marianne Williamson kind of tag-teamed the other losers in the race. I like the idea of MW from the “inside” showing how Dems in an ideal-ish world ought to be doing it and hopefully giving Joe Biden et al a shit ton of trouble in the process—I aim to do my part in facilitating that-- and CW telling it like it is from the outside-- and I’m not opposed to giving some assistance in that regard. Indeed, after the primaries assuming the likeliest outcome, since I live in a state that is safe for Biden (or whomever the money prefers the dem candidate to be), where my vote counts even less, I may yet pull the lever for Cornel West.
§ Vivek Chibber thinks the alternative to electoral politics is workplace politics. He thinks union action Is where it’s at. He’s got a real point, doesn’t he? Fat lot of good that does me.
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