#voting is a chess move not a valentine

[crypticarchivist]

To anyone who follows me and is thinking of not voting in protest of the genocide in Gaza.

I understand. I do. It’s fucking monstrous. But as fucked up as it is to say it, all those problems you were hearing about before Gaza are still around.

The anti-trans legislation, the book banning, the attacks on abortion rights and other forms of uterine healthcare, the repeated attacks on democracy, the orange guy with a slavishly loyal christo-fascist voter base who literally keeps saying he’s going to turn dictator *day one* and lock up his political opponents and lgbtq+ people in camps if he ever gets re-elected. The same orange guy who has tried to overthrow legal elections in the past. The same orange guy who is absolutely going to turn the genocide from bad to worse and has explicitly said he will.

All that shit.

Still exists.

The far right didn’t take a vacation or time out while people were justifiably worried about Israel’s genocide in Gaza. They’re not taking a time out while people are *still* justifiably worried about Gaza.

You can *still* worry about the people of Gaza. You don’t need my permission but I’m still saying you can just to clarify that I’m not telling you to ignore the deaths.

But please. PLEASE.

Do not get tunnel vision.

Not voting. Does not. Hurt Joe Biden.

Not voting. Does not. Help Palestine.

Not voting. Is exactly. What the leader of Israel, Trump, and literally every fascist in this country wants leftists doing.

Some people will need to ask themselves if maintaining a personal sense of moral purity is more important than preventing the country with the biggest military budget on the planet from making a full backslide into theocratic fascism.

[createserenity]

I'm not American, but I do have a story to illustrate how important voting is.

In the recent UK election there was a seat considered "safe" for the Conservatives. They won it comfortably every election and it had been over 100 years since it had been anything other than Conservative.

This time the vote went to a recount at least three times. (Voting here is not electronic, all votes are paper based and counted by humans.) The final conclusion was that the seat was won by Labour. Due to human error each recount returned a different margin for the win, one count came out as low as six and none of the margins was bigger than 18.

If those 18 Labour voters had decided "it's only one vote" or "this is a safe seat, there's no point voting" and stayed home the result would have been entirely different.

EVERY SINGLE VOTE COUNTS. EVERYWHERE.

[hopethisdoesntawakenanythingnme]

Did it 🎉

[libraford]

Im also voting. It took me a while to really understand how important it was, because i really fucking hate biden. But as someone else once said "voting is not a valentine, its a chess move." So we ball

I'm glad you made this decision because its sounds like it was difficult for you to make. You are allowed and encouraged to be critical of the president. I think some people forgot that (yes, on both sides.)

[mitigatingchaos]

On Voting

“A vote is not a Valentine. You aren’t professing your love for the candidate. It’s a chess move for the world you want to live in.” In our divided Country, this could be said for either side. Plan your move wisely.

[capricorn-0mnikorn]

Quoted tag from previous:

#biden is a doorstop he's a patch of flex tape slapped onto a leaking bucket

Good One!

And Trump (and, frankly, the entire Republican party, at this point) is someone with a hammer and nail trying to punch new holes in that bucket every minute.

First, we stop those people. And then, we can finally fix the damn bucket.

And in the meantime, we use the flex tape to control the leak so there will be something left to save.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Jill Filipovic at Substack:

It is one week until Election Day in the US. In many states, early voting is already underway. I hope you’re all casting your ballots or have plans to vote, because it really does matter. Many leftists and progressives, though, are saying that they will refuse to vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz because of Harris’s role as vice president in an administration that has funded and supplied weapons to Israel for their ever-expanding war — in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Lebanon, and on and on. Some Muslim and Arab voters who previously supported Democrats are now refusing to vote for them; some are publicly backing Trump, while others are abstaining or supporting Jill Stein.

Look: I’m not going to lecture anyone here. I understand that withholding one’s vote over an unconscionable war can be a legitimate expression of one’s most deeply-held morals. But I’m going to make the case that you should vote anyway — and vote for Kamala Harris. As Rebecca Solnit put it, voting is not a valentine; it’s a chess move. A vote is not an endorsement of everything a candidate has ever done. In the US, it is a binary choice. If the Democratic candidate wins, the Republican candidate loses; if the Republican candidate wins, the Democratic candidate loses. There may be third parties, but in this particular setup and in this particular election, there are not actually third choices that stand any chance of ascending to power. Voting for one of them — say, perennial grifter Jill Stein — does not send a message so much as it increases the chances that the Republican Party wins and the Democratic Party moves right.

And what if the Republican Party wins? I’ve seen some people on social media argue that things couldn’t get worse, which strikes me as objectively insane. Things can always get worse. The worst things you can think of? They could have been worse. Trump has given no indication that he will do anything other than green light Israel’s actions — as well as Russia’s actions in Ukraine, and potential Chinese actions in Taiwan. Every single thing Trump and his team have said about Palestinians indicates that they see the group as subhuman — as terrorists from the time of toddlerhood, as Rudy Giuliani just put it at a Trump rally (“The Palestinians are taught to kill us at two-years old,” he said as he accused Harris of wanting to resettle Palestinian refugees in the US). It’s worth noting here that during Trump’s first term, he cut the number of Muslim refugees resettled in the US by 91%. While more than 38,500 Muslim refugees were resettled in 2016, those numbers dropped to just 3,312 by 2018. The percentage of Christian refugees admitted also declined, but not nearly as precipitously: From 25,633 to 16,012.

[...] But perhaps that isn’t enough; perhaps your argument is that a vote for a third party, or no vote at all, will send a message to Democrats that they need to move left. And while I like that idea and wish it were true, I have personally never seen it work in American politics. It has worked in primaries — see, e.g., 2016 Bernie voters pushing Hillary Clinton left, and in 2020 with the Black Lives Matter protest movement pushing just about every Democratic candidate left. But in general elections, when the center-left candidate loses to the far-right candidate, the conclusion is never, “the Democrat should have moved further left.” The conclusion is that there are more conservative and moderate voters in the country than liberal and left ones, and if the liberal party wants to win, it needs to moderate. This indeed was the lesson of 2016 that manifested in 2020: Four years after that stunning loss, Democratic voters chose Joe Biden, the most conservative of the Democratic primary bench, as the candidate. Voters weren’t in love with Biden. They were largely thinking strategically, and had concluded that a moderate white guy was the only hope to get Trump out of office. Reader, they were right. (For the record, I was a Warren supporter).

I would like to see the Democratic Party be a more progressive party. I am happy to see, for example, the party’s unapologetic embrace of abortion rights post-Dobbs. But the party gets more liberal when liberals win. There are no benefits to Palestinians if Trump wins, and many greater potential costs. There are no benefits to the American political system if Trump wins — Democrats will not look at a Trump victory and conclude that the answer is a leftward shift. And there are huge costs to just about everyone else: Undocumented immigrants and their families. Refugees. Women seeking abortions. International students. LGBT people generally and trans people in particular. The free press. The list goes on.

I personally don’t think the damage Trump can do is worth the virtually non-existent benefits of voting third party or not voting at all. I truly do understand feeling disgusted with Biden and Harris for their total cowardice when it comes to Israel. But I don’t think that sense of personal disgust, and the related desire to punish them in the voting booth, justifies all of the downstream effects that will come if Harris is not elected. And the fundamental reality is that if Harris is not elected — if enough people do not vote for Harris — then Donald Trump will be elected. And that will be the fault of the people who voted for Trump, but also of those who did not vote for Harris, and certainly of those who encouraged others not to vote for Harris. This is how elections work. There is just not a magical third option here where not voting for Harris but also not voting for Trump gets people who want to stop the shedding of Palestinian (and Lebanese and on and on) blood any closer to that aim.

[...] I’m not an idiot: I don’t think a President Harris is going to do what I want when it comes to US support for Israel. But I know that Trump is definitely not going to do what I want. And I suspect he will take the status quo to new levels of horror. If you also believe that’s true, I hope you’ll cast your ballot for Harris. You don’t have to be happy about it. But you do have to make a moral calculus: What are the real costs if Trump wins, to Palestinians and also to people the rest of the world over? How do those compare to the costs in Harris wins? If you do that math and still decide to sit it out or vote for someone who is not Harris — effectively decreasing her chance of taking office — well, that is certainly your right, and it may indeed feel quite righteous. But the real-world outcome is one you’re going to have to live with.

Jill Filipovic wrote an excellent Substack post making the case that electing Kamala Harris as President is a moral must.

[jmillz888]

I know things seem really crazy out there right now. Trump would be a disaster environmentally (and otherwise) but voting is a chess move, not a valentine.

Voting is not about selecting a political savior who will single handedly fix all of our problems, it’s about selecting the terrain that you can best move forward in.

Movements throughout US history have accomplished incredible things. The best shot we have at transformational change is with Harris in office.

@humming-fly summarizing the position of the Sunrise Movement (a climate change group)

[science-fiction-is-real]

"voting for Democrats is a chess move. Not a Valentine.". Yeah. Sacrificing your queen to save a bishop is also a chess move but that doesn't make it a good idea.

[miamicommune]

you need to stop thinking about your vote as if it were a valentine's day card and more like a chess move.

ask yourself "what could possibly happen if this candidate gets into office again"

im not american grow up. whatever result (of biden alienating the arab community and anyone with a conscience. not of people on tumblr criticising him for helping commit a genocide!) happens fucks the rest of the rest of the world. the results that horrendous settler colony's politics on the world are a fucking disaster

[amaised44]

"I think of voting as a chess move, not a valentine."

- Rebecca Solnit

[sentinelleblr]

"the act of voting should be a strategic choice, not a teenage crush. Do telegenic charisma and good looks matter in politics? Sadly, yes. But they are poor indicators of character, intelligence, and integrity. And it is unrealistic to expect that any candidate will be “perfect” on every issue that is important to us. “Single-issue” voting is responsible for the blight of extremism threatening our democracy.           Joe Biden is not perfect. But he is good. We cannot let perfection be the enemy of the good.           Voting is a chess move, not a Valentine."

[fostertheory]

A vote is not a valentine. It is a chess move in a broader effort to get closer to the world you want.

in louisiana back in the 90's there was an election for governor. the democrat running was edwin edwards, who was absolutely wildly notoriously corrupt and extremely open about it and had been for his entire career. the republican was david duke, an actual former grand wizard of the klu klux klan.

i cannot emphasize enough how much absolutely nobody liked or trusted edwin edwards. absolutely nobody actively wanted him to be governor. he won the election anyway, because people were voting against duke, not for edwards. about five years after edwards' term ended he was convicted of racketeering and spent the next eight years in federal prison. nobody was surprised. everyone had known this was going to happen before they elected him.

my parents are republicans, and i disagree with them about nearly everything about politics and have for as long as i can remember, literally since i was old enough to have political opinions at all, and this is a big strain on our relationship. but they both voted for edwards with no hesitation, despite hating him and knowing he would be a bad governor, because they knew it was important to. i am proud and grateful that they did this. deciding to vote for a candidate you like is, or at least should be, easy. casting a vote for someone you hate, whom you know will do things you hate, because nevertheless that vote will bring about the least bad possible outcome for the world your children grow up in, that's hard. and if a lot of people had not done the hard thing my own childhood would have been much worse for it.

anyway when somebody says they think you shouldn't vote for the lesser evil, what i hear is "i would not have used my vote to make sure you didn't grow up in a state governed by the klu klux klan," and i do have a problem with that

[whyeverr]

Today is Election Day in the US. 🗳

My reach is small—and my influence essentially nonexistent—but it still feels important to say something, especially knowing how important the midterms are this year.

Turnout of voters aged 18–29 is on the rise—51% voted in 2020, compared to just 39% in 2016—which is fucking amazing. But, even at 51% turnout, young voters still have the lowest turnout of any age bracket. And turnout always drops for midterms, something we cannot afford to have happen as our hairline majority in the senate hangs in the balance. Maintaining and growing that majority is our best chance at protecting reproductive freedom, LGBTQIA+ rights, expanding gun reform, etc. 

I’ve seen a tweet making the rounds about how voting isn’t a valentine to a candidate you love and support 100%, but rather a chess move toward the world you want to live in. And I might not be a chess player but I think that’s a pretty damn good way of putting it. The platform of the particular Democrat candidate(s) on your ballot today likely does not perfectly reflect your ideals. But, pragmatically speaking, a vote for them is a vote against a Republican (whom I hope I can safely assume, dear mutual, reflects none of your values). A vote for them is—at minimum—a vote to hold the line of crumbling democracy against the terrifying slide into christofascism, and at best, may actually pleasantly surprise us all and lead to something positive. I never would have imagined Biden passing student loan forgiveness when I voted for him, and yet, here we are! 

Of course, there is so much room under the sun for critiques of the two party system, corrupt politicians, Citizens United, the electoral college, etc, etc, etc, and unfortunately there will always be those who insist that voting “doesn't matter,” or in some way makes you complicit in upholding an imperfect system. But I truly and firmly believe that it’s not either/or, it’s “yes and.” Gerrymandering and voter suppression wouldn’t be a thing if voting didn’t have power. And abstaining from voting is about as effective politically as abstinence-only birth control. If you have the ability to vote, please, please make it a priority today. 🥲🇺🇸 

[erin-hart]

Your vote is not a Valentine to a candidate saying you love them above all others.

Your vote is a chess move to get to where you really want to be.

[el-borealis]

This isn't a question but I just wanna rant and say I am so mad that the Democrats hopes to take the Senate rest on an anti-Medicare for all, anti-Green New Deal, anti-defund police Democrat in Georgia

First off, I’m sending you a hug. It’s been a challenging experience to put ideals to the side to support candidates that feel more like ‘better enemies’ than people we truly want to support as leaders. I come up against this a lot and I hear you.

I have come to peace (for the moment) with getting more aggreable opponents into office due to the fact that the alternative of allowing the GOP to run amok truly makes getting close to any progressive ideals practically impossible. Im not saying I’m usually happy about it, but I draw solace from Rebecca Solnit’s quote ‘a vote is not a valentine, it’s a chess move.’

Let’s get the best option in office and then shove their feet in the fire. If there’s one thing we do better now as a base than we did before the Trump years, it’s speaking truth to power in a loud collective voice. We are activated and we are mobilized. Let’s take the collective power we’ve drummed up over these past years and wield it just as strong on a group of people who have more reason to listen to us than the absolute worst case scenario horror show leadership we’ve experienced for the last four years.

I say all this while also recognizing that I would MUCH rather live in a society that is simply dedicated to true equity for all as we work toward a greener, fairer, healthier world. I ache for it, and I feel you.