'Future Hope' Column
By Ted Glick
From my vantage point, one “positive” effect of the election of
Mafioso Don is the marginalization of the position taken by some on the
political Left that elections in the US are a sham, and the correct
approach to them is to non-participate.
Elections do have consequences, potentially very big, very negative consequences, like a neo-fascist government. Young people in general are most likely to view elections as a sham,
for understandable reasons.
Young people tend to be more idealistic so
that they are turned off by the often-cynical and dishonest political
maneuvering from both Republicans and Democrats.
That’s why the 2015-16 Bernie Sanders campaign generated so much
active support from young people. Here was someone who spoke truth to
power, who didn’t accept Super PAC money or mega-donations from rich
people, who articulated a strong, positive program consistent with
positions he had been taking for literally decades, who had a history of
winning elections and using his elected office positively, and who
consciously reached out to young people and working-class people.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes, a young person herself, was elected and has
become a political star since for similar reasons. Articulating the
truth about what is needed and taking strategic risks in support of that
program, as she did in Nancy Pelosi’s office in November in support of a
Green New Deal, is exactly what is needed to inspire and mobilize the
tens of millions of potential voters who don’t vote because they
correctly think the system is rigged.
However, it’s essential that progressive candidates and elected
progressives are pushed, if necessary, by their supporters to take steps
to ensure that they are continually in contact with the people they are
representing and with organizations rooted among progressive-oriented
constituencies. This is particularly essential in this time when
corporate money is so much a factor in elections.
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Source: tedglick.com
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