May 17, 2016

Campaign damage control

Tips  for surviving what appears to be the worst presidential campaign in American history with both major candidates stunningly narcissistic, deeply dishonest, and devoid of common human decency.

Avoid these cliches

Trump vs. Clinton is just choosing the lesser of two evils.  Not only do we do this all the time in real life, such as deciding whether to have chemotherapy or not, the alternative only works when it is better than the two evils. Voting for Jill Stein will probably not affect the election at all and if it does it will only help Donald Trump, leaving you as having supported one of the worst two of three evils.

Sanders should get out of the race. Bernie Sanders is the best thing that has happened to traditional American politics in decades.  There is nothing wrong with taking a unsuccessful primary campaign to the convention in order to achieve improvements in the platform, pressure the party leadership to stop acting like indentured servants of the corporate right, and continue to build a new movement for a party that has sold its soul.

Sanders is the new Nader - it wasn't true for Ralph when Nader ran and isn't true now. Gore lost because he went down 8 points in the polls during the campaign and because, even in Florida, tens of thousands of Democrats voted for Bush.




5 comments:

Tom Puckett said...

Can anyone address why voting for what you really want, rather than deciding to vote for something you don't want because you think it might be marginally better than voting for what you really don't want, is a good, integrity based action?

What price to thine own self be true?

If I vote for what I don't want, am I essentially saying, I do want that?

Maybe I'm choosing the future I want to face, by all my choices, even if that future isn't the immediate outcome.

Maybe elections and other choices are tests to see if you will compromise what you really believe.

Why can't Bernie and Jill get together and give us all a much better choice while the rest of the pack are left to go boil their heads?

Selecting "a black" or "a woman" is one of the third grade level ideas campaigns put forward, but what a stereotypical fallacy. The thing that matters is which black or woman it is, and what they stand for, not their race or gender, not their book's cover!

If everyone voted for what they want, after making sure of the best out of what they are being offered (research is de rigueur), then there wouldn't be anything to worry about.

Thanks, Tom

Anonymous said...

"Voting for Jill Stein will probably not affect the election at all and if it does it will only help Donald Trump, leaving you as having supported one of the worst two of three evils."

Sam, you still don't understand:
'Lesser Evilism', political strategy, or, to elaborate upon Herman & Chomsky, Extorting Consent? Isn't that really more to the point, this casting votes based on reasons essentially derived through fear and abandoned faith? For isn't it truly that, the abandonment of conviction, belief, and ideals? And is this not then, in sum, equivalent to the discarding and casting away of ethics?
When votes are cast out of fear, absent of conviction, faith, belief, and ethics, by what reason should one expect anything other a fearful, distrusting society fraught with corruption and skepticism?

Anonymous said...

By far Bernie Sanders is the superior candidate to choose from with the traditional two party structure. Realistically, however, Bernie's chances for the nomination are practically nil, which leaves us with the most unsavory choice between Hillary or Trump within the traditional two party structure.
The problem with the traditional two party structure is that it is two party in name only, for both are support by, and have been surrogates of, the same monied interests.
It's not going to matter if Trump is elected or if Hillary is elected, the outcome will be more of less the same.
Perhaps Donald will get us deeper involved in World War III, Hillary is almost a dead certainty to do so---what's the difference.
We must vote our hearts.
we must vote our values.
We must vote our conscience.
We must vote for something, not merely some second or third rate choice.
To not vote our hearts, our values, our conscience, to not vote for something renders suffrage a farce.
We will refuse to negate our franchise over fear, we intend to vote for Dr Stein.
Peace to you, and may we together strive to never surrender or compromise the struggle to attain it.

Tom Puckett said...

Well, don't sell Bernie short, just yet, and a lot can happen in the next few weeks!

Ralph packs a lot into these clips, and suggests an after primary after election strategy, if needed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPapfQ6yI3U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48bv5w95gq4

He also recommends attending https://www.breakingthroughpower.org/ next week (5/23-26/16).

The Many Worlds Interpretation Of Quantum Mechanics theory of the "world" splitting into an infinite number of possible futures at all times, is useful to apply when thinking through political movements, ball games, life in general.

The trick in that case is to see (imagine) yourself in the future you want to be in. Why not, if as the theory suggests, all possibilities can exist; choose the future reality you want! And let others choose theirs - everyone can end up in the non-binding space-time reality they wish to explore!

But be sure to imagine it in as much detail as you possibly can, as advised in Darby O'Gill And The Little People. In the case of wishing for the big castle to live in, the bartender didn't wish for the servants, so he had no way of taking care of the big house by himself!

In the case of seeing myself in the future where Boston won the World Series, I was so focused on the supposed equity of breaking the long drought that I neglected to frame that reality sans the bush "presidency," a sad oversight. Sorcerer's Apprentice stuff - practice makes perfect.

Look well, oh wolves -- Akela

Cheers, Tom

Anonymous said...

The FBI disclosure will be a test of loyalty and probably the party falls if it doesn't stick to script in which Sanders will prop up the party against Trump's swiftboat money. Regardless of nomination it is Sanders (as guardian for ward Clinton) v Trump.