(ThyBlackMan.com) Let’s succeed together in making this country a better place for humanity. Let’s work together, and separately, to send out the best possible progressive mandate for our politicians to respond to in the Fall of 2016.
Electoral politics in America often bring out the worst in people. It is frustrating that activists, leftists, and progressives who work together some of the time, often get utterly torn apart in the excitement (and fear) surrounding who will be the next President.
For me, the world of Facebook has been the most frustrating experience of the 2016 presidential cycle. I have been shouted down 
by a friend who is a feminist, artist, and Hillary Clinton supporter. She posts Hellfire missives about why we must all vote for Hillary Clinton, because Trump is so bad. And, she sends out subtle, and not so subtle, messages that it is not okay to vote for Jill Stein, the Green Party presidential candidate.
For a while, I tried to respond to these arguments with my own statements about my right to vote for a third party and my firmness to vote for a peace candidate. Though, I think the end result of the exchange was that my artist friend feels like I am attacking her, hurting the cause of women, and ruining the country. I feel like my friend’s “We all must vote Democrat or else” message is helping Hillary Clinton and the powers-that-be to oppress me and stifle my voice.
I believe that my vote is my power. And, I cannot give my power to a candidate unless I truly believe they will enact my values in the world. For me, this means I cannot vote for any politician whom I know has voted for war.
Also, on Facebook, a conversation with an old school friend got to nearly the same level of vitriol. I had to end it by asserting that he was way more important to me than either Hillary Clinton or Jill Stein, and that we should just not talk politics until after the election. By giving up any hope of converting him or sharing my political insights, I think I left it in the best possible place. (Though, the mischievous and hopeful side of me may show him this essay.)
I just wish that I could make my friends — and other reluctant Clinton supporters doing third-party rants — see that by criticizing me and Jill Stein and the Green Party, they are not only hurting their friends, they are hurting the causes we all care about.
The most important goal of the reluctant Clinton supporters seems to be the outcome of the election. They don’t truly believe in Hillary Clinton, but they feel they must vote for her in order to defeat Trump. And, the next level of their outcome strategy is that they believe that by defeating Trump, they will have saved America from a devastating turn towards intolerance and right-wing politics. Somehow, they believe that they will ultimately help protect the health, safety, and rights of themselves and humanity by voting for Hillary Clinton.
Though, it is easy to see by studying history, that the way to move the country towards more progressive solutions is to use one’s vote in the most empowered manner possible. Often, that best voting strategy has been a third-party path.
Third parties do not often win elections. So, it isn’t easy to argue that the Green Party or Libertarian Party candidates for President have a good chance of being elected. (Though, heck, Abraham Lincoln was a third-party candidate, and he managed.)
More likely, the outcome of a large third-party vote will be to move the country in the direction of the movement it represents. So, historically, having a big and adamant third-party vote has supported the great social justice causes of the day. The Liberty Party (the anti-slavery/abolitionists) gave momentum to end slavery. The Women’s Suffrage Party existed from 1909 until 1919, when Congress voted to give women the right to vote. Eugene Debs ran for President on the Socialist Party line five times between 1900 and 1920. Some politicos say “The New Deal” was based on the Socialist Party platform.
In more recent times, the effects of third parties can be even more immediate. After Ross Perot’s run for President, the US government was forced to decrease the national debt for awhile in the 1990s. With the success of Green Party candidates and the Green Party message, the culture — and some state law — has moved towards: legalizing medical marijuana; marriage equality (same-sex marriage); and a constant discourse on sustainable energy.
When major party supporters take their focus off the candidate they want to win, and put their focus on eroding the morale of third-party activists, they are creating two problems.
First, they are hindering the chance of their own candidate to win. They are wasting time that could have been used to lobby people who are close to their opinion. They are wasting energy that could have been used to plan a get-out-the-vote effort for other, already-won-over, major-party supporters.
Secondly, by hindering the work of third-party activists to make noise and to make bolder demands on the system, the stubborn major-party supporter winds up moving the political energy against the noble goals and message of the third party.
The major themes of the Libertarian Party are freedom and individual rights. So, when reluctant Trump supporters try to shut down Libertarian supporters, they are doing a lot of damage to the public discourse and political will. Frightening voters who plan on voting Libertarian, and keeping the Libertarian Party vote totals down, will mean that in December, we will have less freedom and individual rights — no matter if Trump or Clinton become the final victor.
The consequence of a large Green Party vote is mostly going to be to lobby the next government for people-centered causes like a better environment, social and economic justice, and peace. By trying to drown out the Green Party message, and keep down the Green Party vote, stubborn major-party supporters are making it so that in December, whoever has won this election can turn his or her back on the people, the environment, and the goal of ending war.
So, dear, determined, major-party voters: If you could release your fear about what will happen this election cycle, you could use this time to do productive organizing for the candidate who you think should win. If you could let go of the feeling that we are in a sinking ship and must grab at each other and compete with each other, you could look around for effective ways to bail water or find a flotation device.
As political campaigns get ready for election day, they often use codes and charts to identify which people they come into contact with who are the most likely to vote, and the most likely to vote for their candidate. These likely voters are golden. They must be nurtured and reminded to vote on election day. People who are not likely to vote, or are not likely to ever change their mind and vote for the campaign’s candidate, are put in an ignore pile. Contacting the ignore pile is not an effective strategy.
Savvy campaign workers will not waste time and energy courting people in the ignore pile for votes. Reluctant Clinton supporters should take a lesson from winning and strategic campaigns. They should realize that they have very little chance of convincing Green Party supporters to vote for the Democratic ticket. So, they should put the Green Party supporters in the “ignore” pile and move on to the likely-to-vote-for-your-candidate people.
In fact, recent history has shown the success of this strategy of positive attention. During the Al Gore campaign, the Democrats were viciously focused on suppressing the Nader vote. Then, Gore lost the election, including losing in his home state. Barack Obama won. And, he did it largely by applying new strategies for on-line organizing and massive get-out-the-vote strategies. Obama’s campaign focused less attention on squashing the Green Party and its candidates. And, Obama won.
Hillary Clinton, herself, seems to be ready to embrace this more-positive strategy. Clinton was recently in the news for trying to motivate undocumented dreamers to do voter outreach. And, Clinton has appeared in Philadelphia as part of a voter-registration drive.
If you are determined that Hillary Clinton must be the lesser-evil choice for this election, please consider using your time and energy to: Register likely Democratic Party voters. Get out the vote of the people you agree with. Make suggestions to your candidate about how to better present their ideas. Lobby your party and/or candidate for a better platform or issues list.
But don’t hurt yourself, your idealistic third-party friends, and the future, by fighting with people who have overcome their fears, found their center, and chosen a path to try to help the country and the world.
I am supporting Jill Stein for President. Go ahead, if you must, and vote for Hillary Clinton. And, if you want her to win, get out there and do some positive, proactive, campaign work.
Written by Kimberly Wilder
Official website; http://onthewilderside.com
