Thread by @dcpetterson

I sometimes discuss the importance of democracy with self-described "leftists", and why it's vital to #VoteBlue to prevent a fascist dictatorship.

This isn't universal (yet), but I'm increasingly hearing them say, "We don't have a democracy anyway. We have an oligarchy."

1/6

Their argument is, It's okay if fascists win, because democracy is already dead.

So why are you involved in politics at all? Why do you push for policies you say you want? If democracy is dead, the Voice of the People is irrelevant, and none of your words or acts matter.

2/6

More importantly, the conviction that "democracy is already dead" is a clarion call to inactivism. It is a declaration of defeat. These dead-enders are purposely supporting fascist autocracy by preemptively installing its software in their own minds.

3/6

Another part of this "we're already an oligarchy" schtick is, of course, the bothsidesism of how Democrats are "the same as" the fascists--which anyone who lived through Trump and has seen either Obama or Biden knows, for a fact, to be a lie.

4/6

Again, I stress, this give-it-all-up-ism is not (yet) universal among "leftists," but it is increasingly used to justify not-voting, or protest-voting (both of which are pro-fascism under another name).

It's impossible to argue these leftist inactivists out of their funk.

5/6

Try not to let them tie up your time or absorb your energy. We have important work to do, and we sure don't need anyone who isn't going to vote anyway.

Hold the House. Secure the Senate. Turn state legislatures Blue. Work your ass off. Save democracy. Be a goddam hero.

6/6

On the idiocy of protest voting, read the brilliant post linked in this tweet.

https://twitter.com/SpryOld/status/1515719640013762561