Strategic Voting 2020 Style

Well, my ballot isn't quite here yet, but I think I've decided that I'm going to chuck my idealistic voting habits down the toilet, take the plunge (!), and vote for some Democrats this time around. You know the situation is pretty dire when I resort to voting blue. Especially for president and vice-president (I guess technically, I only get to vote for president, and get the VP of the same color in the deal).

Normally, I rationalize my Green votes with the well-worn truism that I've never lived in a red state, and so my lonely Green vote is not going to get the Republican presidential ticket any electoral votes. Then I add in the other well-worn truism that only if the Greens get enough votes can they continue to field candidates nationally, given the rules of the election game. So I've concluded in the past that my Green vote, which is usually my preferred vote, is the right one.

Many of my friends – both social media and real – have really given me shit for my color choice in recent elections. But it all really started in 2000, with the incredibly close presidential election that came down to Florida and a recount that was stopped by the Supreme Court, which gave the Electoral College win to W. In that election, Ralph Nader ran as a Green, and garnered more than the typical share of votes for a third party. I voted for Nader, but I did so in Washington State, which was and is a pretty safe blue state. I'm pretty sure that if I lived in Florida (why???), I would have voted for Gore. Nevertheless, if you voted Green in 2000, you were considered a traitor.

Fast forward to 2016, and again, I voted Green, as I had in all presidential elections since 1996, this time for Jill Stein. Boy, did I (and still do!) hear it from by liberal and progressive friends! You'd think that I was personally responsible for the election of the orange monster! Even though Oregon was (and is) yet another safe blue state, and gave its electoral college votes to Clinton. I went down to the wire looking at polls and judging the situation before settling on my Green vote. And I don't regret that vote. I had nothing to do with voting in Trump. But tell that to my friends...

Now here I am in 2020, after 4 years of a daily dose of Trump and his cronies. We again have a centrist Democratic nominee that beat Bernie Sanders in the primaries running against a crazed lunatic that somehow made it through 4 years of the presidency without starting a new war (not for lack of trying), amidst some of the most naked corruption I've ever seen. Once again, Oregon is polling pretty solidly blue. The Greens have a decent candidate in Howie Hawkins, and there is even a Progressive Party candidate that I like a lot. Until the last few days, I figured I would again vote Green, because their platform aligns with my values best, and they need the votes to get matching funds to keep going. (Oh, and I'm a Pacific Green Party member who once led the local chapter.) Biden is only marginally better than Clinton, and essentially will bring back the Obama/Clinton team which got us where we are today, so a vote for him is not really so exciting for me. But like so much else in my life these days, I'm starting to think more practically, strategically, with a sense that it's the home stretch for me, and I have to do things that align me more with my "tribe" and get me to the finish line with some chance of having a positive effect on society and the planet.

So it's looking like I'll vote for Biden, and probably for Jeff Merkley for Senate too, and maybe for other Democrats in down-ballot races. I've come to the conclusion that we really do have to remove Trump and the Republicans from power, and the only other option in our screwed-up electoral system is the Democrats, at least on the national level. (This is not completely true, since Sanders and a couple other congressional folks are independent.) And even at the state level, at least here in Oregon. I'm not very enthusiastic about these choices, but they are considerably better than the status quo (Republican) alternative.

It comes down to the very sad fact that the presidential and many other races have become incredibly tight, and in this particular case with the presidency, the Republicans are gearing up to steal the election if it's close. So an overwhelming national popular vote margin is needed in addition to an overwhelming Electoral College victory this time around. I'll hold my nose and vote for Biden, Merkley and other Democrats this once, hoping that I can be part of the blue wave that drowns the Republicans and takes them from power, at least for now. Then, perhaps our country can move back into the fold of the world community, and we can work on important problems like climate change, pandemics, poverty, inequality, and species loss. And maybe we can get a little rest from political overload before we start tackling these problems and more local ones again. (I'm quite concerned with the aftermath of the election; we may not get to take a rest after all.)

If nothing else, we need to reflect on and work to improve our voting systems. There has to be representation for those of us to the left of center, and more generally, for those of us that aren't billionaires.

My sincerest apologies to my PGP and Green friends who have been able to count on me for support and votes for most of my life. My intention is to work with you to get more equitable voting systems and more progressive local policies and leaders, so that the party platform can be implemented at the local and national levels as much as possible. I think we should regroup and not run presidential and congressional candidates for a while. Ultimately, we will prevail, or the planet will not support life, and certainly not an equitable and prosperous life for everyone.

Onward!