By Duane Campbell
In 2014 the Left should turn to electoral campaigns as one element of
our political strategy. As we know, the
U.S. political system is overrun by money.
Economic power at the top is used to produce political results in Congress and in elections. The rich get richer while the middle
stagnates and the poor get screwed.
Our response must be
encouraging more voting not less. The lack of interest in electoral
participation expressed in many places is not progress for the left, rather it
reveals a lack of interest in defending democracy. Not voting is giving up on
what democracy we have. Yes, our
democracy is truncated, exploited, and
distorted by economic power , but we need to grow and expand democracy, not
abandon it.
We can make a difference in the electoral arena. We
recognize that many working people have a general distrust of
political parties- and often the
parties deserve this distrust Working people do not have- in most
cases- representatives in our government nor a party which fundamentally
represents our interests. While
the parties divide on some issues, both mainstream parties are dominated by corporate
interests.
Both parties
have failed working people and, our democracy is weaker for this.
In response millions, about half of all the eligible voters, do not even vote.
They do not believe that their participation matters. This is a
frightening defeat for democracy.
Voter turnout
matters. For example, in California
turnout was critical in 1994 in losing Proposition 209 ( Affirmative Action)
and in 1996 in losing Prop. 227 (anti
bilingual education ). In 2012 increased turnout made possible passage of
Prop.30- a tax on the rich to fund schools and social services.
