Why’s it When I Vote for “Change,“ it’s a Threat to Democracy?

The Left’s closing arguments before the midterms were not only beneath them, but infinitely more “threatening” to democratic norms

I’m not gonna bullshit you here: Democrats never really had any chance of winning my vote for the 2022 midterms. I felt like I’d done the right thing and listened to my conscience in 2020 when I held my nose, bit my tongue and winced not unnoticeably and cast my presidential vote for Joe Biden. I considered writing someone in, but I figured you know what, Biden had made the effort to appeal to me as a disaffected Republican and assured me, along with Lord knows how many other Americans, that he was an old school, moderate Democrat and, by God, he would govern as such. Sure, I was skeptical, and I don’t suppose I ever really believed that he’d have the wherewithal (or conviction) to stand firm against the most radical elements of his party as they would unquestionably tug, pull & bully the old Democrat further left and further left… but there was something about him that made me think he’d have a better shot than most at doing it. Looking back at it all now, I realize that I was simply doing what a lot of voters do come election time: I was choosing the lesser of two evils, or maybe I was just trading the dangerous & narcissistic for the dangerously incompetent in the hopes that the danger posed by the latter was less malignant than the former. The real suck of it all tho is that when I pulled the lever for Biden, I did so because I thought to myself, at least then I’ll be able to look back on the 2020 Presidential Election and know that I made the right choice, even if I had voted for a candidate whose values and policy goals were about as aligned with mine as Kanye’s with the ADL.

Over the past 20 plus months, however, I’ve seen nothing from anyone on the left that makes me think that Biden ever had any intention of ever governing from the center-left; I’ve seen nothing that would suggest that he’s even attempted to resist the jerking pulls of the most leftward in his party; what’s worse, his mental acuity seems to have dramatically diminished at a drastically quicker pace than I ever would’ve imagined. At this point, I don’t think it’s deniable by anyone with even the slightest capacity for objective observation; only those who are all-in, all the time for just about anything Democrat -- the ever-Dems - could deny with a straight face that there in the west wing sits a president who’s fully in control of all the facts at all times. And look, before you freak the eff out, let me say this: I have a boatload of compassion for anyone suffering mental acuity loss, whether it’s dementia, early Alzheimer’s or whatever the hell else - if anything, all the more so for Joe Biden because I do believe there was a time in which he would’ve bitch-slapped any heavy-handed leftist bully who was trying to impose their ideological agenda through the brute force bullying of a duly-elected president. I only wish that we were living in that time now, maybe then I wouldn’t be increasingly worried that someone or someone’s else are pulling the strings of a man who - forget 2024!! - I’m just now seriously questioning whether can ride things out until the end of his one and what’ll be only term.

So I’m sorry, but no, I will not allow myself to be so willfully lied to again by Democratic Party in 2022 as I am so very certain I was back in 2020. Todays Democratic Party absolutely reeks of power-at-any-price, do anything & say anything in order to do the things we want to do - this election cycle I can’t help but see a “(D)” and not hear an arrogant, condescending voice decree “we know what’s better for these pitiful saps than they do them damn selves” let them eat cake douchebaggery and I won’t allow myself to be taken in by it again simply because I couldn’t vote for “my side” in this election or that. I’d give fifty bucks to be able to go back and write in “John Wick” or “Pete Mitchell” - after all, since when isn’t fiction better than fucked up?

In 2020, I voted for a Democrat president for the first time in my life. In 2020 I also voted for a Democratic candidate for president for the last time in my life. Here’s what I feel like so many everyoneon the Left - not even the hard Left, just the Left - either doesn’t seem to grasp or doesn’t care to understand in order to grasp: all the disaffected Republicans of 2020 - for which you could probably call me the poster boy of the group - we voted for the Joe Biden who talked about and promised to unify the country rather than divide it. We voted to acknowledge a principle that the American presidency is a sacred duty and sitting in the Oval Office a privilege afforded to precious few men (and, undoubtedly, one day precious few women) Above all else though, what they never gave a damn to consider was the fact that, perhaps above all else, we didn’t so much vote for Joe Biden or eagerly want to roll with the Democratic Party in 2020 as we felt compelled to vote against Donald Trump and to make the difficult choice to put our country before our party. That is precisely what Republicans like myself chose to do in 2020. Now imagine this: whatever portion of the electorate this bloc of the GOP that I’m in - what would you figure that number is? How many Republicans do you suppose decided to sample the Democrat meat in 2020? Five hundred thousand? A million? What if I told you that the actual number, as close as we can guess is closer to six million people. Six. Million. Voting. American. Republicans. And we all decided to taste the democrats dish. Well, it’s the 2022 midterms now, and I’m here to tell you that we all feel like you served us a warmed over turd on an eco-friendly plate without so much the decency of flavoring it with a pinch of salt. If there’s anything in this world more insulting than pinching a loaf and serving it to someone without even adding a pinch of salt, I’m yet to hear it.

Six million potential future Democrats - that’s the real shame of all this. 2020 gave the Democratic Party it’s best hope of truly changing the electorate and altering the balance of the electoral map for generations to come. It was a once in a generation opportunity to run this shit for many more generations - and you didn’t even realize it. How could you thought, I suppose? You were too busy shaming so many of us into silence when we had very legitimate, respectful and fair questions about all the liberal dogma you were attempting to shove down our throats.

“Hey, we’ve got this once in a lifetime global pandemic raging - where did it come from and how did it start?” Shut up, we were told. Xenophobes, we were threatened to be labeled.

“We don’t have any actual long term data on the effects of the mRNA Covid-19 vaccines - how exactly can you tell us with utter certainty that they won’t have any long term effects? After all, I can’t be un-jabbed once I’ve been jabbed, so I’d better ask now, while the question’s still worth a shit.” Are you serious?! Everyone says it’s safe. What are you? Some anti-vaxxer whackadoo? Ugh, we should just make the tough call and make vaccines mandatory already - just because you’re too stupid to understand what’s best for you doesn’t mean the rest of us have to be, much less be put at risk because of it.

“Hey, have you noticed how crime, homelessness and drugs - particularly fentanyl - are outta this world outta control? Shouldn’t we be doing something about it?” Did you just say “homeless?!” They’re not homeless - they’re the temporarily un-housed!! And they’re not all addicts - and you shouldn’t even be using that label!!

“Dirty hypodermic needles are littering our sidewalks and parks where our dogs walk and our children play - and you’re concerned with ‘labels?’ And yeah, I’m pretty sure they are all more or less drug addicts - which I myself used to be, mind you, and they’ve almost all got serious, untreated mental illnesses and allowing them to perpetuate this ‘lifestyle’ isn’t compassionate, it’s condemning.”

Clearly you’re just a MAGAsshole.

Probably racist, too. Against defunding the police? Check that - definitely racist.

“But, I hadn’t said anything about…”

You know what? I just can’t deal with people as ignorant as you. I’m sorry, I just can’t.

It’s Election Day 2022 - the midterms. And do you know what? I’m tired of dealing with people who bully decent people into shame and silence because they lack the intellectual fortitude and North Star of their convictions to engage with people in a reasonable, respectful discourse.

I’m tired of being called “anti-science” and an “anti-vaxxer” - even tho I shut up, gave in and got the jab. Even after the fact, we’re not taking questions on this one?

I’m tired of being called anti-democracy because I won’t be fooled into voting blue in 2022 like I was in 2020. A vote for someone, anyone who doesn’t have a “(D)” after his or her name isn’t a vote against democracy - gtfoh with that nonsense - my vote is my vote and I’m going to cast it for the candidate(s) whom I feel will be most likely to listen to the issues that concern me. Hate me, revile me and impugn me all you like for it, but please do keep in mind that all you’re doing is doubling down on exactly the type of demeanor that brought this Red Wave in the first place.