Infidel753, who blogs over on Blogger, has a really great posting on his blog about how his blog is about his personal views & not what “side” he’s on; how neither the left nor the right, nor neither the Republicans nor the Democrats represent his views anymore. After reading it, I really wanted to share, because I think along the same lines.
link here ~~~~> https://infidel753.blogspot.com/2022/05/who-i-am-and-am-not.html
silverapplequeen 
Thank you for the link and the supportive words. It is sometimes difficult for the “politically homeless” to find a voice these days, but we are out there.
I have to agree–you very well articulated my conundrum, too. Thank you.
I think there are a lot of us with this problem. Thanks for reading.
Polly, I think it’s very important to be clear-eyed about the implications of this position. Your vote equals your voice. This is probably the most important election of our lifetimes. We have two political parties. One is a cult that is following a madman who encouraged an Insurrection and is selling the Big Lie and conspiracy theories–on a path toward white supremacy, voter suppression, returning women’s rights to pre-Constitution days when we had none, banning books, etc, etc. The people running for office under the Republican banner are far-right radicals. Your refusal to support Democrats will help those radicals take over the country. I guarantee you: If you’re dissatisfied with your choices now, you’ll be a hell of a lot more dissatisfied after November.
The other party supports women’s autonomy, has passed legislation that reduced child poverty substantially, and could–if we elect two more Democratic Senators and hold the House majority–devote more money to combating the effects of climate change, secure voting rights, and do much more to improve people’s lives. A good case can be made to expand the Supreme Court because there are nine Justices and twelve circuits, and a Navigator poll this week found a big jump in Americans who, since the Alito opinion leaked, say they believe the Court should be expanded. But the Republicans would add more of the radicals they’ve already put on there.
I’ve just watched a Webinar that gives indisputable data that the economy under Democrats going way back has been far better for all Americans than under the Republicans, (who give tax cuts to the wealthiest and have already said they’ll tax the middle class and get rid of Medicare and Social Security). I included some earlier slides from this org’s presentation, “Things Get Better With Democrats,” in a post I did recently, “On the Economy, Biden Wins.”
I am simply asking that you pay attention to the people running for office on your local, state, and federal levels and what they’re advocating. If you find any of them expressing positions that you find heinous, don’t vote for that person–unless you know that the opponent is even more heinous.
Please don’t be like all those who say, “If I’d only known, I would have held my nose and voted for Hillary.” Surely you can see by the way things are going how much worse they can get.
If the Democrats want my vote, just saying “look how awful the Republicans are” for the 874th time is not going to cut it. They need to actually repudiate the stuff which is convincing me (and more and more millions of other people) that they themselves are just as bad.
I never said I wasn’t going to vote.
I’m glad to hear that, Polly, but I worry that the “plague on both your houses” sentiment–which I find so out of kilter with what’s going on in the two parties–will encourage voter apathy. I recognize that you and others have disengaged with politics because you’re disgusted. But to me the issue is clear-cut: We have a binary choice in November. If we don’t vote for the Democrats, we will get Republicans determined to remove that choice from us for good–an autocratic, theocratic, bigoted, corrupt bunch. There will be no way to build toward the center that Infidel writes about in the post with which you heartily agree.
I agree. I do not adhere to the notion that “voting for the lesser evil is still voting for evil” (Jerry Garcia) … I bend more toward “if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice” (Neil Peart)
I am against theocracy in all its forms so I will vote for whoever is against that. But I am not happy with a lot of the Democratic platform & I LET THEM KNOW THAT. Not that it makes a difference. I used to work for the Dems, I know the score
Thank you for this–both what you have said here and for sharing Infidel753’s post.
you — & Infidel totally hit a nerve – I don’t think we’re at all alone & thank my lucky stars that we have a means to stumble across each other