(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Conditional Voting - Self Sabotage? [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2026-04-12 There’s a lot of disconnect in my view out there. I’ve been reading/watching a few things about the 2028 elections and it’s confusing as heck. 1) money behind candidates makes them win VS 2) they can’t win cause x/y/z won’t vote for them. So, is it the money or the voters that decide elections? To me money is a problem, but voters still decide elections. Yesterday I stumbled onto this guy’s take; the part where he says if democrats win and they don’t make significant structural changes in 2 years there will be hell to pay (paraphrasing here). If people expect Democrats or any factions really to be able to make “significant structural changes” in 2 years, 4 years, 6 years… you’re bound to be disappointed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tD1boIu9aM I’ve also heard negative comments warning elected officials about “reaching across the aisle” as if that was some sort of sinful, disqualifying action… how do people want to change bills and laws without some votes from the other side? Are voters planning to massively vote in left leaning candidates to ensure a super majority in both house and senate? Sometimes I think folks are so caught up in their own narratives they don’t see that they themselves have drifted away from reality. We’re not on fantasy island ain’t no one gonna be granting wishes. I know some folks will say well Trump made changes… no Trump BROKE things, smashing a porcelain cup takes 1 second, putting it back together or even creating a new one takes hours, if not days. That’s also part of our problem; we have unrealistic expectations and when they don’t pan out we pout. And right now? We have a shop full of broken porcelain so buckle in for the long run. Another talking point is “x or y can’t win a national election”, anyone can win a national election, once voters decide what’s more important, winning or pouting because their preferred candidate didn’t win the primaries, or because the primary winner didn’t say x, y or z. it’s not that any given candidate can’t win, it’s that voters won’t vote for them the onus is on the voter. I would venture that if a candidate can’t win a primary, that candidate is the one that can’t win. If you can’t garner enough donors, voters, supporters, to boost your candidate during the primaries over the finish line, there’s already a problem. Whether that problem is money or policies or not enough supporters, it’s still a problem. Now let’s address conditional voting. The idea that in order for one to vote a candidate has to promise, say or do something specific. The master class in self-sabotage. We have how many factions under this “Big tent”? And folks expect one single candidate to meet all of the criteria, from all these factions, to satisfy all the specific demands of all these factions, on a campaign trail? And then people blame them for losing? Anyone who living today in the hell scape that has been made of the US and the world, who protested against the bombings in Gaza and other countries, who claimed they were outraged and shaken by the bombing of an elementary school in Iran, who decry what is happening in Cuba, who rails against the rights of women and marginalized communities being taken away, who protest against the abuses hell the existence of ICE, and can still say “well if X is the primary winner I’m not voting for them” I have to ask myself do they actually care? Anyone who would rather have the US go through another 4 years and perhaps more of living under the rule of the current republican regime, is not “on the left”, not in any faction on the left, in any way shape or form. The very idea that one would rather see this country burnt to the ground, instead of voting for a candidate that does not meet a specific aspect of their agenda, is and I have to ask myself again do they actually care? I don’t know how many folks help people on more than a one to one basis, but I do (or did before my own financial situation nose dived), and it’s one thing to have an end goal and quite another to just give up because you’re not getting there fast enough or how you thought it should go. I wanted to help 60 families in my old Haitian neighborhood, I wasn’t able to, so I focused on helping those with toddlers and medical issues, so instead of 60 I helped 10-20 depending on what I got and was able to spare… the key thing is even if I help 1 person it’s worth it! It’s not an all or nothing thing, it’s human lives we’re talking about, let’s grab however many we can and pull them out of danger! Do you know HOW many lives could have been saved if every single left-leaning voter had voted for Harris? Thousands! Or rather millions cause we must include those who have died as a result of cutting USAID and other such life saving programs. Isn’t that worth it? I just don’t understand how living through this we can still justify saying well if it’s x or y candidate I’m not voting for them! They ain’t this or that enough for me! Are we for real? THAT is the reason we lose. This bargaining of votes, this withholding of votes once the primaries are done. If we lived in a time where truly the difference between left and right were negligible or even just non life threatening for us or others in the world, it would be one thing to use votes as bargaining chips. But we live in this world. We live in this time period. And our votes decide who lives and who dies and some people are saying it’s okay if more of “those” people die if I don’t get my personal preference in the primary. Frankly it is beyond disturbing to in 2026 when Trump has been elected twice, to still be having this kind of discourse. We are all going to the same place. We are all starting from different, counties, cities, states, we are on the freeway, we are on different lanes, listening to different music in our different modes of transportations, but eventually we all at some point or other have to merge lanes EVEN as we remain in our different modes of transport, listening to different stuff. Personally, I have my preference for the Presidency, I don’t think he will run (Ossoff), and yes I actually prefer Ossoff over Kamala for president! (meaning not on a personal level). See my end goal is who will be more effective given all the obstacles including racism and sexism and homophobia out there, so I wound down my preference to Ossoff, because he remains calm under pressure, he’s damn smart, he’s charismatic, people like him, and he’s a straight white man. Because after winning, bills and changes have to occur and for that we need someone who get at least some republicans on board, so things can MOVE. I also think Kamala would make a fine damn president, but she will be balked by the very same people who called her a DEI hire who are in congress. They will be contrarian just to be contrarian, because she’s Black, because she’s Indian, because she’s a Woman, because she was VP to Biden… etc… Their pride won’t allow them to deal with her on a fair basis. I think AOC could make a good president, but I also realize that they view her as a child and she is not respected by republicans so that’s also a handicap. She’s smart and quick on her toes. Maybe her and Ossoff could make a good ticket, balance out each other. I think Buttigieg should be press secretary, because he is quick also and has a mind like an archive, facts and figures on the demand. He and Kelly would be a good combo I think. I don’t know about Newsom, like I said, I think underneath his bravado player persona, he’s at heart a good guy but that’s just the vibe I get. He’d need some poised, somber to offset him. I wasn’t surprised to learn of his dyslexia it just confirmed my vibes. I wonder what a combo of Pritzker and Moore would give it seems to me that they could complement each other. But in the end what I think doesn’t matter until they decide to run and announce their candidacy it’s all speculation on my part. And once they run and the primaries are over, my opinion matters even less. The choice has been made and everyone should rally behind the candidate in order to grab the prize. We don’t have to rely on gaining right wingers votes, if all the factions under the big tent, know the assignment. Ps. Sorry this is way longer than my usual ones, I just want our side to understand the stakes too. #TheAmericanHaitianPoet Muriel Vieux – April 11th, 2026 – ©All rights reserved Paypal.me/murielvieux [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/4/12/2377460/-Conditional-Voting-Self-Sabotage?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/