“Vote Blue No Matter Who” is a Stupid Slogan
The first time I heard it I thought, “Sounds right,” and it rhymed — even better. Easy to understand. Easy to remember. Easy to say to any fellow Democrat who dangerously might want to find their own way to a candidate rather than waiting for marching orders. Let the memes begin!
“Vote Blue No Matter Who” did indeed catch on and now I’ve become increasingly troubled by the not-so-subtle coercion it represents. As my Facebook friends cheerily post it to remind fellow travelers how to vote in the primaries, my inner rebel has begun to deconstruct this popular mantra.
First, it asks you to vote for someone you don’t really like and paints all Democrats as the same while it perpetuates the protection of capitalism run amok that has made the progressive wing so damn mad. As college columnist Timothy Scalona wrote in the Massachusetts Daily Collegian back in 2018,
“Neoliberal politics are ingrained in our political system and have become a stain on the Democratic party, preventing much-needed progressive reform. In the two-party system in which we live, the parties are two sides of the same coin. While the parties differ in areas like healthcare reform, LGBTQIA+ rights and climate change, they together perpetuate the interests of the capitalist class and corporations over those of everyday people, Democrats included.”
