The Sneaky Reason Progressives and Leftists Should Vote for Biden

4 min readOct 25, 2020

I’m what is considered a ‘radical leftist’ in American discourse. I am called that, so far as I can see, because I dare suggest that any system or idea has both aspects worthy of merit and of critique. While that sounds reasonable, once you expand this logic to include socialism and the dreaded communism, many stop listening.

And that’s fine. By limiting the scope of ideas they are exposing themselves to, they are only doing themselves a disservice.

I say that only to put space between myself and the average American liberal; I have floated this idea in many leftist corners of the internet, only to be ridiculed as an ignorant liberal happy with the status quo.

And that’s fine too — I know nothing could be further from the truth.

But I think the best way forward for leftists and progressives alike is to ensure Biden wins through swing state voting.

Swing states in gold, and light blue/red. (270ToWin.com)

Now, if you do not live in a swing state, your vote for president will effectively not change the outcome; it basically does not count. California is going Blue, Alabama is going Red, and your vote isn’t going to chance that. You should absolutely vote Green party in those states to help get them to 5%. And you should reach out to voters who are sick of both Trump and the two party system, and let them know that their vote for Biden is more or less meaningless, but their vote for Green could help end this two party nightmare.

But if you are in a swing state, you should vote for Joe Biden. Stay with me.

The biggest — and most legitimate — reason leftists are not willing to vote for Biden is in attempt to break the 2 party cycle. Nothing will fundamentally change under Biden, who has done far more to court moderate Republicans than those to the left of him.

I am told over and over again, that when Biden wins, liberals will go back to brunch, and all of the activism we’ve seen will die down. That liberals will consider defeating Trump the end game win, and they will lose interest in politics once more.