I don’t know how things will be post-Trump, but up until now I’d say that (especially at the local level) it was very possible to field more left-leaning candidates and move the Overton Window to the left. We know this because the far right has very successfully shifted the discourse rightward, and a door can be traveled through in either direction.

Now, though, I’m not sure if Trump & co will even bother with sham elections. I suppose time will tell.

You don’t vote for a political party in the hopes that you might be able to push them to represent your interests, you vote for a party who WILL represent your interests.

In a true democracy, yes. That is what you would do.

In a false democracy, like Russia, you would ignore the rigged elections entirely and focus on agitating for the implementation of democracy.

But in a flawed democracy, you have a system where the elections are not exactly rigged, but where you do not have truly proportional representation.

In such a system, your primary focus should be on fixing the system. The closer to a true democracy this is, the easier it will be to accomplish via reform, although one should not discount direct action. However, when an opportunity to vote arises, you should take it. You can’t afford to spend all your effort on elections, but ignoring your opportunity to do some harm reduction would be ineffective.

IF you’re going to delete your comments (which I don’t think is necessarily a good thing, though it could be good for you individually) you should leave a message about why you left in their place. Make it into a protest.

Are they also my opposite in how they are good or evil, or just opposite in quantity?

For example, if I’m an antisocial asshole with positive ideals, does this mean my opposite is an extremely friendly and polite business major?