Socialist candidate gets 16% of the vote in Long Beach, CA

[lord of flies]

PSL campaign wins thousands of votes for socialist platform in Long Beach

Building a movement to fight back

Stevie Merino speaking at a campaign meeting in Long Beach, February 2010

Photo: Raymond White

 

The writer served as campaign manager for the PSL Stevie Merino campaign for Mayor of Long Beach.

 

On Tuesday, April 13, thousands of people in Long Beach went to the polls and voted for an openly socialist candidate for mayor. Party for Socialism and Liberation candidate Stevie Danielle Merino got 5,057 votes

[213374U]

I'd hit it.

Wouldn't vote for her, though

[lord of flies]

I'd hit it.

Response predictability rating: 100%

Wouldn't vote for her, though

What part of her platform do you disagree with?

[213374U]

No, you don't understand -- I don't vote.

[lord of flies]

No, you don't understand -- I don't vote.

While voting is obviously a lackluster way to apply political power, you should still vote. Though it's hardly the extent of your political power or duties, it is "better than nothing."

[I want teh kotor 3]

Sucks for Long Beach, then.

[lord of flies]

Sucks for Long Beach, then.

Yes, it does suck that she failed to obtain the majority of the votes against the currently reigning mayor.

[I want teh kotor 3]

No, it sucks that 16% of the population is braindead.

[lord of flies]

No, it sucks that 16% of the population is braindead.

What part of her platform do you disagree with?

[I want teh kotor 3]

Where the hell have you been LoF? Have you not realized that I oppose socialism?

[lord of flies]

Where the hell have you been LoF? Have you not realized that I oppose socialism?

So if I ran on a platform which was functionally libertarian (or whatever stupid **** you believe), but said I was a socialist, you would be firmly against me? What part of her platform (i.e. not just its name) do you disagree with?

[I want teh kotor 3]

Where the hell have you been LoF? Have you not realized that I oppose socialism?

So if I ran on a platform which was functionally libertarian (or whatever stupid **** you believe), but said I was a socialist, you would be firmly against me? What part of her platform (i.e. not just its name) do you disagree with?

 

 

Raise taxes on corporations. Also, that may be amongst the most biased articles I've ever read.

[lord of flies]

Raise taxes on corporations. Also, that may be amongst the most biased articles I've ever read.

What is wrong with raising taxes on corporations? The money to help the working people of this country has to come from somewhere, and shouldn't it come from those who are ultimately responsible for current unemployment rates? Who should be held responsible for the fact that 15 percent of the workers in Long Beach are now unemployed?

[Hurlshort]

This is actually a really nice story. It is good to see a young person working to make changes in society and finding success. I think she has a decent chance of winning a political office some day if she continues down this path.

[I want teh kotor 3]

No. Those programs to help the poor are unjust.

[Enoch]

From a more mainstream account of the election:

 

Foster captured 83.8 percent of the 31,232 votes cast citywide to win a second term, which may have been a foregone conclusion anyway. The well-connected and well-funded mayor didn't face significant competition - only a single, underfunded candidate, 21-year-old college student Stevie Danielle Merino.

 

Any crank can get 10% of the votes if they're the only one listed as running against an incumbent-- all incumbents make some enemies, and those enemies like to vote against them, regardless of who else is running. And if that crank happens to be an arguably hot chick, the numbers go up a little bit.

[~Di]

From a more mainstream account of the election:

 

Foster captured 83.8 percent of the 31,232 votes cast citywide to win a second term, which may have been a foregone conclusion anyway. The well-connected and well-funded mayor didn't face significant competition - only a single, underfunded candidate, 21-year-old college student Stevie Danielle Merino.

 

Any crank can get 10% of the votes if they're the only one listed as running against an incumbent-- all incumbents make some enemies, and those enemies like to vote against them, regardless of who else is running. And if that crank happens to be an arguably hot chick, the numbers go up a little bit.

 

This. The incumbent enjoyed a landslide win. She just got a few crumbs because she was the only other name on the ballot.

[lord of flies]

No. Those programs to help the poor are unjust.

You're gonna have to explain this one to me.

Any crank can get 10% of the votes if they're the only one listed as running against an incumbent-- all incumbents make some enemies, and those enemies like to vote against them, regardless of who else is running. And if that crank happens to be an arguably hot chick, the numbers go up a little bit.

The PSL puts forth candidates in many elections where an incumbent runs unopposed, I believe as part of an overall strategy, for precisely this reason. In our country, this is probably the most effective way for a third party candidate to get elected - to run as a de facto second party. If the PSL can get actually elected, then their chances of continued electoral successes (and thus mass support) wildly increase, since they will have some kind of track record to cite.

 

The Press Telegram believed that Merino would be lucky to get 1% of the vote. The incumbent (Foster) was sufficiently scared of her that he declined a debate.

 

Calling this just a consequence of her being the only rival candidate is, I would say, quite wrong. Other PSL candidates have managed similar vote percentages when there was a third candidate. For example, in the running for the position as 4th District L.A. county supervisor, PSL-backed candidate MaryLou Cabral got 18% of the vote, while the third candidate, Dr. Jay Shah, got 12.5%.

[Walsingham]

The PSL puts forth candidates in many elections where an incumbent runs unopposed, I believe as part of an overall strategy, for precisely this reason.

 

LOL. So you're saying that contrary to your banner headline you freely acknowledge that people don't want socialist candidates and the only way you have a hope of getting one is by garnering votes from the unwitting?

[lord of flies]

LOL. So you're saying that contrary to your banner headline you freely acknowledge that people don't want socialist candidates and the only way you have a hope of getting one is by garnering votes from the unwitting?

I guess I didn't read his post all too well. Let me try that again.

 

In the United States political system, running against the two main parties is political suicide. By running against an unopposed incumbent, you take on all dissent against him and can then mobilize your base of support. Voter turnout in the USA is garbage, so a party like the PSL, which has firm party discipline with respect to voting outlined in its constitution, can do pretty well for itself just off its own members.

 

On the other hand, people who vote in off year elections in the USA aren't completely ignorant about everything, as some people here seem to think. Local press in Long Beach covered the two candidates, and I'm sure that almost everyone who voted was aware that the "PSL" next to Merino's name meant "Socialist."

[I want teh kotor 3]

No. Those programs to help the poor are unjust.

You're gonna have to explain this one to me.

 

 

Sure. I'll assume that you have yet to pay attention to anything I've ever written, but I already suspected that. So:

 

These programs aim to unjustly redistribute wealth from those who have earned it to those who have not. It is the proverbial "easy path" that has unfortunately come to plague American society. Those who have "made it", who fall into the highest tax bracket and so lose the most as part of tax day, evidently either have a) wealthy parents (and I really don't care about these... Those who live off of a trust fund are just looters...) or b) some talent or drive lacking in those who have not. Because I'm too lazy/tired to write out a long spiel, so I'll sum up this way: those programs, and indeed the very essence of socialism, punish success while rewarding failure; when ability is sin, and ineptitude is sacrosanct, no progress can occur.

[lord of flies]

Sure. I'll assume that you have yet to pay attention to anything I've ever written, but I already suspected that. So:

 

These programs aim to unjustly redistribute wealth from those who have earned it to those who have not. It is the proverbial "easy path" that has unfortunately come to plague American society. Those who have "made it", who fall into the highest tax bracket and so lose the most as part of tax day, evidently either have a) wealthy parents (and I really don't care about these... Those who live off of a trust fund are just looters...) or b) some talent or drive lacking in those who have not. Because I'm too lazy/tired to write out a long spiel, so I'll sum up this way: those programs, and indeed the very essence of socialism, punish success while rewarding failure; when ability is sin, and ineptitude is sacrosanct, no progress can occur.

Except that the fault for the failures resulting in our currently high unemployment rates lie with corporations, while those who have been laid off have done nothing to deserve it. The redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor in this case is a justified action even under your logic, since the poor are the ones who are being punished (laid off) for their "success" (hard work) while the rich are rewarded (with bailouts) for their "failure" (mismanagement of the economy).

[I want teh kotor 3]

What makes you think I support this craptacular system of bailouts? If the companies **** up, let 'em die.

[lord of flies]

What makes you think I support this craptacular system of bailouts? If the companies **** up, let 'em die.

And what happens to the workers, who hold no responsibility for ****ing up, and are ready and willing to work?

[Deadly_Nightshade]

No, it sucks that 16% of the population is braindead.

 

Fail.

 

No. Those programs to help the poor are unjust.

 

Again, fail.

 

But, really, it's no use discussing politics with you or Mr. Flies - you're two sides of the same coin.