this post was submitted on 22 Jul 2024
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Pretty close to it, yeah.
Sanders is more of a populist and idealist, while Harris is more pragmatic. Sanders has voted against a lot of things that were 95% positive because they had 5% awful shit, while Harris (and Warren, for that matter) would tend to vote for them to get policy points through. That means that while Sanders remains 'pure', Harris (and, again, Warren) end up being more effective.
Neat. I'm liking Harris more every day. Pragmatism is one of the core tenets of my political belief system.
I'm... torn. I think that we need idealists to lead because they can inspire. But pragmatists get more done. I voted for Sanders in the 2016 primaries, and again in 2020, because I believe in his message. But I also voted for Biden in 2020 even though the Democratic party fucked Sanders. (I voted for Stein in 2016, because I was in a reliably blue state, and could vote for her without risking affecting anything. And man, do I regret that.)
(RIP)
I do think idealists are important to help inspire us to work towards the future. In terms of actual voting, pragmatism is more important IMO. There's nothing stopping someone from doing both, if they're good enough at both speeches and policy.
Note that both of these behaviors may be valid strategies, rather than ideological fervor. As members of the Democratic Party, Harris and Warren are somewhat expected to participate in team efforts; while Sanders, by virtue of being independent, should avoid being taken from granted, as forcing other representatives to negotiate with him gives him a bit of leverage to introduce changes to bills. There's a reason why he's been capable of influencing so much policy despite being an outsider.