Assembly Bill 2164 authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda) would have prohibited California’s governor from recognizing a request for extradition of a person related to their providing a legally protected healthcare activity in the Golden State to transgender individuals, or if they provide reproductive services. It provided certain exemptions, such as an extradition required by federal law.
As you said, it doesn’t matter because you don’t live in anything resembling a swing state, but for those of us who do: please vote strategically. Vote for whomever you like in the primary. (And DO vote in the primary, for fuck’s sake!) Vote for Bernie Sanders. (I did!) Vote for the DSA candidate. (I often do.) Vote for the green party, or libertarians, or write in your cool uncle. Whatever! The primary is your time to vote for who you really want. But when it comes to the general election, please vote for the left-most nominee of the party that has a realistic shot at winning. It doesn’t always feel good, but there are exactly three options in a first past the post general election:
Voting for the party that can win.
Voting for the other party that can win.
Not participating. You might think your write-in or third party is distinct from Option #3. I regret to inform you that it isn’t.
If we were to do this for a decade or so, the GOP would evaporate and the Dems would eventually split into a neoliberal pro-business party and a progressive pro-labor party. Do I want Newsom to be the nominee? Fuck no. I hate that prick. But if he’s the one running against Marco Rubio or whoever? Yeah, I can hold my nose and fill in that bubble.
If we fail to do this, we only empower fascists. Look around.
(And BTW, the party more likely to give us Ranked Choice so we don’t need to do this is, you guessed it, the Democrats…)
No. I will not vote for a fucking candidate who will not do the bare fucking minimum to protect me as a trans person. Absolutely the fuck not.
I understand your frustration, but if you stick to this, you will be abstaining entirely from the electoral process.
Once again, there are only three choices:
Party that can win.
Other party that can win.
Shooting yourself in the dick.
You seem to be a #3 voter. Is feeling good about shooting yourself in the dick really better than effecting real change? Nah.