When Joe Biden passed the baton to Kamala Harris, it snapped the nation out of a sickly spell of déjà vu, and just in time. We no longer face a re-match of two elderly white males. But the danger of a second Trump presidency is no less real, and the stakes far higher this time around. Nothing less than a landslide victory of the future over the past will carry us through. This requires everyone who cares to turn out and vote, even – or especially – those who have lost their faith in voting.

State by state, the GOP has gone all-out to sabotage this fall’s election: gerrymandering, purging voter rolls, restricting mail-in ballots, eliminating polling stations and Sunday voting, replacing non-partisan election officials with party hacks, and more. If we fail to deliver a massive landslide for Harris and Walz, the resulting uncertainty and confusion will set us up for bloody civil war and a right-wing coup.

I have faith that most independents and “undecideds” are sick of Trump’s bluster and bullying and will add their votes to the landslide. But the biggest potential boost to our chances of avoiding bloodshed comes from the vast cohort of eligible voters who do not vote. In their honor, I am updating a message I addressed to them four years ago. Please forward it to any non-voters you know.

Dear Cherished & Esteemed Non-Voter . . .

Not voting because the system is corrupt? I’m afraid you have it backward. The system is corrupt because of people not voting. So many people have lost their faith in voting that the non-voting bloc decides every election. Yet not voting is itself a vote for the way things are. The rich and powerful are doing everything they can to eliminate your right to vote because they know your vote counts, whether you believe it or not.

Not voting because you don’t like the candidates? Politics is a game of strategy, not a morality contest. In the primary, vote for the morally righteous candidate. On Election Day, vote for the candidate who is most useful to your personal strategic goals. Churchgoing Christians have no problem voting for the most immoral candidate in recorded history to advance their agenda – so far, a stunningly successful strategy.

Not voting because the issues batted around in the debate don’t affect you? Those are not the real issues. The Republicans and their financial backers carefully hide their true agenda: to roll back every law and regulation that limits their wealth and power, including your right to protest, and especially your right to vote. Your vote is all that stands in the way of their dream of a democracy-free America, and this could be literally your last chance to use it.

Not voting because Netflix and iTunes and ESPN take up all your time? Life is not a spectator sport. We’ve all grown up assuming that Social Security, unemployment checks, food stamps, workplace safety, consumer protection, public schools, the minimum wage, environmental regulation, etc., will always be there when we need them. But all of these were victories won by voting, and every one of them can be taken away. The forces that opposed democracy at every step have never stopped pushing back, even as most of us have stopped pushing ahead.

Not voting because one vote won’t make a difference either way? Democracy starts long before Election Day. Join a campaign that champions your personal electoral strategy, and amplify your voice by persuading others to vote your way. As individuals, we are indeed powerless. Our only power lies in forging an alliance of diverse voters with a shared strategy. If you can’t honestly support any of the candidates, join one of the progressive organizations campaigning to get out the vote.

Not voting because candidates who win don’t keep their promises? Democracy doesn’t end after Election Day, either. The right-wing extremists never let up the pressure on the politicians they elect. The freedoms they want to take away are hard-won victories of voters who elected strategically useful candidates – then kept up the pressure in the streets, in letters and phone calls, and in the courtroom.

Not voting because you refuse to take sides in a power struggle between Tweedledum and Tweedledee? In 2024, not voting is a vote for a one-party authoritarian state. Obviously we can’t rely on corporate Democrats to push through a Green New Deal or Medicare for All, cut the military budget, end police impunity or dark money PACs. But if the Republicans win, all of these possibilities are off the table, probably for good, and we’ll be fighting to save what little freedom we have left.

Not voting – or voting for a third-party candidate – because you think politics should be a morality contest? Donald Trump appreciates your support!

Strategically Speaking . . .

Under Democrats and Republicans alike, the U.S. is covertly ruled by a rich, white, male minority: the “One Percent.” The billionaires who want to gut every regulation that limits their profits, the neoliberal neocons who want to liberate capital and outlaw democracy, the multinational corporations who don’t pay taxes but pump millions into politics – all have invested heavily in both parties for decades. We owe moral allegiance to neither party. But from a strategic standpoint, they are not identical twins.

Despite their moral shortcomings, Democrats have mostly played the game called “democracy” by its obviously imperfect rules. But Trump’s Republicans are playing a completely different game, with no rules at all but to win at any cost. Their entire strategy consists of lies, voter suppression, packing the courts, threats of violence, and more lies. As in 2020, false allegations of cheating by Democrats are key to the Republican plan to win by cheating in 2024. And they have learned the lessons of 2020 well.

Trump’s Republicans are a coalition of extremists. Fundamentalist fanatics who lust for a “Christian” version of Sharia Law. Fossil-fuel profiteers who will literally kill to keep us all burning carbon. Gun-toting whites who cling to our racist past because rich corporations have stolen everything else they had. The ultrawealthy who own most of the planet, and want it all. These unlikely allies have launched an aggressive strategy to leverage the economic power of the One Percent into a political system of minority rule. Their right-wing extremist goals are unpopular, so their campaigns focus on misrepresenting corporate Democrats as left-wing extremists.

To counter this strategy, the Democrats have no choice but to appeal to the rest of us. This means embracing diversity, protecting the middle class, expanding health care, welcoming immigrants, keeping abortion legal, defending the right to vote, and cutting deals to cut back fossil fuels. These goals are not extreme; they represent the vital needs of the 99 Percent, including most Trump supporters.

The architects of voter suppression and court-packing believe a second Trump presidency will be theirs to mold. They’ll do whatever it takes to win, and if they succeed, they’ll do whatever it takes to permanently lock in their victory. If you think racist violence and economic inequality and planetary ecocide are bad now, trust me, you do not want to see our country under permanent minority rule. Trump’s threats to imprison his political opponents will become a grim reality. If Joe Biden had lost in 2020, he would already be behind bars and the election of 2024 would be just another TV show.

What If Everybody Voted?

The One Percent has more dollars to promote its agenda than we do. But we have more votes. The one thing the 99 Percent has never tried is 100 percent voter turnout. I, for one, am mighty curious to see how the One Percent would react.

Voting Democrats into power isn’t a solution, only a strategy. Democrats gave us the New Deal, the Voting Rights Act, legalized abortion and gay marriage, but it was Richard Nixon who gave us the E.P.A. and the Clean Air Act. In every case it was not the politicians who made it happen but people marching, badgering Congress, filing lawsuits, and above all, voting. These victories fell short of “liberty and justice for all,” but all were strategic steps toward “a more perfect union.” And all are under threat if Trump wins.

In the past, progressives have helped to elect a Clinton, an Obama, a Biden, and then settled back on the couch to watch. We need to study the example of the right-wing extremists. Instead of settling back, they turn up the pressure. This election is a strategic opportunity to claim the Democratic Party for the working and middle class majority, just as a right-wing minority has taken over the G.O.P. for the One Percent.

We are now in the final round of the game. The trophy the One Percent is salivating over is a golden opportunity to roll back all the gains democracy has made since the New Deal, and probably much further back than that. With ever-steeper barriers to the ballot box, a hostile Supreme Court, and the vast apparatus of a police state now in place, backed by armed white-supremacist militias, the reality is: If we don’t vote massively and decisively to defend democracy in 2024, we may never get another chance.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Note: These are my personal opinions and do not represent any organization I’m involved in. If my words resonate for you, please share widely. You can subscribe at StephenWing.com. Read previous installments of “Wingtips” here.