With everything going on and all the frustration associated with American politics, every once in a while it's been not only welcome but necessary to see a small glimmer of hope. A little something that might restore the dwindling faith in electoral politics that seems to be getting us nowhere. In Buffalo we found it with India Walton, the first socialist in decades winning the democratic primary and primed to become the mayor.

Of course, the powers that be decided they would not have it.

After incumbent mayor Byron Brown lost the democratic primary to Walton, he immediately responded by launching a well organized write in campaign that he coordinated with the right wing, and spending — of course — massive amounts of money. A write in campaign that resulted in his re-election even though he lost the democratic primary, and India Walton losing.

I never, ever want to hear "vote blue no matter who" again.

Imagine if the roles were reversed.

Imagine if it was India Walton who had lost the primary against incumbent Byron Brown, and decided that she was not going to accept defeat but would rather steamroll him and align with the right than allow Brown to win. Imagine if it was Walton who had decided that she didn't feel as though respecting the results of the primary was necessary. Imagine if it was Walton who decided to undermine the results of the primary in an effort to serve her own interests.

Or better yet, imagine if it was Bernie Sanders.

Imagine if Bernie Sanders had not accepted the results of the 2016 primary and decided he was going to launch a mass write in campaign. Imagine if Bernie Sanders decided he didn't like that Hillary Clinton won, so he decided that he did not need to accept defeat. Imagine if Bernie Sanders had decided that the primary was beneath him, and he would fight to get in office no matter the cost or the will of the voters.

The democratic party organizes better against the left than it ever has against the GOP, and it would be laughable if it wasn't so infuriating.

"Vote blue no matter who" and gracious defeat is an onus put almost exclusively on the left. Now, we can't even count on corporate democrats accepting the results of the primary much less accepting the loss with courtesy and respect for the will of the voters.

I cannot even begin to imagine the reaction of the democratic establishment if all throughout the country, the left learned from this and decided that this was a legitimate play. Imagine if candidates decided they could merely launch write in campaigns rather than accept their loss. The outrage would be almost unbearable, and yet there has been nary a peep about what happened to India Walton.

This, right here, is the true nature of the democratic party's establishment and their old guard. They have never, ever meant a word of any of it when they chastise the left with their same tired talking points of being united, accepting defeat, and voting blue regardless. It's just designed to get the left to fall in line, and they clearly don't even bother pretending otherwise anymore.

Honestly, above all else this proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the democratic party is in a state of political open warfare between the rising left, and a dying, scrambling old guard that is desperate to retain power for as long as they possibly can no matter the damage to the party overall in the long term. In coming elections, particularly as the left only continues to gain power throughout the country whether it be at the local, state, or federal level, the pushback is only going to get more and more intense. Whether it be Nevada's democratic establishment pulling all the money from the accounts when democratic socialists won, or the fact that the party and its donors spent millions on a lone Ohio congressional special election just to ensure that Nina Turner didn't win, they continue to reveal their colors in a more brazen fashion.

They want nothing more than to see us give up, and I hope those of us on the left remember we can never give them that satisfaction. Anything worth fighting for will not come easy, and we cannot forget it.

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