Of course we don¶
"Of course we don't think socialism will be implemented at the ballot box! The point is to raise consciousness and expose people to our ideas."
"Of course we have to water down our message! Otherwise we can't get elected."
Do you see the contradiction? Either Zohran Mamdani actually believes Oct. 7th was a horrific war crime, Israel has a right to exist, etc. -- in which case he is an enemy of liberation -- or he is just blatantly lying in order to get elected -- in which case he is not "raising consciousness" at all. The fact that "He has to say/propose/do that or he'll lose!" is exactly why electoral politics isn't doing what you think it is. You're imagining frogboiling a reticent, regressive population into thinking socialism is cool through acclimating them to having a "socialist mayor." All it actually does is change the meaning of "socialist" in their minds to "whatever this guy's doing." And whatever he's doing necessarily has to appeal to those people -- otherwise he can't hold office. And what appeals to them is Status Quo Premium. Apartheid with free buses. We don't need to guess how this plays out. We've seen it plenty of times: progressive darlings get elected on a laundry list of Nice Stuff, vague "socialist" buzzwords, and assurances to the most regressive constituents that they're not all that bad. And then they prove that they're "not all that bad" by continuing the business of the oppressive state, while fighting for their life to maybe pass a couple of their pet policies. They continue to dilute and distract and deflect, hoping to get reelected. In the end, the only purpose they serve is in self-identifying as "socialist." I have yet to see anyone explain what the pathway is supposed to be: how do you go from that to anything real?
Because the truth is, to these people, that is what's real. Socialism == free buses. Stop being frustrated that communists -- who are interested in the complete eradication of capital, empire, and all forms of oppression -- have ZERO interest in "the electoral strategy."
Our aims have nothing to do with what this strategy accomplishes.