The cynical race to the bottom has begun. As one party redraws congressional maps for partisan gain, the other threatens to retaliate in kind. Their justification is that you must “fight fire with fire.” But they forget that when you do that in a forest, it’s the trees that get burned. When you do that in a democracy, it’s we, the people, who get burned.
The outrage is justified, but the proposed solution of more partisan warfare is just grabbing a bigger torch. There’s a better way. When someone changes the rules of the game, stop trying to beat them at their own broken game. Play a different one.
For decades, we’ve been told our power lies in the general election. In a gerrymandered district, that is a lie. When a district is engineered to be unlosable for one party—whether it’s by Republicans in Texas or Democrats in California—the insiders have already rigged the November outcome. Fine. Let them have their empty victories. Our new playing field is the primary election—the only contest that actually matters.
The strategic answer is the same everywhere: use the primary to moderate the majority. And here in Colorado, we are uniquely equipped for this fight.
Our state’s 1.99 million unaffiliated voters, the largest political bloc in Colorado, don’t even have to formally switch parties. Thanks to our semi-open primaries, every unaffiliated voter receives both a Democratic and a Republican ballot. The power to choose which battle to fight, which extremist to block, is already in our hands. For partisans in lopsided districts, from deep-red Colorado Springs to deep-blue Denver, the logic simply requires one extra step: re-register for a cycle and ensure the most pragmatic person wins the only election that counts.
Some will call this approach cynical or disingenuous. But the real cynicism is accepting a system where your voice is silenced. This isn’t about abandoning your principles. It’s about using your power intelligently. This requires a kind of political jujutsu—using the system’s own weight against itself. The next step is to organize. We need “Social Liberty” factions inside the GOP and “Blue Dog” movements inside the Democratic party, made up of pragmatic voters who have crossed over to act as a moderating force, becoming the kingmakers who force candidates to appeal to the center, not just the fringe.
This requires you to set aside tribal identity for tactical influence. It asks you to be a citizen first and a party loyalist second. The partisans want you angry and loyal, fighting their losing battles. Don’t be angry. Be cool; ice cold.
The choice is yours: cast a meaningless vote that makes you feel pure, or cast a decisive one that actually makes your district better. Choose influence over impotence. Choose moderation over madness.
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