Candidate alert! A new, heretofore unidentified group of untapped voters has emerged, waiting for wooing. This weekend, 175 members of the North American Anarchist Convergence (what, you expected a convention?) decided they would break with tradition and go to the polls this November.
This was far from a unanimous decision, according to the Associated Press, reporting from the meeting in Athens, Ohio. The idea of an anarchist voting for anyone is anathema, according to true believers (or is it unbelievers?). Lawrence, “a Californian in his mid-40s,” has nothing but disdain for the new direction chosen by his fellow convergees. “[T]hose who are voting are either bad anarchists or not anarchists at all,” he said. “No one can represent my interests. We reject political professionals.”
This election year, Campaign Desk has regularly reported on the emergence of new voting blocs. Add the anarchists to the list.
A word of advice to the campaign operatives who hope to claim these votes, however. Compared with other voting blocs that the press has “identified” — strip-club patrons, yoga lovers, Howard Stern fans, gun-toting church goers and even the Amish — bringing this group into the fold may be a lot like trying to herd cats.
–Susan Q. Stranahan
Susan Q. Stranahan wrote for CJR.