Commentators like @krystalball, @ggreenwald, @jimmy_dore, and @briebriejoy claim that withholding one's vote for a centrist Democrat can move the party to the left. Has anyone argued for this claim not in theory, but with historical examples?

The strategy requires that vote withholding is

1. organized enough that it has a *unified* and *well-communicated* purpose
2. widespread enough that it makes a real difference
and
3. effective enough that its benefits outweigh short-term harms.

Do those conditions hold in 2020?

So, one question is whether the conditions hold in 2020. But in making that case it's relevant whether this kind of strategy has ever worked in the past.

To clarify something: an individual refraining from voting for Biden cannot actually even be sensibly defended on the strategic grounds mentioned, because the strategy is a strategy at the level of a group or movement, not individuals, and it requires mass communication.

@OlufemiOTaiwo I hope this one tweet makes you happy.