'Aligning with' 'allying with' 'sharing a platform with'
All such nonsense.
How often do we see the people using these phrases apply them equally to the alternative party which 'aligns with' rapists in women's prisons, or 'allies with' criminalising women for speaking about sex?
I don't vote to demonstrate who my best friends are. With my vote I'm not declaring to the world who I'm inviting to my birthday party or whose hair I want to plait and who we've all decided smells stinky. My vote doesn't say, I defend all politicians in this party as the goodies. I may despise the actions of members of the party I vote for just as I despise the actions of the opposition. My choice isn't between good and evil.
I'm not allies with whomever is on the ballot paper and I'm not endorsing every member of a party with my cross.
People vote for whichever party will cause least damage, and most good.
For some, that decision involves an acceptance of women's rights being utterly dissolved, because they prioritise whatever else matters more to them.
For others, solidifying the legal recognition of our sex is the foundation of all our rights, and once that is established safely we will have the luxury of deciding which party has the purest candidates.
If you can be criminalised for even asking to be recognised, let alone asking for your rights, the game is over and you've voted yourself out of existence.
Leaders can be dethroned. Bad actors can be kicked out.
Principles matter. Laws matter. Protections matter and freedom matters.