>>512869765 (OP)I can't speak for anyone else, but for me it comes down to this:
A well regulated, functioning government is our only defense against the wealthy just re-inventing feudalism with better PR. Democracy is imperfect, but I would rather live under a system of government where the people have a voice than one where wealth puts you above the law and human suffering only matters if you can find a way to make a buck off of it.
Obviously, I'm not very happy with the current state of the american political system. But that doesn't mean that the problem is unsolvable.
The problem that american government has is that the wealthy have been allowed to evade, and co-opt, the very systems that are supposed to keep them in check. This is bad. But it is not, as it happens, universal. Other countries have managed to avoid this same outcome, which means that there is a path to fixing things here as well. The wealthy have been allowed to corrupt America, but just because it has been allowed to happen in the here in now does not mean their victory is inevitable or irreversible.
I do not care about the federal government being strong for its own sake. I only care about it insomuch as a weak federal government cannot stand up to the rich, while a strong federal government (potentially) can. Whether or not it is WILLING to do so is, unfortunately, another matter. But a weak central government will always, always, always be easy prey.
I'd rather believe that things can get better and vote in the hopes of that direction than simply embrace that things will get worse and wait to lose everything, which becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as a result of my own inaction.