The text below was written in the r/femalepoliticstragey sub by u/blueskiesoverlondon. None of the text has been altered from the author and you can see the full text and comments here: https://old.reddit.com/r/FemalePoliticStrategy/comments/q3zbxj/political_parties_are_not_your_friends/

I wanted to share it here and add on to it at the end with my thoughts.

BlueSkiesOverLondon: 
As this subreddit grows and develops, I think it’s important to keep in mind the fundamental difference between political ideologies and values (ie feminism, liberalism, conservatism) and political parties (like Labour and the Conservatives in the UK, the Democrats and Republicans in the US, the Tories, Liberals, and NDP in Canada, and so on). Political parties necessarily posses and espouse ideologies, certainly, but that isn’t the only or main thing they do in most countries. As a rule, major political parties exist to win elected offices and secure money and power for their members. In this sense, they are similar to a newspaper that publishes for no better reason than to sell papers.
Overwhelmingly, the people who run political parties around the world are men, and the interest groups that pay for and support their bids for power are men’s interests. This is why women cannot and should not trust major political parties to act in our interests unless forced, and indeed the histories of even the “progressive” major parties show that they never have acted to liberate or advocate for women without being forced.
The ideologies and views major political parties espouse are elaborate post-hoc rationalizations for the fact that their (male) leaders want you to give them power. They are trying to convince you that their group of men is better than the other groups of men, and they are trying to distract you so you won’t ask why the candidates to rule us are only men or those serving male interests. This is why it is a huge mistake to treat an ideology (say, liberalism) and the major party that claims to represent it (say, the Canadian Liberal Party) as interchangeable. Major parties want to “disappear” into their apparent ideologies so they can use the ideology to shield themselves from criticism (about corruption, representation, malice, and incompetence). They desperately do not want you to pull back the curtain and examine how the organization is actually run.
I am not saying all major parties are equally bad when you pull back the curtain, but as the system is currently designed, you’d be a fool to act like a “team player” just because your party are the “good guys.” If women do not keep relentless pressure on their representatives, at all levels, in government and out, they are more than happy to screw us over in pursuit of power. That is the reality of politics under patriarchy.
I urge my sisters to reject partisan affiliation and party loyalty, not because all ideologies are the same, but because we should not pledge unconditional allegiance to men who would never do the same for us.

Libfemtearshots: I really like this text and thought it important to share here within the context of female solidarity. I've written a piece before on the subject, and I find the above text perfectly encapsulates my feelings on political matters and how they relate to radical feminism.

Lots of radfems either feel politically homeless or almost forced to be on one side or the other. Personally, I have chosen to opt out of our current American political structures, and radical feminism isn't the only reason why. Keeping radical feminism in mind, however, I've been disheartened at the fracture US politics has caused in our community - I left Ovarit because of it. BSOL is completely correct in that these are male structures that we are forced to operate in. They make us fight each other instead of fighting the oppressor and it in turn causes massive rifts in our communities that ultimately results in members leaving and not having one, cohesive community where radfems can gather. We end up ultimately doing the patriarchy's work for them. This is dangerous to us as women and where I feel like our solidarity as a class is lacking. In order for us to have a united front we need to agree that we are oppressed under patriarchy as a class and our current systems (in the US, at least) do not allow adequate or fair representation for women. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I have absolutely no clue what building a new political structure outside of our two party system looks like for women. None. I really don't even know if it's possible. I have zero experience in politics or how we can even begin to air our grievances and get it in front of policy makers. I do believe that upholding the status quo will never result in positive change for women, though, and the current systems and their behavior have made that very clear to us. This is where I get my strength in ensuring I will do my damndest to keep this a place where we can strategize, laugh, cry, and grow but most importantly uphold radical feminist tenets.

A huge (and devastating) part of being a woman is the fact that we have to make personal sacrifices we don't want to to survive in this world as women, and what that looks like is different for each woman. There's a reason that I will be steadfast on the core values and make sure they're upheld in this space. We can do things that are not technically in line with radical feminism (like wearing makeup so we can have jobs) but that must come with the understanding that we are not making these choices because we really "want to" or that we are "empowered" by them without accepting that we are inherently disadvantaged when working within male dominated political structures in hopes of preserving our rights.

The truth is and always has been that there's strength in numbers. Am I more or less of a radfem because I show up to work in makeup and sometimes uncomfortable clothing? No. If every woman in my office building didn't show up in makeup one day, would they be able to fire all of us for lack of professionalism? Possibly, but I think you get where I'm going with this. Are you more or less of a radfem if you agree with radfem principles but still show up to vote for either party that continually oppress us? No. I don't agree with you because I could be very jaded but I simply don't think "working within" is possible anymore. The historically woman-friendly democrats turned their backs on us when they let trans lunacy in their ranks and subsequently started chipping away at our rights to segregated sports, prisons, bathrooms, and the very definition of what a woman is. The republicans were never our friends and come hell or high water will keep abortions and birth control illegal while continually offering zero social programs for children like free public preschool or really any child care.

I understand wanting to have some sort of a choice in what happens to you as a woman and your fellow sisters whether they agree or disagree with you. Every radfem has her own areas where she feels comfortable giving her energy and pushing back (or not at all) against the patriarchy. Only considering a radfem perspective, there could be radfems out there who vote republican because the thought of being in a bathroom with a mentally ill man and his vagina fetish gives her flashbacks to her CSA that often occurred in her home bathroom. She would never want that happening to another woman and she knows that these laws will open the gates for predatory men. There could be radfems out there who vote democrat because her abortion helped her not be baby trapped by a man that would beat and rape her. She would never want another woman to be forced to endure a violent man because of a baby and considering suicide if she couldn't have an abortion.

I apologize for the harsh language and imagery. I say these things because these are real situations that happen to real women everyday and are allowed to occur because of the patriarchy - not your sisters. Can either woman be lambasted for her politics? Is one woman's situation lesser or not as dangerous as the other?

My personal opinion on the way forward is continuing to hound the core tenets of radical feminism (I'm being purposely repetitive) by fostering an environment where radfems can come together and build class solidarity. We have to have the understanding that women as a class are oppressed and that there are no good options for women. Other women are not your enemy.

I’m reminded of the occupy Wall Street protests while writing this and one of the biggest criticisms of the movement was, “What do they want? They’re making all this racket with no clear focus.” We MUST be a united front. We must have clear messaging and a clear goal in mind if we want to achieve womens’ liberation.