From what I understand, Baizuo means something along the lines of “why bother doing it?”

It is used to describe anything where efforts are proven or likely to be proven futile, not just in relation to politics.

Here is an example, if my parents saw me trying to boil a pot of water with a candle, they would refer to that action as baizuo.

This is my experience as a Taiwanese so it may be different in China.