An "Obvious" Choice I'm Glad I Don't Have to Make
An "Obvious" Choice I'm Glad I Don't Have to Make
The Biden administration's callous, Zionist disregard for Gaza and Palestinians has made what should be a no-brainer a moral dilemma...one I'm happy I can avoid
Donald Trump was just convicted on 34 felony counts by a Manhattan jury. Trump still faces 54 felony counts across three more indictments. This twice-impeached former President never won the nationwide popular vote (not even close) and could have been prosecuted dating clear back to the Mueller investigation, were it not for a 1973 Department of Justice memo advising that sitting Presidents can’t be prosecuted. Joe Biden may still lose to him.
How the hell is this possible? After all, Biden’s accomplished some very important things that are fairly impressive given the congressional divides during his tenure. The pressure of the movement that developed around the presidential bids of Sen. Bernie Sanders certainly drove Biden in a more progressive direction than he ever would have gone otherwise. He appointed at least a few very impressive cabinet members and other executive level staff, managing to get a large number of these appointees confirmed where necessary in a Senate narrowly controlled by his party.
It all boils down to one word: Gaza. Gaza is Biden’s Vietnam; a self-inflicted wound that has gone from what could have been a minor setback to his reelection bid (had it been handled in even a remotely humanitarian way) to a serious (and justified) threat to his prospects. History is poetically, and terrifyingly, repeating itself with another Democratic nominating convention taking place in Chicago, just as it did in 1968. Many folks are changing the lyrics to the popular Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song “Ohio” to replace Nixon’s name with Biden’s, given Biden’s treatment of campus unrest surrounding Israeli-perpetrated genocide.
It shouldn’t cause any of us so much discomfort and self-doubt to contemplate reelecting a Joe Biden over a Donald Trump. They’re both far older than either party’s nominees should be, but Biden has a far younger Vice President prepared to take the reins if necessary. Biden was a U.S. Senator for 36 years and VP himself for eight, while Trump was a reality TV host, failed investor, grifter and conman. Yet here we are because Biden has firmly embraced Zionism and won’t let go. There is no line Biden won’t cross for Israel. He will not shutdown the flow of arms no matter how they’re used. He won’t even force compliance with previous commitments the United States brokered for peace in the region.
Biden and his advisers (at least those to whom he’s apparently listening) seem to think that unfettered loyalty to Israel, even to the right-wing authoritarian Netanyahu regime, will help him make up in Republican and right-leaning votes what he loses in leftist progressives. Given the cumulative polling results and the states Biden needs to win in the Electoral College, I’d say this is a very risky bet. Historically (and often currently) oppressed and marginalized peoples like Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and women/fem communities, and even many white, heterosexual and cisgender male communities in Appalachia living with a history (and often status quo) of socioeconomic and cultural oppression and ostracism, see themselves in Gazans and other Palestinians. Biden needs these demographic groups to win.
I’m a Central Appalachian who lived a big chunk of my adult life below the federal poverty line, as well as a self-avowed atheist Humanist; I can relate, however subtly and indirectly, to the suffering of Palestinians. West Virginia has been treated as an extraction colony and sacrifice zone by out-of-state corporate interests that hoarded the wealth our people generated since it became a state on June 20, 1863. Our ancestors fought the WV Mine Wars and other struggles against apartheid conditions, much like Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank have done with Israel.
So, you’re probably wondering, what do I mean when I imply that I don’t have to make a choice between Biden and Trump? Well, again, I’m a West Virginian. The Mountain State has just four (4) electoral college votes awarded based on its popular vote outcome and it is a 99.9999% certainty that Donald Trump will obtain a majority (probably 2/3 to 3/4) of the popular vote total in the state. I could vote for Biden, but it will make absolutely no difference in the outcome of the 2024 presidential election. I’m free to follow my conscience and choose neither.
I’ve found my presidential ticket, so long as the pair can obtain ballot access in West Virginia. I’ll be voting for Claudia De la Cruz and Karina Garcia, candidates who are running for President and Vice President on the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) ticket.
“Claudia De la Cruz is a mother, popular educator and theologian born in the South Bronx who has spent her life organizing for justice for working people at home and to end U.S. empire abroad. Karina Garcia is a Chicana organizer, popular educator and mother who has spent her entire adult life fighting for the rights of immigrant workers, women and the whole working class.”
I have no illusions (or delusions) about third-party viability in the United States today. I completely understand that Claudia and Karina will not be entering the White House on January 20, 2025. Their platform, however, is built around the notion that we must “destroy capitalism before it destroys us.” A truer statement or more noble goal has never been uttered. They champion all the same causes I do as an activist and, unlike Biden and many other Democrats, they reject Zionism and call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and stand with the colonized against the colonizers. To learn more about them, visit https://votesocialist2024.com.
I fear what’s to come as this year advances toward the first Tuesday in November, but I’m hopeful that our institutions will strengthen and hold against Trump and his MAGA cult and that People Power will hold Biden and many in his party accountable for their Zionist transgressions. Electoral politics, after all, is just one small tool in building a better, fairer, more just and more prosperous world for everyone.