What is a Progressive to Do in this Election?
The presidential race of 2016 has proven to be one of the most interesting, yet bizarre, elections in recent history. While the majority of the nation is in awe of the outlandish statements made by Trump, and now all of the accusations against him, the progressive wing of the Democratic Party had finally become excited to have a viable candidate for whom they can actually rally behind.
We watched Howard Dean implode after his famous scream in Iowa, and while Dennis Kucinich was one of the few presidential candidates who was “right” on the issues, we knew he never stood a chance. Instead, we were pleased to see the first black man become elected as president of the United States. Even though he was to the right of Hillary Clinton on many issues, at least he was opposed to the war in Iraq from the beginning. The Democratic Party had gone so far right on the political spectrum, Nixon would be considered more left wing than most Democratic candidates now, so it was not about which candidate did we wholeheartedly support, but which candidate we could we live with.
Then, Bernie Sanders came along, and for the first time in decades progressives finally had a candidate who not only stood behind our beliefs, but actually had a chance to get the nomination. Even more to the left than Elizabeth Warren, who was also urged by many to run, Sanders brought a new level of enthusiasm to presidential politics. Even the Working Families Party, the political party known for pragmatic progressivism, took a stance early on to endorse Sanders for president, as opposed to their usual strategy of supporting whomever becomes the Democratic nominee. This was a new era in presidential electoral politics, possibly best summed up here.
However, it all came to an end, and Hillary Clinton became the Democratic nominee, even though delegates for Bernie Sanders still made convincing arguments for their candidate in Philadelphia. Even if Sanders would not become the nominee, it was important that the issues that mattered the most to them (No to Trans-Pacific Partnership — TPP — and other free trade agreements, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, free college tuition for public universities, campaign finance reform and universal, single-payer health care, etc.) were key priority issues in the Democratic National Committee (DNC) platform. Sanders gave a very heart-wrenching speech during the first night of the Democratic Convention that reminded his supporters why we were so inspired and motivated to get behind him. The standing ovation for him was over three minutes long, when he was introduced, while Hillary Clinton did not even get even a third of that enthusiasm from her supporters. But in the end, Sanders asked his supporters to vote for Clinton because the stakes were too high to allow for a Trump presidency.
Sanders also reassured and reminded his supporters that he was able to get the DNC to agree to 80% of the issues that mattered to them on to their platform. Even though he is no longer the nominee, at least the issues he had fought for will be front and center on Clinton’s campaign agenda. Of course, he said this while Clinton chose a running mate who had a record of being pro-Free Trade himself. Clinton accepted her party’s nomination with the expected fanfare, and Bernie’s supporters were left with the three usual choices that most progressive, left-wingers are often left with: do not vote; vote for Green Party candidate — Jill Stein — or write in Bernie’s names; or hold our nose and vote for Hillary Clinton and take a shower afterwards. The option of voting for Hillary became less palatable when WikiLeaks exposed the e-mails made by former DNC chairman, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, who was forced to step down because of this scandal, only to be hired by the Clinton campaign.
During the convention in Philadelphia it was continuously stressed that voting for anyone other than Hillary or not voting at all was too risky because even the thought of a Trump presidency was just too dangerous. Furthermore, Clinton will be rallying behind many of the issues championed by Sanders, including Free Trade, even though her voting record has been pro-Free Trade. The Bernie or Bust supporters, on the other hand, continued to echo the sentiment that they are sick and tired of voting for the “lesser of the two evils”, the same sentiment expressed by Ralph Nader in 2000.
I was reminded by New York State Sanders delegate, Katherine Brezler, that that in a primary you vote with your conscience and for your principles, since you are voting among other rank-and-file members, but in the general election you vote for the nation; some may even argue, the planet. (Well, as a Working Families Party registrant, I was not allowed to vote in the Democratic primary.) It may not sit well with many of us to have to vote for Hillary Clinton, let alone volunteer or make a campaign contribution for her, but what impact do we really make, when we vote for someone like Jill Stein, who also has had her own record of pandering, and very irresponsibly at that. After all, how much impact do protest votes really have? Rather than complain about always having to vote for the lesser of the two evils or the problems of a two-party system, perhaps we should actually do something to change that, and voting for protest candidate is probably not the way to do so, at least not in this election.
Sanders has reminded us that if we really want to hold our future president accountable, then we need to put pressure down the ballot line. Rather than focusing on what outrageous statement Trump just made and how Hillary is polling, our focus should not just be on taking back the House and Senate, but electing more progressives into office. We forget that the reason President Obama was unable to accomplish much of what we hoped for was because people failed to show up for the midterm elections, while the Tea Party Republicans organized very well to get their candidates elected, causing Democrats to lose control of both the House and Senate in 2010, and the Koch Brothers have doubled down this time, when it comes to supporting their Senatorial and Congressional candidates. The presidential race is not even a concern for them, as I had pointed out in a previous piece.
Many of these seats are up for grabs in the swing states. So rather than going to Pennsylvania or Ohio to knock on doors for Clinton, you can knock on doors for a local Congressional candidate who could use that support, as well as Katie McGinty who is running for the Senate in Pennsylvania.
Even when the Democrats did have control, many bills were not passed that would have supported working people because many Blue Dog Democrats and other Democrats beholden to corporate interests did not come through, which is the importance of helping more progressive Democrats get elected. This year even Debbie Wasserman-Schultz faced a primary challenge by Tim Canova. Although he fell short, due to the party establishment stumping for Wasserman-Schultz, it was a very close race that lets the Congresswoman know she is on watch.
Voters in many states also have the option of voting for Hillary Clinton on the Working Families Party (WFP) Line, as they had the option to vote for other presidential candidates on the WFP line. While the WFP acknowledged that Clinton was certainly not the first choice for the majority of their rank-and-file members, which is why they endorsed Sanders early on, they also acknowledge that general elections are about reasonable decisions. Those who vote for Hillary Clinton on the WFP line will send Clinton a message that issues that affect working people should be a priority. If we elect a Congress that leans more towards the left, then Clinton will receive even more pressure from both the electorate and legislators alike. Clinton herself was elected to the Senate because of the Working Families Party Line, so she understands that very well. This means that this work has to continue on to 2018, when we have midterm elections, and beyond if we want to elect a more progressive Congress. Voters in many swing states also have the option to vote for Clinton and their Congressional candidates on the WFP line.
Bernie Sanders showed many progressives what was possible. We are capable of letting the Democratic establishment know that issues that affect working people should be prioritized. After all, this is why we elect them into office. We were able to tell the DNC that big money has no place in politics. We do not want to see all of the work that the Sanders campaign put in go to waste. Sanders helped us understand that #AnotherWorldisPossible. Let us make that happen. At the same time we can celebrate by actually being able to say “Madam President”, as Sanders delegate, Katherine Brezler, also reminded me, just as we celebrated the first black man getting elected as Commander-in-Chief eight years ago. Even though she is a candidate that many progressives have a difficulty supporting, at least we are finally able to catch up with many other countries.
I am still not convinced to say #I’mwithher, but I definitely will not say #HilNo, even if I am #StillSanders. After all, even Noam Chomsky has reminded us that humanity depends on it for Donald J. Trump to be defeated, but even if he is, we still need to put pressure down and up the ballot, as Bernie Sanders has reminded us.
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