I have followed the position on electoral politics based on the position taken by Noam Chomsky, even before he went public over it in the current elections: In safe states, vote for progressive third parties, in battleground states, vote to keep the Republicans out by voting Democrat. And above all, stay active during the rest of the year in resisting both major parties’ reactionary policies.
In the current elections, I believe this is more urgent than ever.
Hillary Clinton is a terrible candidate for many reasons. Her flip-flop on TPP, her irresponsible position on the Syria war, her utter lack of concern for the need to avoid the appearance of corruption in public life, and a host of other issues make this plain. That she was forced to tack to the left in the face of the Sanderista insurgency, which I strongly supported, tells us little about what will happen once that insurgency’s energy dissipates, spent on infighting and a lack of planning.
During the 2012 elections, I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party, not knowing much about her. For a series of reasons which form the subject of this blog, I cannot vote for her again. But in fairness, there are wonderful things about the positions she takes. For instance, it is lovely to hear a candidate talk about putting Exxon on trial for its conspiring against climate science the way the tobacco companies were convicted of being responsible for an epidemic by fighting medical science. Her plan for a Green New Deal is, however vague, literally, a breath of fresh air. If people find that this outweighs your feelings about some of the disastrous positions she is taking, fine. But what is irresponsible for the voter is to shade his or her eyes from the darker side of her campaign.
I hope that this blog will spark a discussion among thoughtful Green Party members.
Just a word on blog policies: This election campaign arouses strong emotions, and I hope they will be expressed here. But we can disagree without being disagreeable. Racist and sexists posts will be deleted, unless their presence seems to me to serve as an object lesson. Trolls, defined as one who “sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages” will have their posts deleted and themselves blocked. You are online. Have some self-respect. I urge uses to use their proper names and not a pseudonym.
Thank you.
Jill Stein’s is not a green effort for a sustainable society.
No clear substantive goal (sustainability). It’s a flavor of more leftish coalition than green.
All of the positions are simplistic.
And, it’s national in orientation and process rather than decentral in application, and collegial (discussion) in policy formation. It’s a continuation of the Nader debacles (also disastrous for the green movement for its emphasis on a hero rather than grassroots).