My first vote for president was in 1992. I was 18. Bill Clinton was the Democratic Party nominee. I voted for him. He won. Democrats were very happy. The 12 year drought was over.
Eight years later, frustrated at the Clinton/Gore administration’s rightward shift on issues like crime and the social safety net, and at Al Gore’s embrace of anti-rap demagogue and preening moralist Senator Joe Lieberman as his running mate, I voted for Ralph Nader.
I bought into the idea that this could jumpstart a progressive third party in the United States, to challenge the neo-lib / neo-con hegemony. I thought there was no way Gore could lose to George W. Bush, a lightweight largely derided as the dimmest (and fratiest) member of the powerful Bush family. And Nader was running a real campaign, drawing huge crowds and generating genuine excitement. Plus, I lived in a safe state.
I didn’t think the two parties were the basically the same — Tweedledee and Tweedledum, as Nader called them — and I wanted Gore to win. I thought it was important to send a message that progressive voters couldn’t be taken for granted. And I was confident we could give Nader votes without sinking the Vice President.
I was right. And I was wrong. Dubya became president in January of 2001, kicking off the new century with a stolen election (thanks Sandra Day O’Conner!). He was asleep at the wheel in the months leading up to 9/11, and then pulled us into two wars, one — in Iraq — completely unjustified. A million people died. Iran was strengthened. ISIS was born. And then there was the response to Hurricane Katrina, the eight years lost for action to arrest climate change, the mortgage crisis that bankrupted a generation of Americans.
Partially as penance, I have worked on every presidential election since 2004, leading independent efforts to support the Democratic nominee. Kerry, Obama, Obama, Clinton, Biden, and now Harris.
In every race where there was a primary, my first choice lost. Which meant I put my time and energy into candidates — the party nominee — who didn’t align with me on at least some important issues. Kerry supported the Iraq War. Obama was against marriage equality. Clinton was BFFs with Henry Kissinger. Biden failed to stand up for women during the Clarence Thomas hearings. Etcetera.
Despite these and many other failings, all of these candidates were the best option on Election Day. Kerry was better than Bush. Obama was better than McCain and Romney. Clinton, Biden, and now Harris are better than Trump.
Better, in the affirmative sense that they are far closer to my values on a range of issues, and better in the negative sense, in that they are less bad than the alternative on the issues where we disagree.
Every political party is made up of a range of constituencies that coexist despite tensions. The question for voters is: Which coalition do you want to be a part of? The one with AOC and Bernie Sanders and Maxwell Frost, with labor unions and climate groups and civil rights organizations? Or the one with Ted Cruz and Majorie Taylor Greene and Donald Trump, with the NRA and Christian Nationalists and Moms for Liberty?
A few days ago, a video I helped pull together was posted online. More than anything else I’ve seen, I think it captures the healthiest way to approach presidential elections. “Only one factor matters in who gets our vote. It’s not which candidate we wish would be powerful. It’s which election result will leave ourselves most powerful.”
The social movements I care about will be more powerful under a Harris administration than under a Trump administration. This is true even if a Trump administration is more galvanizing of our opposition through his outrageous policies.
Dubya’s decision to launch the Iraq War came about despite the largest anti-war mobilizations since the 60s. On the other hand, climate activists overcame opposition from the oil and gas industry to push Biden to pass the most far reaching climate bill in history. And while it has failed thus far to stop the US from arming Israel, the pro-Palestine movement has increased its strength among key Democratic constituencies, including members of Congress.
Despite my experience in 2000, I still believe in third-parties. On Sunday, I cast my vote for the Harris/Walz ticket on the Working Families Party line. Since the late 90s, the WFP has been doing the painstaking, difficult work of building a viable third party rooted in community that can elect candidates and influence elected officials. I’d be thrilled if the WFP is able to get to the point where it can run a candidate for president. Other efforts and different models, like DSA, are beginning to bear fruit.
Unfortunately, the Green Party, and Jill Stein, have not demonstrated that they are serious about movement building. Their campaigns are a grift. They sell voters a clean conscience but hide the cost: weaker social movements and a stronger opposition across a wide range of issues.
Today is Election Day. I’m rooting for a Harris/Walz victory and hoping a new generation has learned the lessons of 2000 and the Nader campaign. Before it’s too late.
