US activists debate whether to vote Democrat

Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate in the US presidential election (Picture: The Democratic Party on Flickr)

Millions of people in the United States face an appalling choice in the presidential election.

Polls put Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris neck and neck ahead of the vote on Tuesday.

But Trump is setting the agenda—and Harris is running rightwards in the hope of winning Republican voters in swing states.

Renee Bracey Sherman, an abortion rights activist and author of Liberating Abortion, argues the left has to vote Democrat to stop Trump. “He is a white supremacist who hundreds of thousands died under,” she told Socialist Worker

“The mass level of nasty and open white nationalism under Trump is horrific. We saw Trump’s racist ‘Muslim’ bans, the separation of migrant families at the border and the anti-black racist rhetoric.”

“We can’t have him as president. I have deep policy disagreements with Harris but it’s not a contest between the two of them. He’s an extremely dangerous fascist.”

Harris hopes to mobilise enough Democratic voters by positioning herself as a bulwark against Trump’s assaults on abortion rights. He appointed Republican judges to the supreme court who overturned Roe v Wade, a legal case that enshrined a constitutional right to an abortion.

“Every other day you see a new story about someone being denied an abortion because doctors are fearful of the repercussions,” said Renee.

“The Republicans are criminalising reproductive freedom. That’s what’s been happening and what will happen.”

But the Democrats face an uphill struggle against deep disillusionment as President Joe Biden has pursued corporate policies at home and backed Israel’s genocide. He and vice president Harris have backed the slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza—and Israel spreading the war to Lebanon.

For millions of people, Biden will forever be known as “Genocide Joe”. One of them is Nadine, a Lebanese American in San Francisco who’s disgusted with the Democrats’ complicity in genocide.

“I believe that it doesn’t matter who gets elected in terms of Palestine,” she told Socialist Worker. “Both the Democrats and the Republicans have the same position of sending millions of dollars to Israel.

“There are of course some differences in terms of abortion rights, but it’s not enough to sway my vote.”

“I will vote Democrat on a local level but not presidential. As frightening as Trump is, the position the Democrats have taken over Israel means it is impossible to vote for them.

“It’s unacceptable to arm Israel considering what we see in the images of genocide in Gaza, which are unbearable.”

Nadine was disillusioned with the two-party system and argued that “the Democrats represent the status quo”. “I don’t think change is possible when both parties serve the same master of US imperialism,” she said.

Hundreds of thousands of people campaigned for “uncommitted” votes in Democratic primaries, which nominated the party presidential candidate. “There are many in the uncommitted movement as a movement we can’t be supporting the Democrats,” said Nadine.

Eric, a socialist in New York, attacked the “appalling choice” between Trump and Harris. “It’s so obvious that people want change and are upset with decades of neoliberalism,” he told Socialist Worker. “But there’s no choice for a positive change.”

Eric slammed Harris for her shifts to the right, saying, “Harris has come out in favour of even more border agencies and a more secure border. In the debate when Trump repeated racist nonsense, Harris could have come out and said why these are lies.

“Instead, she falls behind the racist ideas and says she will be more efficient at stopping migrants than Trump.”

Eric argued that this helps to “undercut any fightback” as the Democrats try to corral social movements behind their agenda.

He attacked Trump’s programme that “benefits the rich, not workers”, but added that “Harris is dedicated to proving to business that she will be its friend”. “We need better than the Democrats,” he argued.

“Each time a Democrat gets in, a worse Republican gets in next time. Republicans move to the right and Democrats keep chasing them. This will keep happening until we break from the logic of lesser evilism.

“We got Biden in on that logic, but now Trump is back and even worse—less tethered to democracy and with more links to the far right. It’s because of the disappointment with the Democrats who are presented as an alternative.”

Real hope lies with struggles outside of elections and with mass movements that have rocked US society in recent years.

Eric pointed to the “recent dockers strike winning demands and the Boeing strikers turning down the bosses’ offers” as a source of hope.  “We need to look to social movements like the Palestine movement too,” he argued.  

“What matters more than how you vote on the day is whether we are building demonstrations for Gaza or going to picket lines”.

Nadine agreed, “The politics of the US and the world isn’t going to change with electoral politics.

“The movement on the streets has to get stronger and try to change the world. We must keep struggling and protesting regardless of who wins the election.”

Nadine pointed to the failures of left Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) who’s backed the Biden-Harris administration. “AOC ran on a Democratic ticket and is now just toeing the Democratic party line,” she said.

AOC shows the broader failure of the US left, which fell behind the Democrats rather than trying to build a socialist alternative.

Tens of millions will vote for the Democrats out of fear of Trump, but many of them know they aren’t offering much.

“They are doing nothing to defend abortion rights,” says Renee. “What are their plans? That they won’t sign a national abortion ban into law and will restore reproductive freedom? What does that mean?

“Does that mean Medicare will cover abortion? Or that people will be able to get abortion in the third trimester? Will they make federal abortion stations in every county? Will they make abortion pills available over the counter?”

Renee argued that the Democrats are just using abortion “as a talking point to win the election”.

“The Democrats didn’t do enough to shore it up during the Barack Obama and Joe Biden years and it is a travesty,” she said. “We can’t rely on politicians to protect abortion access.”

The movements will have to fight whoever gets into the White House next Tuesday.

We are publishing articles every day in the run up to the US presidential election. Stay up to date at US elections 2024