This election season I will be voting for Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka. Yes, I have read an abundance of political commentary asserting that voting for Stein is a meaningless political protest or effectively a vote for Donald Trump. While I recognize the importance of preventing Trump from infiltrating the Oval Office, I will not support a candidate who stands in contradiction to my own political and moral values. The majority of neo-liberal millennials have mourned Bernie’s candidacy and the political revolution he stood for, in turn adopting a half hearted, “I’m with her,” and pledging allegiance to the Clinton campaign. This act of political compromise results in the reproduction of our two party system, which fails to represent the diverse opinions of our country. According to the New York Times, only 9 percent of Americans voted for the Democratic and Republican nominees in the primary elections.
Clinton, in positioning herself against Trump, is seeking to create a larger and larger umbrella party. In turn the party loses its ideological foundation, with their new platform simply advocating, “not Trump.”
The truth is, the Democratic Party does not engage progressive, leftist political ideology. Clinton and the Democratic Party continue to campaign in support of the apartheid and occupation of Palestine, warfare in the Middle East, toxic crime policies and politically motivated “humanitarian interventions.” Let us not appropriate the term “feminism” to describe a candidate who advocates for and supports drone strikes that kill women and children all around the Middle East.
When I engage in conversations about the election, Clinton supporters come armed with their fair share of anti-third party political talking points. Perhaps my favorite point alleges that wasting my vote on a third party candidate is “a white privilege,” suggesting that I, as a white person will not experience the apocalyptic effects of a Trump presidency.
This is a fair point, as we have seen already, racially motivated hate crimes against racial and religious minorities in this country have spiked as a result of Trump’s fascist political rhetoric. However, this anti-racist argument used to invalidate third party voting is being appropriated to demand support for a candidate who has a horrid record of supporting racist policies and asserting racist ideology. In voting against Trump’s overt racism, a vote for Clinton only substitutes his fascism for the Democratic Party’s post-modern, neo-liberal, “politically correct” brand of racism. While subtle in its visibility, Clinton’s brand of racism is equally detrimental in its institutional and systemic manifestations.
In choosing to vote for Stein, I do not expect that I am voting for the next president. What I am doing is effectively voting to promote the continuation of a political revolution and to demand radical transformation of our broken and corrupt system.
The American political oligarchy will continue invalidating my political practice as being disillusioned and out of touch with the reality of the American political climate. The truth is, radical revolution requires radical action and standing uncompromisingly with your political values.
Caren Holmes, a Contributing Writer for the Voice, can be reached for comment at CHolmes17@wooster.edu.