The pieces that follow are a written accord of my ever-expanding train of thoughts and analyses regarding global affairs, politics, and culture. Pieces drop every other Wednesday, so don’t forget to get your fill in on the world and all of its conundrums right here! -Enaya
As we approach the coming 2024 presidential election on Nov. 5, the general public from both the United States and internationally seem to be stifled between Republican candidate Donald Trump, and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
The political rift between Democrat and Republican voters hasn’t seemed to simmer down this election, but has only deepened. Many former Democrats or those who have tended to lean left politically, have found Biden, and now Kamala Harris, to not be progressive enough when it comes to tackling issues of US involvement in international conflicts as well as other concerns with domestic policy.
The currently running third party candidates include Jill Stein for The Green Party, Cornel West for The People’s Party, and Chase Oliver for the Libertarian Party. A rising population of young voters and those below the voting age both online and offline are picking up on Stein’s supposed potential.
TikTok and other online platforms have seen an accumulation of young voters, and even those below the voting age, addressing their deep seated concerns with the Democratic party and the Harris campaign in general.
Many have found refuge for their ideals in Jill Stein.
These left-wing voters also seem to align with Stein for the fact that she has called for socialist policies, such as universal healthcare and the right to employment, two policies that the Democratic party under Biden and Harris do not plan to officially implement. This can be seen in their similar plans to expand healthcare but not initiate free access.
The issues with Stein’s candidacy that seem to go unnoticed by this new wave of young voters are as follows.
Many will use the war in Gaza and our relations with Israel as an example to vote third party as Stein has called for an end to sending military aid to Israel as a part of her campaign.
In other words, many believe that not voting for Trump or Kamala, as they will both administer continued military aid to Israel, will somehow save their moralistic integrity when it comes to these humanitarian crises.
The allyship we have with Israel doesn’t concern Democratic or Republican politics, it’s about foreign policy. And the reality of our foreign policy clearly states that we are allies with Israel, thus, any elected president cannot just simply break ties and stop sending aid amidst a war, no matter what they convince their supporters of during a campaign.
This view that a president can just stop sending aid to a country in particular simplifies the geopolitics of our allyship with Israel to a simple transaction that can easily be restricted.
News flash: it can’t.
Projecting your subjective preferences onto a candidate to the extent that these voters do completely disregards the realities of how political campaigning works. The fact is that many plans, goals, and potential policies that a politician promises during their campaign fly out the window if and when they step into office.
Thus, Stein’s promise of stopping aid to Israel should be treated with the same speculation and common sense as similar far-reaching policies from others.
Aside from Stein as a candidate and what her voters believe she will accomplish, the overarching fact is that Stein, or any other third party candidate for that matter, won’t win.
History has shown us that third party candidates have little chance to make it higher than 2% in the national ballot. And with Stein only on the ballot in 25 of our 50 states, her chances are even slimmer.
A vote for a third party candidate, whether it is Jill Stein, Cornel West, or Chase Oliver, should not be the sought out solution to those who are rightfully dissatisfied with the current two-party system and our 2024 presidential candidates.
You don’t need to fully support a candidate, you don’t even need to like them. Trump and Harris are the two candidates who have a shot at taking office, so it’s time dissatisfied voters make do with what we have despite their complaints, both reasonable and unreasonable, and continue on with their civic duty.
