Dear Friends:
Too often, when I am among my friends on the political left I feel obligated to nod and agree when they talk about the need to elect Joe Biden. I feel like I will be misunderstood and ostracized if I speak contrariwise to them. I have decided that I need to take a moral stand on this issue — it is important that my friends hear my voice and my view.
I cannot vote for Joe Biden as president: (not in any particular order)
- In watching Biden and listening to his interviews it appears that he is in mental decline. As such, it seems apparent that a vote for Joe Biden is not a vote for Biden — who is incapable of executing the office of president — but rather a vote for the Democratic Party boss elites, of whom he is a loyal member. I disagree with the Democratic Party boss elites on many, many issues– for example, I am anti-war, and the Democratic Party boss elites historically support wars and increases in “defense” spending.
- Joe Biden has a history of sexually assaulting women.
- Joe Biden was one of the primary architects of the current carcerel state, introducing and supporting legislation that expanded federal crimes, increased sentencing for federal crimes, creating the program that funnels military equipment to police departments, etc. Joe Biden contributed to “the New Jim Crow” laws.
- Joe Biden pressured the Ukrainian government to fire a Ukrainian prosecutor that was in the process of bringing charges to Burisma, a Ukrainian business that had placed Hunter Biden, Joe’s wayward son, on its board of directors. Emails have just surfaced that indicate that Hunter was paid to curry influence with his father, and brokered a meeting between Joe Biden and a Ukrainian member of Burisma’s board. This sort of corruption is something we don’t need in the presidency.
- I refuse to vote for Biden — or anyone, for that matter — simply because he is “not Trump.” Children who rebel against over-bearing parents are still being controlled by those parents when they do the opposite of parental directions.
- Yes, I understand full well the problems of a Trump presidency — I lived them for the past four years. However, I was not impressed with how so many activists on the left seemed to “go to sleep” during Obama’s eight years in office. Under Obama this country dropped more bombs, deported more people, started dividing immigrant children from caregivers at the Mexican border, created a “kill list,” killed a US citizen abroad, got involved in more wars, approved hydrocarbon pipelines and more fracking, etc., and so many activists on the left said nothing “because he is our president.” This was disgusting to watch. I don’t want activists on the left to forget that they are “woke” because “our guy” is in the presidency. Getting “our guy” in the presidency is not how we move forward justice nor how we create progress for human rights — we do these things through organization, pressure, public appeals, appeals to morality, and through persuading our neighbors to join us and agree with us. If people in positions of power are on our side it is because we have made it impossible for them to do otherwise — not because they are “our guy.” People who rise to positions of great power in this system are NEVER “our guy” because the system is corrupt, and one cannot rise in power without participating personally in that corruption. Therefore, to move our causes forward, it does not matter who holds the presidency.
I could go on, but I believe that I have stated my case clearly enough. Both major political parties in this country are corrupt. It is useless to argue about which party is more corrupt. Both major political parties in this country pander more to their wealthy donors than they do to the electorate. It is useless to argue about which party panders more to their donors or which party ignores the electorate worse.
If we want progressive change, it is my view that it is necessary to organize and build alternate structures, rather than attempt to reform the Democratic and Republican parties. It is very possible that not all reading this will agree with this assertion. That is okay. I do not condemn anyone who wants to try to reform the major parties from within, or who wants to try to reform the current system from the inside. However, my personal belief is that my efforts in such an endeavor are wasted, and I will be focusing my efforts elsewhere.
So, when it comes to the current election, I’m not sure yet who I’ll be voting for as president when I get my ballot. I may vote for the Green Party candidate, Howie. I agree with the stance of the Green Party on most issues. I believe that building third (and fourth, and fifth,) parties is one viable way forward in this country. I am tired of Democratic Party bosses trying to squelch democracy by shouldering the Green Party out of elections.
In Solidarity,
Alisa Phoenix
(Written 11/1/2020)