Many democrats are insisting that progressives and liberals not stray from voting outside the party as the US government provides unwavering support for Israel while disregarding the humanitarian crisis and genocide of the Palestinians. This is dividing the democrats. For these diehard Dems, they insist that more will be lost if voters opt for the Republican candidate or the frontrunner for a third party. My question to these diehard Dems is- why are you instilling fear in people and not supporting the pure process of electing a government? Also, why can’t voters write in a candidate of their choosing from the Democrat party?
Writing in a candidate is, for me, the most conscionable choice. This has been my means of voting for president since I have had the privilege to vote, except for the last presidential election in which I voted for Joe Biden. Biden will not receive a vote from me ever again, nor will any elected official that supports genocide.
My decision to vote for another candidate was decided BEFORE the war in Gaza. Ironically, I had a conversation about the reversal of promises made by Joe Biden like the border wall. His reversal on the border wall where he so emphatically declared during his campaign that he would never build a foot of the wall under his administration, and other major reversals like the repeal of Roe v Wade and the absolute lack of response from Biden, as well as the forgotten college debt relief; these abrupt and jarring about-face turns in his policies and direction led me to understand that this person does not have the heart that they proclaim. The trust I had has disappeared in this president. The White House’s response to any questioning on the border wall has been acerbic and infantilizing. Women are suffering from lack of healthcare, and there is absolute silence on this front.
That is when I made the choice to note vote for Biden. My friend texted me back with exactly what the hardcore democrats would counter with, that there will be repercussions to my vote and for other people that take the vote away from Biden. As in threatening that we will lose more rights. But again, I have questions. When I told my friend I wasn’t voting for Biden I said I feared that this man has no regard for rights and will let other rights erode away (in regards to abortion lack of pushback from Biden). Here we are today, a few weeks after that conversation and the world is in a place where the human rights of millions of innocent people are not even considered. No where could I imagine the horrors that the Biden administration have now supported and cosigned against Palestinians. So my question for my friend and anyone that supports Biden for another presidential term is- what is your line of reasoning that you would sell your humanity over another person’s basic human rights? Can you not see that electing him, or anyone that has supported the Israeli siege on Gaza allows him/them legitimacy in his/their actions? The implication is that to the hardline Democrats are asserting that their life, their way of life, means more to them than all the lives of the Palestinians lost and their rights to exist as a people.
What other rights are we willing to lose? What human rights are we willing to ignore? How many more people have to die? It seems like there is no end to this abyss unless, as informed voters, we make a choice and a stand.
Vote with your conscience. Vote.
If any voters do decide to write in a candidate, please make sure that the candidate is one that has already provided paperwork for the elected office. You can write in candidates for senator, representatives, governor, and president depending on your state. To find the specific rules for your state, please follow the link US.gov State Directory