It is incumbent upon those of us who identify as progressives, socialists or leftists to vote for Harris to defeat Trump.
Frieda Afary
The current developments in the U.S. continue to be head spinning:
- The details of the Republican plans for a takeover in 2025 have been chillingly described in Project 2025 issued by the Heritage Foundation, a Republican Think Tank. That agenda spelled out in a 900-page “Mandate for Leadership” document includes remaking every department of the government according to extreme right views. It replaces career civil servants with political appointees who can be hired or fired at the will of the president. It decimates the public education system, bans abortion rights, gets rid of climate protection regulations, removes all “immigration violators” and much more.
- While conspiracy theories have been abounding about the July 13 attempt to assassinate Donald Trump, one simple fact often not discussed is the connection to the love of guns and gun violence which the Republican Party itself has been promoting for decades as it blocks any meaningful effort by some members of Congress to impose gun control. The assassin, Thomas Crooks, who was shot dead by sharpshooter police agents was a twenty-year old nursing home kitchen worker, a registered Republican, known by his classmates and acquaintances for his conservative views. A subsequent police search of his home showed that he was also considering targeting Joseph Biden, the head of the FBI and the Attorney General.
- The Republican National Convention was a patriarchal hate fest in which participants openly held signs calling for “mass deportation” of undocumented immigrants and openly declared war on Democrats and progressives. Trump’s choice of vice presidential candidate, D. Vance, a big-tech entrepreneur and favorite of Big Tech billionaires, Peter Thiel and Elon Musk, claimed to be a defender of the working class. He has also promoted himself as a strong opponent of abortion rights, and a voice of the pro-Putin wing of the Republican Party.
Trump’s long and rambling speech was yet another diatribe against immigrants and a call for cutting taxes on the rich, peppered with attacks on “crazy Nancy Pelosi”, Biden, Democrats, and the Left. The hateful message was introduced by wrestler Hulk Hogan tearing up his Tee shirt on the stage and calling for “let Trumpamania run wild” and by Kid Rock singing “American Bad Ass” which called for “Fight Fight Fight …”
A few days after the Republican National Convention, Joseph Biden finally agreed to withdraw from the presidential race and endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris as the new candidate.
While some party leaders and journalists had called for a brief open primary to allow for various presidential candidates to present their views and to gauge public opinion about the candidates, this scenario did not materialize. The Democratic Party’s fear of chaos, the reluctance of the anticipated contenders to step forward, and the exuberance showed by 80% of the Democratic Party base about Biden’s stepping down and endorsing Harris, allowed the Democratic Party leadership to converge around Harris.
So far, the amount of donations from the public for the Harris campaign, and the exuberance generated especially among Black women have been unprecedented. Despite Harris’s mixed record on some issues, her strong support for abortion rights and her open expression of sympathy for the plight of the Palestinians, in addition to her support for labor rights, her opposition to the death penalty and her defense of environmental protection can bring in more support from women and youth.
It will have to be seen whether she will significantly change the polls in the race against Trump in all the swing states which will determine the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. Trump’s authoritarian capitalism and the Republican Project 2025 agenda still have a strong mass base which will not stop at anything including armed riots to impose their fascistic plans. The possibility of their electoral victory in November is still very strong.
Given this situation, and given how close the polls still are especially in the swing states, it is incumbent upon those of us who identify as progressives, socialists or leftists to vote for Harris to defeat Trump. Voting for a Third Party candidate such as Jill Stein of the Greens or Cornell West and Melina Abdullah of the Justice for All Party would take away votes from Harris and increase Trump’s chances of winning.
Frieda Afary
July 25, 2024