If you are are in red or purple state, you don’t get to vote your conscience (or sit on the sidelines) in November 2016. Sure, there is lots to abhor about the Clintons, but the contrast between Democrats (disappointing as they are) and the GOP has become a deep chasm. Since I live in Maryland, I am comfortable declaring that HRC won’t get my vote in the spring or the fall. But if I were in Ohio or Maine or Virginia, I would not have that luxury.
Progressive hero (and Nobel-prize winner) Paul Krugman makes an eloquent case in the New York Times for stopping the GOP, regardless of what one thinks of the Democratic nominee:
As we head into 2016, each party is quite unified on major policy issues — and these unified positions are very far from each other. The huge, substantive gulf between the parties will be reflected in the policy positions of whomever they nominate, and will almost surely be reflected in the actual policies adopted by whoever wins.
For example, any Democrat would, if elected, seek to maintain the basic U.S. social insurance programs — Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid — in essentially their current form, while also preserving and extending the Affordable Care Act. Any Republican would seek to destroy Obamacare, make deep cuts in Medicaid, and probably try to convert Medicare into a voucher system . . . And any Democrat would try to move forward on climate policy, through executive action if necessary, while any Republican — whether or not he is an outright climate-science denialist — would block efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions . . .The differences between the parties are so clear and dramatic that it’s hard to see how anyone who has been paying attention could be undecided even now, or be induced to change his or her mind between now and the election.
One thing is for sure: American voters will be getting a real choice. May the best party win. [emphasis mine]
Among the things Krugman neglects in his otherwise outstanding piece is the courts. Can you imagine Scott Walker’s, Ted Cruz’s, or even the (supposedly moderate) Jeb Bush’s court appointments? Even without all the other policy differences between the parties, preventing further right-wing radicalization of the courts across the country (not just the Supreme Court) should make every Naderite and Green vote Democratic in November.
©2015 Keith Berner
