As this column is being written, the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., is kicking off its second day. Already we have heard inspirational messages of progress from the likes of Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and First Lady Michelle Obama.
Unfortunately, these inspirational messages sound far more tepid than they did in 2008. In the wake of continued economic distress for millions of unemployed Americans, and the worst level of political stalemate and income inequality seen since the Gilded Age, President Obama is struggling to sell himself to the American people for a second term.
To be fair, the president has accomplished a host of admirable feats, not the least of which are: averting a depression, ending the war in Iraq, ordering the operation to take down Osama bin Laden, repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell,” taking steps to ensure pay equality for women and expanding health care coverage to millions of more Americans.
At the same time, the president has disappointed liberals in probably the same number of ways. His most unforgivable action while in office may be his willingness to solidify our government as being bought and paid for by Wall Street.
Despite speaking on the campaign trail of changing the culture on Wall Street, and avoiding the insane practice of trying the same things over again and expecting different results, he did exactly that: He appointed the very same people to his economic team that pushed through the policies that plunged our economy into recession in the first place.
By embedding incompetent scoundrels like Timothy Geithner and Larry Summers into the upper echelons of his administration, Obama showed his true colors as a corporate democrat reluctant to challenge the systematic corruption and recklessness of the out-of-control banking industry, which to this day, has kept average citizens in anguish while allowing executives to shower themselves with absurd salaries and bonuses.
With all this being said, the classic political dilemma arises yet again: choosing between the lesser of two evils.
This election, however, is no contest.
In selecting between a moderate liberal who has betrayed the left in a handful of ways and a coreless, flip-flopping right-winger, the choice is stark.
The primary dilemma, rather, arises in deciding whether to vote according to principle or according to practicality. The true progressive party in this country is not the Democratic Party, but arguably the Green Party, which this year is running Dr. Jill Stein as its candidate for president.
In the latest issue of “The Progressive” magazine, Stein tells editor Matthew Rothschild why she is running against Obama: “Working people have been betrayed by Obama,” noting that he has largely ignored unions and hasn’t fought for minimum wage increases. Concerning foreign policy, she cites that the president “expanded the drone wars and surged troops into Afghanistan … ” and on the environment, she says that he has “undermined international accords and scuttled the effort to get climate change under control.”
These are all valid arguments.
Nevertheless, it doesn’t take a veteran political strategist to understand a vote for any party other than the Democrats or the Republicans is simply, for all practical purposes, a vote wasted.
The reality of our current and longstanding system is that if you want a relatively liberal or progressive (i.e. sane) candidate in office, you simply must vote for a Democrat.
Hopefully, one day our country will break the stranglehold the two-party system has on our politics, making way for an effective third party in the vein of the Progressive Party of 1912 or the Green Party of today.
Until then, the left must hold true to the principle that defines progressivism — pragmatism. Unlike extreme libertarians, who by definition reject pragmatism and instead rely on rigid ideology, liberals and progressives must proudly hold on to their pragmatism by understanding that the only effective votes citizens can cast this year for progress are votes for President Obama and the Democratic Party.
Moises Reyes is a journalism grad student at UF. His column appears on Fridays. You can contact him at opinions@alligator.org.
