COMMENTARY: Vote for the greater good, not the lesser evil

Published 9:11 am Thursday, September 22, 2016

Once again, America’s two major political parties have nominated candidates for president who will drive many progressive voters to the lesser of two evils. However, it is possible to vote for a truly progressive candidate and not risk helping Donald Trump become president.

In reliably blue states such as Washington, this country’s peculiar Electoral College process affords progressive voters an opportunity to vote to their values and not their fears. There is no doubt that Hillary Clinton will win Washington State (the bluest of all states according to some analyses of electoral history) and get all of Washington’s 12 electoral votes. The Clinton and Trump campaigns are spending little time and money here — they have already assumed the outcome.

With the certainty of a Clinton victory in Washington, progressive Washington voters can feel safe in voting for the only true progressive in this election: Jill Stein of the Green Party. A vote for Jill Stein will not hurt Clinton’s chances of winning all of Washington’s electoral votes. Watch the polls for Washington State right up to Election Day and then cast a ballot. Currently, fivethirtyeight.com gives Clinton a 93 percent chance of winning Washington.

Islanders, and Washingtonians, can safely vote for a woman who is a true progressive calling for revolutionary change and who represents the greater good (Jill Stein) instead of the neoliberal lesser evil (Hillary Clinton). A vote for Stein will help send a message to our oligarchy that we stand for building a just and more equitable society.

Stein leads by example. She has been a steadfast advocate for the environmental and racial justice movements and for getting big money out of elections. She was a leader for the Clean Election voter referendum which Massachusetts voters passed, but was then revoked by the Massachusetts Legislature dominated by the Democratic Party. This helped her understand the necessity for alternatives to the Democratic Party and she has since run for numerous elected positions, including for governor against Mitt Romney in 2002 and as a presidential candidate in 2012. Just recently, she participated in the Dakota Access Pipeline protest. She is also a mother and a physician.

Progressive-leaning voters, by voting for Stein, you will vote for your values. You will say, “no” to the Democratic Party which has been moving away from progressive values for decades and has instead given us:

Neoliberal and Wall Street domination of our economy

An ever more powerful surveillance state

The most poorly designed healthcare system in the western world

Student debt slavery for our children

Timid and half-hearted efforts on climate change

A foreign policy based on military domination and blatant disregard for international laws.

If a third party gets 5 percent of the popular vote in the presidential election, it will receive public funds to build capacity for future elections. This country desperately needs radical change that will never come from the Democratic Party. Despite the much-touted “most-progressive Democratic party platform ever,” Clinton’s choices of Wall Street ally Tim Kaine for running mate and oil and gas industry ally and fracking supporter Ken Salazar to head her transition team are bad news.

Stein’s platform calls for radical action to address climate change; the right to education, health care and employment; racial and economic justice and a foreign policy based on peace and international law. Here’s an excerpt from Stein’s website, jill2016.com:

“We are being battered by unemployment, inequality, poverty, injustice, endless war, impending climate catastrophe and a broken, corrupt political system. There are solutions for all of these problems, but they’re being blocked by political parties that serve the corporate elite, not the people. We need a new way forward that puts people, planet, and peace over profit. My campaign is dedicated to empowering the American people to make real the promise of democracy, and set our own course toward a brighter future. If not now, when? For our families, our communities, and our Earth, let’s come together to create the better America we know is possible. It’s in Our Hands!”

Make your vote count. Don’t waste it on a neoliberal who is going to win anyway. Vote for the greater good, not the lesser evil. If you don’t vote for what you want, you’ll likely never get it.

— Betty Capehart, Steve Graham and Richard Paulis are islanders and activists for peace and justice.