Wednesday, November 06, 2024

DSA Statement On the Presidential Race
November 5, 2024
Source: Democratic Socialists of America




Workers deserve more than Trump vs. Harris.

Every four years, working people are faced with the same “choices” for president: a conservative Democrat, a deranged Republican, and a gallery of self-promotional minor party candidates. For many people, voting doesn’t seem worth the effort.

If re-elected, Donald Trump would be a terror on the working class. As described in “Project 2025,” the extreme right wants to consolidate power under a Trump presidency through the expansion of authoritarian executive action. He would aim to repress fundamental democratic rights, stoke violence and discrimination against immigrants and trans people, and throw into chaos essential federal regulations on labor, corporate profit, and the environment. His administration would also want to target organizations like DSA for repression.

Harris is not the alternative we deserve. She’s embraced Trump’s border wall and Biden’s support for genocide in Palestine and would repeat destructive policies carried out under previous administrations like mass deportations and global imperialist warfare. She’s highlighted the most depraved Republicans as her core supporters, like Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzales, who carried out and defended the torture and abuse of thousands of Iraqis. Her allegiance to the capitalist class has already tempered any supposed interest in progressive reforms and sows the seeds for future right-wing demagogues. The risk of a Trump presidency has grown because of her deliberate strategic choices. If Trump wins, the blame will lie squarely with Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party establishment.

Both candidates oppose an arms embargo on Israel – the only policy that can bring an end to the ongoing genocide of Palestinians and prevent yet another horrific war in the Middle East.

This choice is why so many people are rejecting the two major parties and are hungry for a political alternative.

Many of our members are committed to defeating Trump and will vote tactically to that end. Others are committed to rejecting the human horrors and hollow principles Harris represents, so they will vote for a third-party candidate or leave their ballot blank. What’s most important is the organizing we do after Election Day and our ability to fight the capitalist class by strengthening our unions, mobilizing millions of people to fight injustice, and electing socialists to all levels of government.

That’s why we are running democratic socialist candidates for office across the country, like Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston, Georgia State House candidate Gabriel Sanchez, New York Assembly candidate Claire Valdez, Louisville City Council candidate JP Lyninger, Congressional candidate Devin Davis and many more.

As democratic socialists, we refuse to be limited by the Democratic and Republican factions of the ruling class. They would like working people to stay alienated from each other and competing amongst ourselves for scraps – but we refuse that, too. We choose solidarity. We understand that only a mass movement of the working class can fundamentally change our lives for the better. We must organize mass strikes, issue campaigns, boycotts, protests, sit-ins and marches, all of which will require powerful labor unions, tenant unions, student groups, parent groups, and community coalitions. It will also require running more candidates for office that want to build a new working class political party.

DSA is building a party that fights for democracy, dignified jobs and wages, Medicare for all, education for all, housing for all, a livable planet, an end to the U.S. war machine, a free Palestine – and the eventual transformation of our economy from capitalist exploitation to collective liberation. Read more about our platform Workers Deserve More: 2024.dsausa.org.

In 2024 and beyond, workers deserve more. Workers deserve a party of our own. Join DSA to build it. Find your local chapter or start one today!

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