Election years in the United States are often intense. To make it seem like voting is the only way to make a difference, capitalists and the media create drama and attention-grabbing headlines. Slogans like “This is the most important election ever,” “Democracy is at stake,” and “Vote blue, no matter who, to stop fascism” dominate the press, television, and radio. [Editors – Blue is the colour of the Democrats and red of the Republicans.] Of course, there are real things at stake. There are real dangers and threats to the working class, and there are opportunities to make a difference through voting. But the capitalist media’s warnings are hollow when they are used to rally votes for one of the two major capitalist parties that have ruled together during every crisis since the U.S. Civil War.
This time, the election season began as a race between two historically unpopular candidates: Biden and Trump. Now Biden has been forced to withdraw – not so much because of the disastrous performance in the presidential debate, as is often portrayed, but rather because of the level of anger and unpopularity, which stems in large part from his role in the Gaza massacre and his support for Israel. While the assassination attempt on Trump does not appear to be an explicitly politically motivated attack, it has further heightened the sense of tension and drama.
A lot can happen between now and Election Day. But I think for working people, it comes down to one thing: that none of the major party candidates are a real option for them. We can expect the Democratic Party, the media, and liberals to try to portray Harris as a better candidate for voters and the American working class than Biden. The choice of her running mate, Tim Walz, who is portrayed in the media as progressive and pro-worker, adds to that image. But that doesn’t change the fact that she is running on the basis of continuing Biden’s policies. The pressure on working-class voters and people who identify as progressive to support Harris and vote for the “lesser evil” will be enormous.
But a next Democratic or Republican administration will not be fundamentally different in whether or not it makes policies for the banks and corporations. Harris’ campaign (like Biden’s before it) touts itself as defending democracy, but it is unlikely to change anything about financial support for the Gaza war or the reality of high inflation, attacks on workers’ and democratic rights, the climate crisis and other real problems facing working people and the poor. Major events or serious protest movements can, in turn, put pressure on any pro-capitalist government.
Meanwhile, Trump is whipping up his supporters. We cannot rule out the possibility of pro-Trump protests leading up to the election or afterward, and of counter-protests and possible clashes. But I can say with absolute certainty that both campaigns and both corporate parties will do everything they can to block any kind of independent left-wing campaign that could become a tool of struggle for those who want an end to wars, exploitation and oppression.
How can anyone vote for Trump?
Trump’s presidential campaigns were clearly anti-worker, racist, sexist, and right-wing. At the same time, the Biden/Harris administration has presided over a prolonged crisis of capitalism, including inflation, rising living costs, environmental disasters, and much more. Their policies have not only failed to improve the lives of working people after the Trump administration, but in some cases have made them worse, drawing the disappointment, frustration, and anger of the masses.
And this is not just about Biden and Harris as individuals, but about the role that the Democratic and Republican parties play together in defending the profits and interests of US corporations in the US and around the world. Eight years of Obama set the stage for the first Trump campaign. Despite campaigning with the goal of “making Trump history,” four years of Biden/Harris have failed to defeat Trumpism, and for some, Trump looks “better” in some ways this election year.
In part because the two corporate parties have been able to limit politics and elections to this duopoly, working-class people have little choice. After four or eight years of Democratic or Republican government, people who want to do something against the ruling policies often see the other corporate party as the only possible voice to protest against the current ruling party.
There are clearly segments of voters who support Trump’s incredibly right-wing rhetoric. However, I must say that he is quite willing to say whatever he thinks will help his campaign. In his first campaign, he focused on “right to work” promises (an anti-union promise), while in 2024 he is trying to rebrand his campaign as “pro-worker” or “pro-union” given the historic popularity of the labor movement and unions.
But that means that not everyone who votes for Trump is a staunch racist, sexist, or hardcore right-winger. Just as not everyone who votes for Democrats does so out of enthusiastic support, but perhaps because they see no alternative, or believe there is none. There are people who may not have voted for Biden but are now considering voting for Harris. There are also those who may vote for Trump if Harris is unable to shed the legacy she shares with the Biden administration and her long political history with Democrats and their numerous attacks on working people.
As you can see, the idea of the lesser evil can work both ways. And of course there are some CEOs, corporations and rich people who are pouring money into the Trump campaign because they believe that a second Trump presidency will again be very profitable and beneficial for them. The two corporate parties, the corporations, their mouthpieces and the bourgeois media are investing enormous amounts of money, time and effort to maintain the “choice” between only their two candidates and prevent the rise of a real alternative to the corporate parties.
But isn’t the vote for Harris still better than the vote for Trump?
The working class is not represented by any party. The question is, how can the working class actually fight for its own interests? And this can be done neither through one of the two capitalist parties, which includes the election of their candidates, nor through the much-tried and always failed project of reforming the Democrats. Yes, there are some differences between the Democrats and Republicans on social issues. But in the defense of imperialism and capitalism there is unity between them. And there is a considerable layer of people, especially young people and students, who wonder what lesser evil there could be than genocide.
As we have seen with the return of Donald Trump, voting for the Democrats does not defeat the right, but actually strengthens it. And as long as “left” organizations continue to support the Democrats, their failure to implement measures for the working class will be associated with “socialism” and left-wing ideas. Ultimately, workers must build class-based organizations to fight for their own interests, independent of the capitalist class. This also includes its own political party, which puts forward candidates in elections who are willing to fight for the democratically discussed and adopted party program.
But it goes even further. For many people, elections are the main content of political action. But voting is only a tiny part of political organizing and has limits. There are other ways in which we can and must fight for our interests and rights. These include mass protest movements, the building of the trade union movement, and issue-based campaigns that a workers’ party should help organize during and between election cycles.
What is the position of the Independent Socialist Group?
We fight for the political independence of the working class. We are organizing a workers’ movement and social movements for immediate reforms. At the same time, we advocate building a movement capable of achieving socialism, a truly democratic society. This would allow the working class to make a truly democratic decision on how to end the cost-of-living crisis or genocide in Gaza, or how to help other regions of the world where US imperialism has raged to rebuild.
What does this mean in concrete terms for the 2024 elections?
We believe that the left must unite behind the strongest independent left-wing candidate in the presidential elections. The organizational work necessary to achieve a strong result can be used to build momentum, to push through the demands highlighted in the manifesto, as well as to serve as a starting point for efforts to bring together different forces to build a new mass party of the working class. Such a campaign can provide a clear vision of what can be achieved – and how.
In this election cycle, there are two campaigns supported by the ISG. This includes a call to vote, but also a call for people to support the campaigns in the election campaign by collecting signatures for the candidates, providing telephone service and door-to-door campaigning. These campaigns can also create connections between the different layers, activists and organizations that could come together to form a new party.
The Green Party, which is very different in the United States than in Germany due to the two-party system, is worth mentioning here. The Green Party is explicitly anti-capitalist, has “ecosocialism” in its program and is the main left-wing alternative to the two major parties. Their presidential candidate for 2024, Jill Stein, has a solid program in the interest of wage earners. In the past, it has consistently opposed the two corporate parties and is explicitly committed to building a left-wing alternative.
A big advantage of the Green Party is that it has a transparent organization. The members and candidates are explicitly working to build a mass party and in some cases even a new party that is broader than the Greens. They have their own infrastructure, resources, organizers, state associations, access to the votes, etc. Crucially, they consistently fight for the Green Party to be on the ballot alongside the Democratic and Republican candidates so that people can see and vote for an alternative. For this reason, many activists and leftists have used their electoral lists over the decades. In the U.S., this is a deliberately difficult process, and Democrats and Republicans in local, state, and national positions use both legal and illegal tactics to keep third parties and independents off the ballots.
Another candidate worthy of support is the independent Cornel West. He is a well-known black activist and academic who describes himself as a Christian socialist and also advocates a program for the working class. His campaign is not explicitly socialist, but he is a well-known activist who is involved in many important struggles. It is excellent that West has broken away from the Democratic Party to run independently.
Both campaigns are resolutely committed to the liberation of the Palestinian people. They have participated in the Palestine Solidarity protests as well as other movements over the years. They are a place where the protest action “Vote Uncommitted” and the anti-war movement can continue their fight for a ceasefire and an arms embargo. At the same time, however, both campaigns also have their limits.
We support the Stein campaign, but at the same time formulate criticism of certain positions, actions and candidates that express the political weaknesses of parts of the party. We do not believe that the Green Party as a whole can form the basis for a left, independent workers’ party, but the best layers of voters, activists and politicians can play a role in the struggle to build a new workers’ party.
As an independent campaign, the West Campaign has no established infrastructure and does not explicitly aim to build a new party. There are no signs of that at the moment, but given his previous support for the Democratic Party, it’s possible that West will drop out during the campaign and campaign for Harris.
The efforts of both campaigns should have been brought together from the beginning. In the early stages of the electoral process, Cornel West considered running as a Green Party candidate, which was supported by many Greens. It is a missed opportunity for the forces represented by these two campaigns to work past each other, not to mention the smaller left-wing campaigns. While they are unlikely to join forces at this stage, there may still be opportunities for a tactical agreement.
The ISG therefore calls on voters, activists and organisations to support these two campaigns. In states where both are on the ballot, we call on people to vote for Green candidate Stein for the reasons mentioned above. And in states where West is on the ballot and Stein is not, we call on people to vote for West.
Most importantly, the fight does not end on Election Day. The two campaigns, their voters and supporters must join forces with other organizations and activists committed to building a political party for the working class to work toward creating a left-wing appeal that can draw people away from both the Democratic and Republican parties.
Do such independent candidacies even have a chance?
An example of a very hopeful independent campaign is in the state of Nebraska, which is traditionally considered very conservative, you could call it a “red” state. There, an independent named Dan Osborn is running for Senate. He is currently leading in both the polls and in fundraising. He worked in a Kellogg’s factory for twenty years and is running on a labor platform. He was a local president of the bakers’ union and helped lead an 11-week strike in 2022.
I think the Osborn example shows that a genuine workers’ campaign against both Trump and Harris/Walz can be attractive to working people and the poor. Such a campaign can be run along class lines, not along these supposed red/blue or “culture war” lines. And we also point out that more similar campaigns need to be run, hopefully by unions that mobilize their members in this way. We call on the Osborn campaign to explicitly take on the task of helping to build a workers’ or union party. The Osborn campaign will face many obstacles due to the undemocratic electoral system, but it shows what is possible and necessary. Yes, it is a good example that working class politics has potential.
