Quote of the Day

I have never subscribed to the idea that citizens who refuse to vote for a Democratic candidate in a tight race are somehow morally responsible for the election of a Republican, however bad that Republican might be.

If we are serious about liberal democracy, then we must recognize that every citizen has the legal, moral, and civic right to cast their vote as they choose, and that every single vote for every candidate must be earned. I may regret that many people voted for Ralph Nader in 2000 or Jill Stein in 2016. But it is wrong to presume that I can think or choose for others. The bottom line is that, given the arcane U.S. Electoral College system, the Gore campaign failed to win enough votes in 2000, and the Clinton campaign failed in 2016. It is not the fault of those progressives who refused to support them.

– Jeffrey C. Isaac
Excerpted from “A Few Words to Those Currently
'Uncommitted' to Voting for Harris”
Common Dreams
October 26, 2024

Related Off-site Links:
Enough is Enough: No More Polls – Chris Lehmann (The Nation, October 28, 2024).
“And Now They Want Our Votes” – Eman Abdelhadi (In These Times, August 19, 2024).
Can They Count? – Blaming Third-Party Voters for Trump’s Win Isn’t Just Bad Politics. It’s Bad Math – Jonah Walters (Jacobin, November 29, 2016).
No, Ralph Nader Did Not Hand the 2000 Presidential Election to George W. Bush – Anthony Fisker (Reason, August 3, 2016).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Politics 101
• Something to Think About – August 15, 2024
• We’re Witnessing a Liberal Meltdown Over Jill Stein
• “Americans Deserve Choices”: Jill Stein on Breaking Points – 4/30/24
• Jill Stein: “We Give Reasons for People to Come Out and Vote”
• Butch Ware: “You Can Actually Vote Your Conscience”
• Demolishing the False Narrative About Jill Stein and the 2016 Election
• Miles Kampf-Lassin on the “Flashing Red Warning Signs” for the Harris Campaign
• Peter Bloom on the Unmasking of the “Democratic Charade”
• Will We Let Fascism Come to America?
• Progressive Perspectives on the Harris–Trump Presidential Debate
• Progressive Perspectives on the Presidential Nomination of Kamala Harris
• Progressive Perspectives on an American Coronation
• Progressive Perspectives on the Crisis in U.S. Electoral Politics

Image: Kristen Solberg.