Democrats are already behind the curve in trying to prop up their political puppet, Joe Biden, for a largely unpopular run for a second term in the White House.
Still reeling from somber warnings from progressive groups like MoveOn and Third Way about a third-party candidate fracturing the liberal vote, the Democratic party has seen its worst fears realized with the rise of Green Party socialist candidate, Cornel West.
Cornel West is a socialist, focusing on the roles of race, class, gender, and what he calls “radical conditionedness.”
If his political views sound familiar, it’s because Americans have seen them before in former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
The candidate seems poised to disrupt the already-shaky reelection bid of Biden. West refuses to heed the advice of DNC chairman Jaime Harrison. “This is not the time in order to experiment,” he warns. “This is not the time to play around on the margins.”
In 2016, the Green Party played an outsized role in tipping the election to Donald Trump.
Now, with Cornel West as their likely nominee, they could easily do it again.
Risky business,— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) July 7, 2023
The DNC blames Green Party nominee Jill Stein for Hilary Clinton’s resounding defeat in 2016. But Clinton’s loss had a deeper meaning than Democrats realize. Clinton was an unpopular candidate with a troublesome family history and an unpopular political record.
Given the choice between Clinton, Stein, and Trump, many Democratic voters chose the Green Party candidate simply to cast a vote, firm in their belief that Clinton would win regardless.
According to progressive organizer Alexander McCoy, Biden is immune to the pitfalls that led to Clinton’s defeat. McCoy explains, “I don’t think that will happen again to the same scale because Joe Biden ended the war in Afghanistan and has kept U.S. troops out of new conflicts like Ukraine. A Donald Trump presidency also feels more real to people.”
Democrats have largely ignored West at their own perils. Now it seems that not only is West not backing down, but he also seems poised to fill the void left by Bernie Sander’s unsuccessful presidential bids. He could easily splinter progressives away from a Biden vote.
But as Sanders found out in 2016, West would be ill-advised to underestimate the power of Democrats to destroy him.
Sanders wasn’t the Chosen One, and a concerted effort to rig the system against him succeeded. The Democratic party undermined Sanders to the voters and, per hacked emails, even took targeted steps to derail his campaign.
But unlike 2016, the Democratic party is fractured, progressives continue to overrun the White House, and West has support from many progressive leaders, such as former Ohio state senator Nina Turner.
Turner feels that West has something to offer that Biden doesn’t: an even more radically progressive agenda.
Turner says, “The ideas of the progressive left are popular with the majority of the American people.”
The misguided concept of progressivism being popular for most Americans is patently absurd, but this flawed belief it is the driving force behind socialist candidates like West. Biden didn’t have the most enthusiastic support among progressives in 2020, and West’s threat to split them away from Biden in 2024 is one to be taken seriously.
In fact, poll revealed that many Democrats would be happy to choose another candidate over Biden.
And that candidate may be Cornel West.
A Democratic campaign specialist feels that Biden should dismantle the socialist’s run by including him in discussions about how to move the party further left. Such a move, the strategist feels, would give progressives a bigger voice in the policies that matter to them. “Get them in a room and ask what they want and include it in the platform,” the strategist said. “I think they’ll be happy if he [West] moves Biden’s rhetoric left.”
When given the choice between Biden and Trump, 44% of likely voters would support a third-party candidate. In fact, 31% of voters say they don’t want either Trump or Biden nominated in this election cycle.
Terrified Democrats are urging West to join the Democratics instead of endangering the vote by running as a third party. Hassan Martini, founder of No Dem Left Behind, said, “We are confident that the Democratic Party best serves Dr. West’s agenda.
Maybe not completely, but certainly far more than if Republicans can cement Supreme Court dominance for the next 30-40 years.”
West is a dark horse in this election cycle, and one that progressives can rally behind. Conversely, West will have no effect on Republican supporters who oppose every view he holds.
For Democrats, the threat is real. West can no longer be ignored by the Biden administration, which is already struggling to keep a Biden campaign relevant in a nation that largely disapproves of him.
But as Sanders found out in 2016, West would be ill-advised to underestimate the power of Democrats to destroy him. Sanders wasn’t the Chosen One, and a concerted effort to rig the system against him succeeded. The Democratic party undermined Sanders to the voters and, per hacked emails, even took targeted steps to derail his campaign.
Martini added, “It would be terrible for his [West’s] legacy and our country if his candidacy leads to the reelection of a man who seriously threatens to destroy our Democracy and the rule of law.”
“Terrible,” indeed.
