"Biden is not evil. Trump is truly evil."
ROBERT REICH in Robertreich.Substack.Com
Some people tell me they hate Trump but
don’t particularly like Biden. They say Biden is too old, or he’s not doing
enough to stop Israel’s bombing of Gaza, or he’s caved to Big Oil, or he isn’t
tough enough.
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he
shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:–
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully
execute the Office of President of the United States,
and will to the best of my Ability, preserve,
protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
- US Constitution, Article II, Section 1, Clause 8
So they tell me they’re not going to vote
next November. Or they’ll vote for a third-party candidate.
Maybe you know someone like this. Or you
yourself fall into this camp.
Here’s what I tell them: By not voting or
voting for a third party, they’re actually casting a vote for Trump.
Some respond by saying that Trump may be a
curse, but they’re sick and tired of voting for the lesser of two evils.
Wrong. Biden is not evil. Trump is truly evil.
The fact is, America has a two-party system. You may not like it, but that’s our reality. The founders did not opt for a parliamentary system, where citizens have more options of whom to vote for.
So one of the nominees from one of the two major parties is going
to win. And if you don’t vote, or you vote for a
third-party candidate, you’re inevitably hurting the candidate from one of
the major parties who’s closest to you in values — and helping the one farthest
from you.
Which perhaps wasn’t of huge consequence 50
years ago. But as the Republican Party has gone fascist, with unhinged Trump at
its head, the potential consequences of your not voting or voting for a
third-party candidate are horrific.
In 2016, many people knew Trump was out of
his gourd. But they disliked Hillary Clinton so much they decided to sit on
their hands, or vote for the Green Party candidate, Jill Stein, rather than
vote for what they described as “the lesser of two evils.”
And look what we got.
If Trump gets back into the Oval Office,
it’s likely to be even worse this time.
On Amy Goodman’s “Democracy Now” broadcast
of August 4, 2016, I debated journalist and author Chris Hedges, who was
supporting Green Party candidate Jill Stein. [The following transcript has been
edited for length. You can find the unedited transcript here, or if you have the
time you may want to watch the entire 35-minute debate, which I’ve posted here.]
Me: Hillary Clinton is going to be
the nominee. I support her. And I support her not only because she will be a
good president, if not a great president, but also, frankly, because I am
tremendously worried about the alternative. And the alternative is somebody who
is a megalomaniac and a bigot who will set back the progressive movement
decades, if not more.
Hedges: Clinton has abandoned
children. She and her husband destroyed welfare as we know it, and 70 percent
of the original recipients were children. I don’t like Trump, but Trump is
responding to a phenomenon created by neoliberalism. And we may get rid of Trump,
but we will get something even more vile, maybe Ted Cruz.
Me: If Donald Trump becomes
president, irrevocable negative changes will happen in the United States,
including appointments to the Supreme Court that will worsen the structure of
this country. Voting for Donald Trump or equating Hillary Clinton with Donald Trump
is insane.
Hedges: I admire Robert and have
read much of his stuff and like his stuff, but if you listen to what he’s been
saying, the message is the same message of the Trump campaign, and that is
fear. And fear is all the Democrats have to offer now and all the Republicans
have to offer now.
Me: Given our two-party,
winner-take-all system, it’s just too much of a risk to say, “I’m not going to
vote for the lesser of two evils.” If you do not support Hillary Clinton, you
are increasing the odds of a true, clear and present danger to the United States,
a menace to the United States. And you’re increasing the possibility that the
United States will be changed for the worse. I must urge everyone who is
listening or who is watching to do whatever they can to make sure that Hillary
Clinton is the next president, and not Donald Trump.
Hedges: I find Trump a vile and
disturbing and disgusting figure, but I don’t believe that voting for the
Democratic establishment [will help]. The TPP [Trans Pacific Partnership] is
going to go through, whether it’s Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. Endless war is
going to be continued, whether it’s Trump or Clinton. We’re not going to get
our privacy back, whether it’s under Clinton or Trump. The idea that, at this
point, the figure in the executive branch exercises that much power, given the
power of the war industry and Wall Street, is a myth.
Starting five months after this discussion, we had four years of Trump. We saw what his bigotry and hatefulness did to America. We witnessed how he divided America into two angry camps that are still furious with each other. We endured his giant tax cut to the rich and big corporations.
We watched his attempted coup. We suffered through his refusal to
concede the 2020 election and his big lie that it was “stolen” from him. He is
now running again, in an even more paranoid and bigoted campaign than in 2016 or
2020.
I rest my case.
© 2021 robertreich.substack.com
ROBERT REICH is the Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and a senior fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies. He served as secretary of labor in the Clinton administration, for which Time magazine named him one of the 10 most effective cabinet secretaries of the twentieth century. His book include: "Aftershock" (2011), "The Work of Nations" (1992), "Beyond Outrage" (2012) and, "Saving Capitalism" (2016). He is also a founding editor of The American Prospect magazine, former chairman of Common Cause, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and co-creator of the award-winning documentary, "Inequality For All." Reich's newest book is "The Common Good" (2019). He's co-creator of the Netflix original documentary "Saving Capitalism," which is streaming now.