When the Chicago Democratic Convention was last held in Chicago in 1968, the resulting riot caused one of the greatest Freudian blunders in American politics. Mayor Richard Daley declared, “Police officers are not there to cause chaos. Police officers are there to cause chaos.” Police officers are there to prevent chaos. ”
The Democratic National Committee added a gem of its own. Democrats are not here to preserve democracy, they are here to prevent democracy.
That’s because the DNC is trying to block third-party candidates like Robert Kennedy Jr., Cornel West, and Jill Stein from voting. All three are liberals and are seen as a threat to Joe Biden.
The effort is likely to include any ticket proposed by the No Labels group, which seeks moderate alternatives to both parties.
according to media coverage, former Buttigieg campaign aide Rhys Smith, will lead the effort along with another Buttigieg alumnus, Matt Corridoni. The effort includes not only a public campaign against Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Stein as spoilers, but also “legal action” to resolve the issue without giving voters a choice.
The media does not seem at all alarmed or critical of efforts to restrict democratic choice. As the Washington Post puts it clinically:Democrats are taking third-party threats seriously this time” Taking this issue seriously seems to mean using legal means to keep them from voting.
It is true that major political parties have objected to qualification signatures and documentation in the past. But the report shows a systematic effort aimed at reducing voters’ choices. What is surprising is that this money is coming from the Democratic Party and the DNC, which are raising money based on this pledge.
The contradiction is fascinating. On the same site, pledging to oppose third-party candidates, the DNC and other groups are pushing the argument that Democrats are the only ones working to protect voting rights.
The Post reports that Democrats have studied Hillary Clinton’s campaign and vowed not to allow third-party candidates to steal millions of voters as they did in 2016. Of course, the DNC is the least popular Democratic candidate in both 2016 and 2024. Although polls showed Clinton to be the worst candidate for the party, the Clintons controlled the DNC and state party organizations.
Of particular concern is the fact that Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by just 67,000 votes in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. In those states alone, Liberal Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Stein received more than 500,000 votes.
The DNC wants to repeat its 2016 strategy of forcing the public to choose between two evils in the Biden vs. Trump choice, rather than actually choosing the candidate they want. It will only work reliably if the people, fed up with the duopoly and the political (and media) establishment, have no other choice. Therefore, Kennedy, Cornell and Stein must go.
I am one of those misguided voters. Years ago, I wrote a column that said: I’m tired of voting for the lesser of two evils. — Leaving every election as a moral hazard. In every electoral system, we are treated like clunkers by political and media establishments. More than 20 years ago, I vowed to vote for the best candidate, even if it was a third-party candidate.
The D.N.C. reportedly A series of well-funded groups will join the effort, including the liberal think tank Third Way (which has filed the complaint with the Secretary of State). American Bridge (a Democratic opposition movement), Clear Choice (a super PAC made up of “allies of President Biden”).
While these groups work to limit voter choice, efforts continue in Florida, Georgia, Washington, and New York to keep Trump in court until the election, including the possibility of a trial. ing. Leading up to or during the election.
The hope is that this multi-pronged effort will be a winning ticket, especially if the final ticket leaves voters with no other choice.
The public discussion of these initiatives in the media highlights the contempt for voters who need to be protected from making bad choices. I have previously likened the underlying assumptions to a kind of electoral Big Gulp method.before they become was also defeatedthese laws sought to take away people’s dietary choices because, in the opinion of experts, they were making the wrong choices.
Right now, activists are eating up elections. You can’t trust voters with something as important as democracy.
President Biden is Said “Make no mistake about it. Democracy is what we all vote for.” Of course, one could end this effort by denouncing further ballot cleansing (Trump’s polls in Colorado and Maine (This is what he refused when he was excluded.) What democracy requires most seems to be free democratic choice.
Jonathan Turley is an attorney and professor at George Washington University Law School.
