Jill Stein’s platform and value system correlate directly to the ideals Bernie Sanders championed in 2016. For Americans who refuse to abide by the political “extortion” of voting for Clinton because Trump is frightening (even though Bill Clinton likely urged Trump to run), Ajamu Baraka and Dr. Stein represent a viable option. Regardless of Bernie’s endorsement, a great many progressives around the country feel the Democratic Primary was rigged in favor of Hillary Clinton. Nothing illustrates this skewed playing field better than a POLITCO piece titled Heads roll at the DNC:
With just three months until Election Day and the Democrats’ official party apparatus struggling to right itself from months of dysfunction and the scandal caused by the WikiLeaks email hack, interim Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile cleaned house Tuesday with the ouster of three top officials.
CEO Amy Dacey, communications director Luis Miranda and chief financial officer Brad Marshall are all leaving the organization, the DNC announced Tuesday afternoon, shortly after staffers were informed of the changes in a meeting. The announcement praised all three outgoing officials, but people familiar say the departures were heavily encouraged…Former chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz stepped down on the eve of the Democratic National Convention after a mass email hack spawned a host of unflattering revelations — including what’s been interpreted as bias by the committee toward Hillary Clinton during her primary contest with Bernie Sanders…
Marshall has been under fire since the hack unearthed an email in which he suggested questioning Sanders’ religion during the primary. Similarly, Miranda was seen as talking up Clinton internally and drawing up public arguments on her behalf…
After spreading the viewpoint that Bernie never had his act together, and even contacting Chuck Todd to complain about coverage, DNC officials manipulated the media to undermine Bernie’s campaign. I explain in this YouTube segment how the WikiLeaks DNC emails show massive election fraud and in this YouTube segment why progressives should vote for Jill Stein (without fear of Trump) in 2016.
Ultimately, Trump’s major policies would never get passed Congress. Specifically, Trump’s border wall, widespread deportations, and immigrant ban won’t achieve the 60 votes needed to defeat a filibuster by Democrats. The vapid fear tactic influencing voters to support Clinton (because of Trump’s potential madness) is debunked in a Hill piece by NYU professor Burt Neuborne titled Senate 60-vote rule is an abuse of democracy:
Since the Senate operates under a self-imposed filibuster rule requiring 60 votes to act, senators representing 11 percent of the national population can veto laws supported by senators representing 89 percent of the population. That’s just about what happened when the Senate voted 55-45 to approve background checks for gun ownership, only to see the legislation fail because it did not reach the artificial 60 vote threshold. When you deconstruct the votes, 46 Senators representing about 65 million Americans blocked crucial legislation approved by 54 Senators representing about 250 million Americans.
That’s not democracy. It’s more like being governed by the British House of Lords. Actually, it’s more like being governed by the American House of Cowboys…
Under a 60 vote rule, 41 Senators outvote 59 colleagues, reducing the value of the votes cast by each of the 59 losing senators to 65-70 percent of the value of the votes cast be each of the 41 winners. When 46 Senators defeated 54 Senators on gun control, the 46 winners cast votes about 1.3 times more powerful than the votes of the losing 54.
Will Donald Trump’s major policies get 60 votes in the Senate? Will a border wall, mass deportations, or a ban on Muslim immigrants get any votes from Democratic Senators, or even the votes needed from every Republican Senator?
Of course not.
There’s a greater likelihood of Debbie Wasserman Shultz leaving her current job working for Hillary Clinton and joining Jill Stein on the campaign trail.
None of Donald Trump’s major policy objectives, at least the ones that frighten progressives the most, will get passed the Senate, even if they possibly get through (and even this is a stretch) the House of Representatives.
Furthermore, Senate Democrats recently showed the ability to block major proposals backed by mainstream Republicans. On July 6, 2106 USA Today published an article titled Senate Democrats block bill to strip federal funds from ‘sanctuary cities’:
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats blocked a bill Wednesday that would have stripped federal grant money from “sanctuary cities” that protect undocumented immigrants from being turned over to federal agents for deportation.
Senators voted 53-44 to advance the legislation bySen. Pat Toomey, R-Penn., seven votes short of the 60 needed to bring the bill to the floor.
Democrats also blocked a bill by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, that would have increased prison sentences for undocumented immigrants who repeatedly enter the United States illegally. Senators voted 55-42 to advance that bill, falling five votes short of the 60 votes needed.
Both bills were similar to legislation blocked by Democrats last year…
Therefore, the scare tactic regarding Trump ruling the nation with an iron fist, deporting families at will and banning immigrants, is nothing more than cheap propaganda. Trump will not be able to impose his will upon the American people, and most of his major policy ideas can be blocked by either Congress or the Supreme Court.
Voting for Jill Stein won’t allow Trump to destroy the nation, because on war and Wall Street (the two biggest topics few people in the media have seriously addressed this election), Clinton and Trump have similar policies. If anything, Clinton is openly backed by neoconservatives, and will espouse a far greater interventionist foreign policy than Trump. Neither candidate will break up Too Big to Fail Banks or reinstate Glass-Steagall. Like Bernie, Jill Stein addresses the topics of war and Wall Street from a purely progressive vantage point.
Finally, Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka discuss their ideas openly, while Hillary Clinton has spent over 240 days evading a press conference. I highlight Clinton’s fear of press conferences in the following YouTube segment and Dr. Stein’s platform is highlighted by the Seattle Times:
Education
Stein wants to abolish student debt and guarantee tuition-free education from preschool through university education. She wants to “protect our public school systems from privatization and increase federal funding for school.”
Climate
Stein’s platform prioritizes climate change. It calls for a ban on pesticides that she says threaten bees, and would transition the country entirely to renewable energy and end the use of nuclear energy.
Economy
Stein supports a federal $15 minimum wage, more union rights and tighter regulation of Wall Street. Her platform calls for tax cuts for the poor and middle class, and higher taxes on the wealthy. She hopes to impose a moratorium on foreclosures and evictions.
Healthcare
Stein favors a single-payer health-care system that would essentially give everyone a form of Medicare.
LGBTQ issues
Stein believes in LGBTQ protections from discrimination and supports gay marriage.
Immigration
Stein’s platform calls for demilitarized borders and an end to deportations of law-abiding undocumented immigrants.
Foreign Policy
Stein would like to cut military spending in half and close more than 700 foreign military bases. She would ban drone warfare and would remove U.S. nuclear weapons abroad.
Criminal Justice
Stein supports the Black Lives Matter movement, and an end to police brutality and mass incarceration.
…support the legalization of marijuana and deplore the War on Drugs.
If you’re voting for Hillary Clinton because you think Stein’s platform is unrealistic, be sure to use the same skepticism to evaluate Trump’s policy objectives.
Hillary Clinton is essentially a walking cybersecurity risk. The Clinton Foundation was recently hacked and CNN writes “The emails, many of which are heavily redacted, raise questions about the Clinton Foundation’s influence on the State Department and its relations during her tenure.” The FBI and three FBI field offices recommended an investigation of Clinton’s Foundation, only to be blocked by the DOJ. In addition to endless scandal, and Bernie being cheated, Clinton is now the target of global hackers. All of these issues have taken place before Election Day, so imagine a potential Clinton presidency. If you’re progressive, vote your conscience; Congress will block Donald Trump. If Jill Stein represents your value system, then don’t succumb to the fear mongering and simply vote for Dr. Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka in 2016.