Opinion: To Progressives Who Are Not Supporting Kamala

Love, Justice and Climate Change

Millions of people in the U.S. are ready to vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. They are pleased that we have an opportunity to elect a woman president. They see Kamala’s policies on climate, democracy, social policies as vastly preferable to Trump’s. They are very pleased that we have a viable alternative to the nightmare that would result from having Trump become president a second time. Many are working hard to get Kamala elected. They value Kamala’s commitment to bringing people together and the joy and caring she communicates.

Other voters, including a number of progressives, are having trouble getting behind Kamala. They are deeply upset by her support of President Biden’s policy of continuing to provide arms to Israel while the Israeli army is brutally killing Palestinians and now other Arabs. Some see it as unforgivable that she didn’t invite a Palestinian speaker to address the Democratic National Convention. Others feel betrayed by her withdrawing her previous support for banning fracking, and failure to prioritize climate action.

Voting with Integrity
I empathize with those who don’t want to vote for someone who holds some positions that they strongly disagree with. I understand the desire to vote with integrity. I get it that they might feel “tainted” or compromised by voting for a candidate who has taken what they see as unforgivable positions.

In general, I don’t want this to be a blog about politics. For the most part I want to find common ground with as many people as possible who care about the climate and help us together build a movement for climate justice. If we were in-person with each other, I’d want to listen for a long time to the views of those progressives who aren’t supporting Kamala and try to get a deep understanding of their positions and how they came to them.

However, writing is how I’m able to reach the vast majority of you so, I’m going to share some perspectives in writing. If you are not a Kamala supporter, I’m addressing you with care and respect and I ask that you consider these views with care and respect as well.

Severity of the Climate Crisis
I believe that climate change is at such a point of crisis, that if we care about life on earth for humans and other species, we dare not risk allowing Donald Trump and his climate destroying policies to take power in the U.S. At this point the only thing that can prevent that is electing Kamala Harris. Because what happens with regard to climate in the next four years will almost certainly affect life on earth for the next thousand years, I think we must do whatever it takes to prevent Donald Trump from becoming president. As we seek to act with integrity, I think our personal purity of action, matters less than the future of humankind.

I want to acknowledge that we are living in a capitalist, oppressive society where tremendous wealth and power are dedicated to preserving the status quo and its deeply unjust distribution of wealth. Until this situation changes neither major political party is ever going to put forth a presidential candidate as progressive, radical, egalitarian, or as committed to promptly solving the climate crisis, as I, and many of us, would want. There are no perfect candidates, nor will there be in the near future.

Choosing Who We Will Organize Against for the Next Four Years
Recently, I’ve heard a perspective that I’m finding helpful: When we vote in elections we are not electing our leaders. We the people must lead. Leadership must come from the powerful people’s movement for justice and climate that we are in the process of creating. When we vote in elections, we are actually choosing our opponents. We are choosing those whom we will pressure and push to do the right thing. It makes sense for us to elect those whom we think we can be most successful in moving to better positions.

I am under no impression that Harris is perfect; but I am not fighting [against] her. I am fighting to move her. I will vote for Harris on November 5, but my vote is not a profession of my love for Harris or my approval. It’s about making a deliberate choice to pick the playing field for the next four years that my generation and I will be forced, one way or another, to organize under.”

-Jasmine Moreno, youth leader at United We Dream Action, writing in Common Dreams

Trump Calls for Jailing Protesters
Given the fact that Trump has consistently called for jailing protesters who support Palestinian rights, and recommended calling out the military against Black Lives Matter protesters, I think it’s clear that we would rather spend the next four years organizing to move Kamala, not Trump.

Trump’s climate policies would spell disaster for the entire world. Carbon Brief has calculated that his announced policies would result in an additional 4 billion tons of emissions generated by the U.S. by 2030. That’s enough to negate–twice over– all of the gains the entire world has made in the last five years by installing solar and wind energy.

The people of the world will suffer if we allow Trump to become president. At this point, working for Kamala Harris to be elected, and voting for her, is the only way to prevent Trump becoming president. I think we owe this to the world, as well as to our nation.

Russ Vernon-Jones was principal of Fort River School 1990-2008 and is currently a member of the Steering Committee of Climate Action Now-Western Massachusetts. He blogs regularly on climate justice at www.russvernonjones.org.