Kamala Harris for President?
By Ras H. Siddiqui
Sacramento, CA
The November 5, 2024, race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will decide who will be the next occupant of the White House. And it has become a choice between two vastly different visions for America. In this writing, we will look at what could happen if other candidates enter this picture, even though it will be either a Democrat or Republican who will sit in the Oval Office soon. Candidates from the Green, Libertarian and the Peace and Freedom Party, etc. are also on the ballot, and they can become spoilers.
One can recall a past election when Ross Perot ran as an independent third-party candidate in the 1992 race for President and received almost 19% of the popular vote. America has not seen an outsider get a double-digit percentage vote since then. George Wallace in 1968 was another one from outside of the two main parties. Perot received no delegates but came second in two states. In the process, he succeeded in helping to elect Bill Clinton over then-incumbent President George H. W. Bush. A similar scenario may play out again but this time even a 1-2% vote for a third party will matter. And it will only impact Kamala Harris negatively.
This 2024 presidential race is too close to call, and it may boil down to the “swing” states namely Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin to determine who our next president will be. Winning the popular vote across the country is great for any candidate, but it does not determine the final winner as Hilary Clinton found out in 2016 in her loss to Donald Trump. The electoral college and the number of delegates decide the outcome. In each state (besides Maine and Nebraska) all delegates usually go to the winner.
In this presidential election, a vote for a third-party candidate in the swing states may be crucial. And within such a scenario some communities are considering voting for Jill Stein of the Green Party as a protest vote due to foreign, not domestic policies of the Biden administration. The American economy has been doing well recently, the stock market is up and unemployment in America currently is quite low. Democrats and the Harris-Walz should be confident of a victory, right? These indicators alone plus the mercurial personality of the former president should put them in a strong position over the Trump-Vance ticket. But that has not happened. This remains a very tight race.
America’s support for Israel during its war on Gaza is not helping Vice President Harris in her quest to become President. Many young, left-leaning progressive voters (including some Jews) are not willing to vote for her, and that stand is supported by segments of the American Muslim and Arab American communities. They are not happy that the Biden administration has functioned as an enabler in what they see as the genocide of the Palestinian people by the Netanyahu regime in Israel. The Gaza war has gone on for too long and the human suffering there including the killing of women and children is moving hearts around the world.
The least that the Biden administration could have done is deliver a ceasefire by now. It could not. But is it fair to put the blame on Kamala Harris for the continuing war in Gaza? Is she currently the president in charge? The answer is no! Vice Presidents do not formulate international policy. They go along with what the president decides. They are more like passengers in the same car, which in this case is driven by America’s strategic interests (in which Israel is a key player). President Biden is not running in this race, Kamala Harris is. And it will be either her or Donald Trump who will be making the big decisions next year.
The intent of this writing is to steer undecided voters back to the two mainstream parties, especially in the swing states. Jill Stein is a wonderful choice, but she has no chance of occupying the White House after this election. People can keep up the pressure on getting a ceasefire in Gaza as they wish. But let us not forget important domestic concerns in our decision-making during this election. Issues like healthcare, housing, social security, environment, and the future of our children or grandchildren (to name a few). Candidate Harris grew up in a middle-class environment with a mother who struggled as an immigrant in this country. She is the better candidate, one who can closely relate to our aspirations and domestic concerns.
(Ras H. Siddiqui has been writing for the Pakistan Link and various media outlets in California and South Asia for over three decades. His interests are varied and reflect his life as a Pakistani American with a secular Muslim background.)
