Elections 2024: A lose, lose situation for the working class
Outside the Democratic National Convention protesters denounce both parties, Aug. 19, 2024.
As November 5 and the 2024 U.S. presidential election draw closer, one thing is crystal clear. Regardless of which capitalist, imperialist party’s candidates win — Republican Donald Trump or Democrat Kamala Harris — workers and oppressed people have nothing to gain from this electoral fraud or from the capitalist empire perpetuating it.
Both parties represent big business, militarism and the drive to maintain U.S. imperialist worldwide hegemony. These parties spend billions of dollars in a presidential election year to promote their candidates. Most advertising is not a discussion of political programs but lies, repeated over and over again.
No social democratic parties, let alone communist parties, can spend even 1% of what the Democrats and Republicans spend to be elected president or even to Congress.
The nonpartisan, nonprofit OpenSecrets estimates that the 2024 election will be the most expensive in U.S. history, with the total cost for the federal election — presidential and Congressional races — expected to top $15.9 billion.
Much of the spending is done by super PACs (Political Action Committees) allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money so long as they don’t coordinate with candidates. There is no ceiling on how much super PACs and their billionaire backers can spend in hopes of influencing the election outcome.
Ads based on fabrications
Much of this year’s campaign money pays for the design and promotion of some of the most racist, anti-LGBTQIA2S+, misogynist, xenophobic and anti-working-class propaganda ever seen in a major election. Ad after ad contains vicious lies about immigrants with totally false claims linking them to alleged rapes and crime sprees. Both major bourgeois parties are doubling down on xenophobia and prioritizing building up the police state.
Other ads and campaign assertions attempt to place the blame for the economy and social problems on people of color, on the lack of sufficient policing, etc. These are reminiscent of the plethora of pro-cop ads that flooded the media during the 2020 campaign — in the aftermath of massive anti-racist protests over the police murder of George Floyd and demands to defund the police.
With the super PACs, politicians have ensured that campaign ads are protected from scrutiny as to who funds them. Television, radio stations and social media platforms that profit greatly from running the advertising are not required to fact check their content.
While independent research has completely debunked the assertions made by pro-Trump ads, the Harris campaign has failed to run even a single ad countering the lies. Competing to see which is tougher on immigration resembles similar campaigns by fascist parties in Europe whose lines parallel Trump’s.
There is no denying that Donald Trump is horribly vile, sexist, xenophobic, racist and dangerous. The fascist forces his campaign is mobilizing will be a danger whether he wins or loses. Yet by not demonstrating any capacity to counter Trump’s vicious propaganda, Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democrats are effectively complicit and just as dangerous — but with a false cover of diplomacy.
Election solves nothing for workers
By repeatedly refusing to disassociate herself from President Joe Biden’s policies, Harris offers no viable alternative. Harris has made it clear her administration would continue to arm and finance Israel’s genocidal occupation of Palestine and widening war in West Asia, just as Trump would, while expanding NATO’s war threats in Europe and against China, even risking a nuclear war.
Harris makes promises for social programs for the “middle class” but has yet to explain how the programs could be financed when the Biden/Harris administration has prioritized unprecedented military spending — tens of billions of dollars — while existing social programs have had to fight for every dime they need.
The Biden/Harris “promise” of forcing Israel to establish a plan to allow humanitarian aid in Gaza within 30 days — or lose U.S. funding — is all a ploy to delay until after the election. Right now thousands of Gazans are dying from hunger.
The Democrats warn of the danger of Trump jailing opponents should he be reelected. Yet over the last year under the Biden/Harris administration, opponents of U.S./NATO war against Russia face imprisonment, and thousands of students and faculty have been jailed, fired or suspended for opposing the U.S./Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Just this week, Samidoun, which supports Palestinian prisoners, was put on the U.S. “terrorist” list.
Neither the Biden/Harris administration nor Trump has ever kept promises made to alleviate the lives of the workers. This election will solve none of the problems that bring widespread pain for working people nor will it lessen the danger of widening global war.
