Dear friends:

We hear those of you who are having a hard time voting for Kamala Harris. The carnage in Gaza is heartbreaking and unconscionable. And, there are many other issues on which we disagree with the Vice President. But the threat of a second Trump presidency can not be overestimated.

We implore those of you who are thinking to vote for Jill Stein, Cornel West or another left candidate, or planning to skip voting, to reconsider.

Making political change is a long game. Voting is a tactic which we exercise every year or so. Organizing is our strategy to build people power and create enough support to make that change happen.

A coalition of European Green Green parties in 16 European countries from Portugal to Ukraine recently urged Jill Stein to pull out and endorse Kamala Harris, , Stakes “Could Not be Higher.” Having lived under and alongside fascism, they understand the threat.

Here are some of the issues on which we think there are critical difference between the two main candidates. One of them will be elected president. And one of them will deeply influence our collective future. There is no viable third option.

Palestine/Israel: Trump would give Netanyahu/the Israeli right a free hand, encouraging them “to finish the job” and completely forsaking the Palestinian people, and possibly greenlight an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Climate: Trump would open up new portions of federal and protected lands for oil and gas drilling (Arctic refuge among them); create a fast-track system for approving existing and new permits to drill and pump oil and natural gas out of the ground; continue building the Keystone pipeline, which Biden has halted; abandon international cooperation to address the climate crisis.

Ukraine: Trump would abandon them.

Immigration: Do we really need to say anything about this regarding Trump? Yes, Harris, along with many other Democrats, has moved further to the right on this issue, but they're movable and won't enact the “largest mass deportation in US history,” including using the military.

Gun control: A Trump administration would undermine prevent any additional federal restrictions and seek to remove state level controls like red flag laws and concealed carry

Reproductive rights: Trump would support interference in all aspects, seek to limit abortion pills and seek to undermine and/or override state protections of bodily autonomy

Public Health: “I'm going to let him go wild on health.” Trump, speaking of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. a vaccine skeptic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other federal health agencies will be “restructured” – losing authority and expertise. The Affordable Care Act may be dismantled. The US will likely withdraw from the World Health Organization.

Public education: Trump says he will use ideological tests to decide which public schools get federal money. “On Day 1, I will sign a new executive order to cut federal funding for any school pushing critical race theory, transgender insanity and other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content onto our children.” While mainly funded by local property taxes, schools also receives federal funds, which are especially important in low income communities.

There is, of course, much more, but we want you to have plenty of time to make your plans to go vote, and to reach out to others, either informally or through organized efforts to be sure that we aren't taken over by a a theocratic, fascist regime.

In solidarity,

Andy Mager

SCW Coordinator

with lots of help from Donna Tarbania, former SCW Associate Publisher and Cultural Worker at-large

PS: If you're still thinking to vote 3^rd Party or sit out the race, please read this article by anti-Viet Nam war organizer Robert Levering about his regrets for his 1968 anti-war protest vote.

#kamala #vote #election #catladiesforkamala #kamalaharris2024 #antifascism #resistfascism

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