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The Lesser Evil

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Kind of a Big Deal

Today, Americans will head to voting booths in local public schools and town halls across the country, deciding who will represent them in January for a number of offices.

For those following the races, there is one question that seems to be on everyone’s mind: Will the Democrats win?

Since 2002, the Republicans have controlled the House, the Senate and the Presidency. Despite invading Iraq, systematically attacking our civil liberties through the USA PATRIOT Act and killing the advances made by social movements in the last half century, Republicans have continued to be elected.

Now, in 2006, Republican control of Congress is facing a serious challenge from the Democrats. The war in Iraq, equal marriage amendments and abortion rights are all part of the reason. But one man hammered the final nail into the coffin: Mark Foley. For those of you who (wisely) avoid juicy political scandals, Foley was a Congressman from Florida who got caught exchanging explicit IMs with his former 16-year-old Congressional pages.

Most political analysts say it’s not a question of whether Democrats are going to gain seats, but of how many. For the first time in years, Democrats have the possibility of taking over control of the House and Senate. In order to have a majority in both houses, they’ll have to gain 6 seats in the Senate and 15 in the House.

This leaves leftists with a choice to make. We currently live within a two-party system. No matter how many third parties get their candidates on the ballot, almost every single race comes down to candidates from two parties: the Democrats and the Republicans. The Democrats supposedly represent the leftists in this country. However, many leftists are dissatisfied with the Democrats, who seem to become more moderate every day.

So what do leftists do on Election Day? Do we vote for the Democrats so that they may gain the majority, even as their positions are moving closer to the Republicans’ every day? Do we vote for the Greens, or some other third party who better represents our views, even though we’re told that we’re “throwing our vote away”? Do we just stay away from the polls, abstaining from electoral politics altogether? The real question behind these ruminations is this: Will the Democrats make a difference?

If the actions of “mainstream” Democrats are any indication, we could expect much of the same from a Democrat-controlled Congress. Since 9/11, Democrats have been rubberstamping most of the Republican-backed bills. The Senate voted 99-1 in favor of the USA PATRIOT Act, as well as 100-0 in favor of invading Afghanistan. Just this past September, the bill appropriating $450 billion to the Pentagon was approved 98-0.

The Democrats have agreed with much of the Republicans’ actions in the so-called “war on terror.” Rather than calling it out as an endless hunt for an enemy which U.S. policy actually creates, Democrats proclaim that they will be the party that can actually win the war.

With regards to Iraq, Democrats and Republicans differ on the tactics, but they share many of the same policies. No Democrat will even mention “immediate withdrawal,” although an increasing number of Americans, including our troops, believe this to be the best option. The vast majority of New Yorkers are against the war. But Hillary Clinton, who is practically assured a victory in the Senate race in New York, will not even consider a timeline.

There is the same agreement on the issue of Israel. Although leftist parties around the world have challenged Israel’s actions against Gaza and Lebanon this summer, Democrats in the U.S. have remained staunchly supportive of Israel. Clinton takes positions on Israel that are almost identical to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

The Democrats’ stance on immigration is equally disappointing. Less than two weeks ago, 25 Democrats voted for the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which funds a 700-mile wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, making the cross between countries just that much more deadly. Barack Obama, the darling of the Democratic Party, was one of the Democrats who voted for the border wall, which coincides with his support of second-class citizenship in the form of a guest-worker program.

Despite their actions, the Democrats have long been thought of as the party of the people. However, Corporate America is beginning to realize that they have a friend in the Democratic Party. In October alone, campaign contributions from big businesses have risen by one third. Lockheed Martin, a long-time ally of the Republicans, gave 60 percent of its campaign contributions to the Democrats this year. Although corporations would prefer that the openly pro-business Republicans were in control, they realize that the Democrats, though sometimes speaking anti-corporate rhetoric, will support them as well.

True leftists face a difficult choice today. The Democrats might be a better choice than the Republicans, but their positions are much too moderate to be actually satisfying. In some races, the Green Party is running a candidate worth voting for. Aaron Dixon in Washington, Todd Chretien in California, and Howie Hawkins here in New York, all running for Senate, are solid candidates worth your vote. However, the Greens simply are not widespread enough to be a real electoral alternative.

Tonight, I hope to be celebrating the downfall of the Republicans, but I cannot say that I will be celebrating the gains of the Democrats, who resemble a true opposition party less and less each day. As leftists, we must reject both parties, as neither is acting in the interest of the people. Instead, we must work to build a party that truly represents our interests, rather than being left with Corporate America’s B-Team.

Laura Taylor is a senior in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. She can be contacted at lat34@cornell.edu. Kind of a Big Deal appears Tuesdays.

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