This election I’m proud to be supporting the only ticket for president on the Massachusetts ballot that speaks to the issues I care about: Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker. They are campaigning on a platform of a Green New Deal with an economic bill of rights, universal health care, an end to endless wars and real solutions to systemic problems like racism and the pandemic.

Massachusetts polls are showing Joe Biden ahead of Donald Trump. Because of our winner-take-all system, Biden will get all 11 seats on the Electoral College to represent Massachusetts. Massachusetts is a “safe state” for the Democratic Party. It is not so safe, however, for those of us who feel marginalized and left out of the democratic process.

Biden is not a solution to the autocratic rightward drift of our federal government. Voters must find the courage to support independent candidates and break the cycle of politicians who offer us less and less every four years. A good showing for Greens in 2020 would help shift the conversation over the next four years. A national result of 5% would win the Green Party federal funding and recognition as a national political party.

If ballot initiative #2 to adopt ranked-choice voting passes, it could be a further step toward breaking down the walls that exclude our voices. Politicians will have to listen when they know voters have choices. If you marched for peace, protested for racial justice, lobbied against fracked gas or petitioned to save vital social services, then you need to put your vote where your values are.

There’s no disadvantage to voting Green — it is the best way to defend our democracy and hold the political establishment accountable.

Jamie Guerin

Northampton

 

Link: https://www.gazettenet.com/Guerin-letter-36828521

Daily Hampshire Gazette