For a Ceasefire in Gaza, Vote “No Preference” in the Democratic Primary
In recent weeks, a national protest campaign has sprung up to drive Pres. Biden to make a dramatic course correction on his rhetoric about the Gazan crisis.
I have stayed silent on the genocide in Gaza for months out of respect for the severity of a situation which I cannot control — but the situation has reached a point at which I can no longer not use my voice. Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government have packed millions of Palestinians into a part of Rafah probably no larger than my hometown of Huntersville. The horror on the Strip is hard to comprehend — millions of people are packed into a few city blocks that are constantly being shelled and shot at. Just yesterday, Abu Anza of al-Salam, Rafah, lost her four month old twins to an Israeli air strike.
Let me be frank: I am not speaking for anyone but myself in this situation. Making a statement on a delicate international situation as an employee of a national organization means that I must make it clear that the AFL-CIO does not endorse the “Uncommitted” campaign against President Biden. Despite the internal politics, this is the pivotal cause of our time — and I believe with my whole soul that Americans must take collective action.
With that said, I am a young person, a proud member of a labor union, and a labor rights activist after hours — and I didn’t vote for Joe Biden in the Democratic primary. I’m voting for nobody, actually. That’s right, nobody. My union endorsed President Biden for re-election because of his economic and labor policies, and I desperately *want* to vote for him because of that, but due to. the President’s choice to fund a genocide on the Gaza strip, I cannot in good conscience vote to re-elect the President until he changes course.
So now, with all of that on the table, let me rewind to when I was a freshman in college. It was November 2019, and the Trump family was visiting our campus to campaign almost a year before the 2020 election. I was just a freshman, staying over in Bowen Hall. With only weeks to prepare, NC State’s progressive ecosystem united into action to send a message to Donald Trump and his movement: hatred is not welcome on our campus. Groups from the Students for Immigrant Rights and Equality and NCSU NAACP, to the Feminist Collective’s women’s rights coalition, to climate change clubs and labor unions on campus, Democratic Socialists, College Democrats and Campus Libertarians — we fought back against a violent, racist speaking event held in the heart of our student union. That was our voice, thousands of students speaking as one to defend our community. This year, we must unite again to defeat the anti-worker, anti-woman, and yes, anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian policies of Donald Trump and the MAGA movement. The stakes are undeniably high and we must unite to defeat the rise of fascism — here and abroad.
I am voting for somebody. Their name is “No preference.” The State Board of Elections determined that only Biden was qualified for the ballot, but because he would have otherwise been uncontested, we have a choice to vote “No preference” on March the 5th. This means we can tell the White House that we’re willing to vote for Biden if he changes course — but if and only if. Activists in Michigan led by Muslim Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib already pulled off a huge win — driving 4 times as many “Uncommitted” voters to the polls as any Presidential primary in recent memory. It wasn’t just Arab voters in Dearborn that voted for it, though — counties from blood red to bright blue, diverse and lily white, urban and rural, also gave significant votes to the protest campaign. They even won delegates in the Detroit area — meaning that Joe Biden officially has a contested Democratic convention on his hands.
Voting “No preference” is also an insurance policy against the President’s old age — sending delegates to the convention who are free to vote for anyone means that we could nominate a backup candidate in the event of a health scare before the party meets in August. If we’re going to defeat Donald Trump and keep Palestine, the trans community, workers, and more safe — we have to keep every option open until the last possible second. If Biden falters, we can pull the trigger and replace him.
Voting “No preference,” finally, is one of the most politically effective things that we can do at this moment — the “blank slate” effect of being able to vote for not a candidate but a coalition of delegates with the independence to argue strategically at an open convention. I have seen its effect first hand — talking to everyone from Arab and Black owned small businesses, smoke shop owners, the homeless, and religious communities, people are unsurprisingly inspired by the opportunity to vote against the most unpopular President in recent memory. So not only does voting “No preference” give us a contingency plan for Biden’s health, it’s a contingency plan for if he does not take the drastic executive actions needed to inspire the Democratic base. It has worked in countless swing state elections the past 6 years — and we can do it again.
We can give Biden a chance to change course — we can use our votes to do it. 15 states are voting in the Democratic primaries this Tuesday, and campaigns have sprung up in Colorado, Minnesota, Texas, Washington, and all over the country — organizing to send a message to Joe Biden that is loud and clear and does not mince words: we need an unconditional ceasefire in Palestine immediately.
He can throw away all of the groundwork he has laid for a new Industrial Revolution, he can throw away his work of building the strongest environment for the labor movement in recent history, and he can throw away his attempts to make progress on social issues by reaching across the aisle to enshrine basic rights into the Constitution.
Or, he can choose to solidify his legacy of the past 3 years, and win a governing majority large enough that we can do even more. To win in 2024, President Biden must immediately begin taking drastic executive action to form a popular policy agenda to run on in the fall, by decriminalizing marijuana, expanding healthcare coverage under the ACA, protecting immigrants, creating new national standards for auditing the behavior of police officers, and more. To win in 2024, we must also make a drastic stand against fascism and apartheid — and show the world that the United States and its allies are and always will be pro-worker, multiracial democracies. President Biden can do that with national attention Thursday night at the State of the Union, by telling Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli Knesset to CEASE FIRE NOW.
President Biden:
Which side of history are you on? We know that we must defeat Donald Trump to continue the fight against climate change and facsism. We also know that without securing a Free Palestine, we will never be able to show the world that we are still a beacon of democracy.
President Biden: it’s your choice. Make it now.
Friends: Vote in protest of President Biden on March the 5th.
