November 5, 2024
Democracy Is On the Ballot
Daniel Celovsky
August 31, 2023
This election cycle has shifted from being very predictable to being absolutely crazy. And in a good crazy way!
In January, the 2024 election line-up was predictable and virtually certain. The Blue Team was going to field Joe Biden (not really … and we will delve into that further) and the Red Team was going to field Donald Trump. A combinaton of two candidates representing a repeat of the 2020 election.
The two legacy political parties had plans to duke it out in a repeat match. We were headed for a circus event that would result in the people heading for another loss in a broken and corrupt electoral system. The Establishment had things nailed down. It was all rigged up - polished nicely enough - to sell this election as a “democracy event” and coast all the way to finish line.
Joe Biden would take the power of incumbancy to rally Team Blue. Donald Trump would carry the water for Team Red. The people would lose and the corporate elites would gain another four-years to plunder, destruct and plot their way forward.
How things have changed. Since January, both legacy parties no longer have their ballot line-up set anymore. The 1% have lost control of their own self-ingratiating narrative. Their well-laid plans are collapsing.
The Planned Democrat Ticket
The Democratic Party (Team Blue) had plans. They would tout Biden-Harris right up to their National Convention in Chicago next August. At that point, their primary process (a corrupt process in itself) would end and they could coronate Joe Biden as their nominee.
But, they already know Biden is not viable as he cannot campaign nor hold events or rallies, and would falter in the general election debates. They would simply ride out the coronation to the convention, then have Biden step down for “health reasons” or some other plausible story and they could install their back-room desired replacement. That will not be Kamala Harris (as her appeal is even worse than Biden’s). But they could pick anyone of their choosing with California Governor Gavin Newsom and Hillary Clinton (it’s her turn - it always is) being possible selections.
Sure, Robert F Kennedy Jr and Marianne Williamson are nuisances to the Democratic National Committee (the DNC) as they have forced them into an actual primary campaign they did not want. But they can ride out that storm by virtually ignoring their presence and playing down the primary process to the convention which would effectively eliminate them as contenders. Corruption works that way.
They would just ride the primary process out, let Biden carry the nomination, and replace him at the convention with someone of their own choosing (the weapon of their “super delegates” can be readily deployed into action). And they can cobble together a plausible narrative to validate their selection to the general public.
No matter who they coronate, “Vote Blue No Matter Who” and “Trump Is Bad” would be the tried and true narratives to carry their water to the finish line on November 5, 2024.
That was the plan. Easy peasy.
But they have run smack dab into four big unforeseen problems that have completely derailed this simple plan to corrupt the nomination process. Joe Biden is a more flawed candidate than they expected and cannot make it to the convention event next August.
His physical and mental deterioration is worse than they expected. He cannot cobble sentences together. He gets lost on stage. He struggles even with teleprompters. The people see it. This deterioration can no longer be kept hidden and explained. He is quickly becoming a joke relative to the demands of his office. He cannot ride out another year as being a valid candidate for another term. He ran out of gas.
The next in-line is Vice-President Kamala Harris. There is completely zero enthusiasm for her in any scenario. Selecting her for the VP role is a mistake that has now come home to roost. Attempts to re-brand her are taking place, but are falling flat. She cannot fulfil the role. She is not a viable alternative - even to bridge the time between now and the convention date. She never had any gas in the tank to start with.
Joe Biden has corruption problems that have come to light much earlier than is convenient. His direct involvement with his son’s international activities, bribery, and interference in other countries’ governance is gaining rapid traction and exposure - much more quickly than was expected. This is fatal to retaining him up to the planned-for convention date. Biden is leaking gas from a broken fuel line and it is spewing out all over the place.
The DNC could fall-back to actually undertaking a primary selection process to select a replacement for Biden. But, they only have two candidates who they completely reject. Robert F Kennedy Jr and Marianne Williamson are clearly anti-Establishment and have already gained traction. Actually holding debates and publicizing them on the corporate media outlets would only elevate them and likely lead to a nominee that actually opposes the corrupt Estalishment. Parachuting another candidate into the primary process would likely fail in a complete collapse (we only need to recall the roll-out of Michael Bloomberg in the 2020 primary campaign to discount that strategy).
The Democratic Party has a very big problem. Essentially, they have lost control of their own corrupt process. They are very well aware that a sizable portion of their supporters are receptive to third party alternatives. Exposing thier corruption to the full light of day would only cause them to quickly erode their base and guarantee a general election failure.
The corrupt Democratic Party has a big problem. And their plans have collapsed under the weight of their own hubris and corruption of democracy. The people scare them. Their own supporters scare them.
The Democratic Party has put themselves into a box that they cannot escape from.
The Planned Republican Ticket
The problems with the Republican Party (Team Red) are similarily rooted in their own hubris and corruption. Things are just not going according to plan.
Unlike the Democratic Party, the Republicans are actually holding a primary process to select their candidate for 2024. However, instead of seeking to retain their front-runner candidate, they are seeking to replace him with a candidate of their own choosing. A candidate they can control.
Removing Donald Trump and replacing him with the preferred alternative of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is falling flat. Removing Donald Trump was expected to be simple and the Democrats would help them in their efforts. Simply indict him multiple times and have his supporters reject him outright - and they would support DeSantis as the logical altenative. Again, easy peasy.
Oops.
Donald Trump’s supporters are rock-solid behind Trump. Every indictment only solidifies and expands his support. His supporters are so turned-off by the corruption of the Establishment that they see through the corrupt ploys to have them fall in-line with DeSantis, and have rejected this preferred alternative. Fiercely. It appears that the majority of Republican Party supporters are not really Republican Party supporters at all - they are Trump supporters.
Efforts to propel DeSantis as the front-runner in the Republican outlets of the corrupt media (Fox News) has failed to move their supporters in the desired direction. In fact, even Fox News’ audience is hemorraging away from them as Trump refuses to even participate in their charade. Ouch.
Should the legal prosecution of Donald Trump result in his conviction, his supporters will revolt by rejecting his chosen replacement (DeSantis). Just like the Democrats, the support the Republican Party requires will erode as a result of their own manipulation efforts!
The only gas in the Republican tank is Donald Trump. In 2016, they created the Donald Trump ticket and now they cannot shed themselves of it. This is a big problem for the corrupt Republican Party. Their only path to victory is a path that has Donald Trump on the ballot.
The Third Choice
Decade after decade after decade the corrupt corporate-derived political landscape was set. Two legacy political parties held the monopoly where - no matter which one succeeded - the Establishment would end up victorious. Team Red and Team Blue both played their roles for the same owners. That was working so well.
There was the occassional resistence against this two-party electoral duopoly but it was effectively contained within that two-party duopoly where it could be easily managed.
The Bernie Sanders DNC primary campaigns of both 2016 and 2020 clearly demonstrated the popularity of an electoral choice that represented the vision the people wanted.
But that was nothing more than a little problem for the Establishment to squash. Since those two “Bernie campaigns” were contained within the Democratic Party, the DNC could thwart them before the general election and then carry the “Vote Blue No Matter Who” banner into the general election. It worked out and the Establishment maintained their stranglehold on the Oval Office. Yes, the Democrats lost in 2016 but the 1% still had their interests shored up for the most part by the Republican victory that cycle.
But for 2024 things are different. Much different.
In 2024 there is a rising third choice. And this choice is not created and curated by the ruling class elites. It is not rooted in corruption. The ruling elites cannot control it nor can they manupulate it.
They do not want it. But it is here. And it does not belong to the 1%.
Democracy still has a breath of life left in it. It is a third choice.
Dr. Cornel West has entered the political circus that previously was the sole domain of the moneyed interests of the corporate boardrooms, the military industrial complex and the Wall Street banks. On November 5, 2024 there will be three choices on the ballot:
The coronated candidate selected by the Democratic Party Establishment;
Donald Trump (or some alternative who will not have any support) representing the Republican Party Establishment; and
Dr. Cornel West running under the Green Party banner with no 1% Establishment support whatsoever.
Dr. Cornel West will be the alternative choice that actually offers all the democratic power to the people. No corruption involved. No special interests to pander to. No pre-selected words placed on prepared scripts to follow. No narrative designed to withhold the truth from the people.
Cornel West is offering what the majority wants. Leadership reflected in humanity, unity, peace, justice, and harmony. Even more critical to true democracy - he listens to the people and reflects policies that are derived from consensus. Cornel West is literally offering power to the people - the freedom and liberty that underscores actual true democracy itself.
On November 5, 2024, the people will finally have three choices. A corrupt candidate in a blue jacket, a corrupt candidate in a red jacket, and a candidate that reflects democratic values, freedom and power and wears a green jacket. This time, people have a real choice.
Does Cornel West Stand a Chance?
At time of writing, there are 432-days remaining until election day. If the Cornel West Campaign Team can use this time wisely, they can propel this third electoral choice to victory.
The challenge is basically to inform the people that they have a third choice. A choice which is to choose themselves. To choose democracy. The challenge is to change the two-party habit that has been ingrained into the population over the decades.
The two legacy parties are drowning in their own deception and deceit. Let them drown. They will use their copious quantities of cash that is thrust upon them by their sponsors to smear and defame each other - that is how they always operate: through negative ads and rhetoric. They will continue along that path as it is the only path they have to offer. Let them burn up their cash to demean and weaken each other.
The sole focus of the West campaign should be on informing the voters of the choice they actually have. A candidate to vote for. The information effort is critical as the public is just not used to it. Positive campainging is completely backwards! We better get good at it!
41% of registered voters are declared Independents. That base already exceeds the Democrats and Republicans (with 28% each).
45% of declared Democrats state themselves to being receptive to voting for a third party alternative - and the Democrats show no signs of holding them back as they persist in their corrupt practices and tactics. They cannot add to their base - they can only try to slow its exodus.
In the Republican base, should they manage to replace Trump with DeSantis or some other candidate, the result will be their own fatality. Even with Trump, one out of eight Trump voters previously voted for Bernie Sanders in the Democratic Party primary. Either way, just like the Democrats, the Republicans cannot add to their base - they can only try to slow its exodus.
Beyond that, one-third of eligible voters have not been voting at all - completely turned off by the duopoly choice of the Democrats and Republicans. Many of these can be re-engaged with an active on-the-ground campaign effort.
With an effective campaign effort, there is no reason that Cornel West cannot be competitive and even victorious. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to hear the pundits and experts try to explain what happens in a three-way race where no candidate actually has a path to electoral college victory? It would throw their entire narrative out the window! Good riddance to them too!
On November 5 2024, we can change absolutely everything. We can show the corrupt 1% the door and shove them out of it. Democracy still has life - let’s lift it up and restore it. And - by doing so - restore and elevate our lives, our communities and our society.
Let’s get to work. We can do this!
Great job, particularly the use of the stats.
You correctly point out that (in 2020) 1/3 of the voters did not vote. But 2020 was a high turnout year. Typically around ~43% don't vote, a fact that boosts your point.