Democrats may have effectively rigged the 2024 nominating process in favor of President Joe Biden by shuffling the order of their primaries and not allowing other candidates to engage in debates with the deeply unpopular octogenarian, but a new threat has emerged which has some concerned that enough votes could be siphoned off to bolster the GOP candidate next November.
While the party’s media operatives have been deployed to smear Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as an anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theorist, the presence of radical academic and author Cornel West – who declared his third-party candidacy last week – could be a bigger problem for the party as it seeks to retain control over the White House.
West, a former Harvard University professor who has been a frequent media guest on shows including HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher” launched his first presidential run last week, running on policies similar to those of Bernie Sanders who, in 2016, nearly spared Hillary Clinton the indignity of being thumped by a certain billionaire businessman in the presidential election by mounting a more serious primary challenge against her than anyone could have expected.
“I have decided to run for truth and justice, which takes the form of running for president of the United States as a candidate for the People’s Party,” West said in a video coinciding with his announcement. “I enter for the quest for truth. I enter for the quest of justice. And the presidency is just one vehicle we pursue that truth and justice.”
I am running for truth and justice as a presidential candidate for the People’s Party to reintroduce America to the best of itself – fighting to end poverty, mass incarceration, ending wars and ecological collapse, guaranteeing housing, health care, education and living wages for… pic.twitter.com/u3NYGUbG1S
— Cornel West (@CornelWest) June 5, 2023
Even if West has zero chance of winning, he could still appeal to younger voters who flocked to Sanders in 2016 and again in 2020, and there are jitters that he could be a spoiler, much as Green Party candidate Jill Stein was in 2016 when she drew support from Clinton in the general election and Ralph Nader was in 2000 when he took away votes from Al Gore who narrowly lost to George W. Bush.
“My opinion is exactly the same whether it’s Cornel West or Joe Manchin. Any Democrat who runs an independent or third-party presidential campaign is dramatically helping Republican odds’ of victory,” said Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), a Biden loyalist, according to Politico. “It’s that simple. And unfortunately, I have seen this play before.”
“Cornel West has no business running for president, from the left, right, or center,” wrote Joan Walsh of the leftist outlet The Nation, fearing his influence as a spoiler.
“Cornel West’s ‘leftist’ presidential bid has right-wing DNA,” one MSNBC columnist wrote.
West also could draw a portion of the black voters who are so essential to Biden’s candidacy that the DNC moved South Carolina to the front of the line in the primaries to give the incumbent early momentum in setting the narrative.
However, another Democrat lawmaker, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) welcomed the presence of West whom he suggests could help to push the party more to the left.
“The U.S. has a long history of issue candidates who run in order to bring attention to important principles and ideas. I welcome Cornel West entering the race to make this country more just for all,” Khanna told Politico “I believe he will bring more people into the process and push for progressive policies.”
In addition to the fact that no third party has won a U.S. presidential election, West’s People’s Party also faces a monumental hurdle in getting on the ballot in enough states to make a difference.
“We plan on being on all 50 states,” said national chair Nick Brana, a possible problem for Biden and Democrats because West’s policies are actually saner than theirs are and could appeal to Bernie voters as well as more traditional liberals who aren’t down with the direction that the Democratic Party has taken by hitching its wagon to warmongers, perverts, and the police state.
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