… Third Parties, Part I

 

In this two-part blog topic on Third Parties, and with the second part next week, I will first address:

The Campaign

Last week, Cornel West announced he is switching from running in the 2024 United States presidential election as a Green Party candidate to that of an independent.

Not long ago, seemingly around a 90-day window, he was previously a candidate for The People’s Party.

Decisions like this do not sound decisive. They do not come across as focused. It strikes people as unserious.

I do not wish anything negative of Cornel West, or his campaign, but since this is a blog I know I can be direct with giving my two-cents.

This is a waste.

Given this topic is in October 2023…it would not surprise me, six months out, if Mr. West “suspends” his campaign by April 2024. 

After April 2024, and given his recent Jimmy Dore Show interview, Mr. West can turn around in time for the general-election season and endorse Joe Biden—or if anyone else becomes the 2024 Democratic Party’s nominee—for president of the United States. 

After all, as Mr. West has stated (numerous times): Donald Trump, who many are sensing will become re-nominated by the Republican Party for a third consecutive election cycle, is a “neofascist” and Joe Biden is only a “neoliberal.”

This is an important distinction by Mr. West. He is running outside the two major U.S. political parties. He is supposed to try to win as much of a coalition—perhaps even reach that dreamy 5 percent in the U.S. Popular Vote—which combines both factions of voters who are usually more leaning to the Republican Party and more leaning to the Democratic Party. And he lets us know there is a difference between the two major political parties.

Imagine people—citizens who will vote—processing that.

If you enter a presidential race…and you are outside the two major U.S. political parties…and you have the benefit of being a name…you do not run this campaign.