After watching the September 10th presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, it becomes crystal clear why Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Libertarian candidate Chase Oliver were not invited. Jill Stein would have exposed the similarities of the two major party candidates, their lack of any real solutions, and the moral bankruptcy of America’s belligerent foreign policy.
The last time an independent candidate was allowed into presidential debates was in 1992, when Ross Perot ran against Bill Clinton and George HW Bush. Perot won 18.9% of the popular vote, even though he received no electoral votes. In 2000, Green Party candidate Ralph Nader was not allowed into the debates between George W. Bush and Al Gore. In October 2012, Green Party candidate Jill Stein and her running mate were arrested for attempting to enter the Hofstra Debate between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.
The Presidential Debate Commission is controlled by the Democratic and Republican parties. As much as they portray themselves as polar opposites on many issues, there is little or no difference between them on their unwavering support for Israel and US imperialism that seeks to achieve full spectrum dominance. Third Party candidates with anti-war platforms present a real risk of exposing the fraudulent foreign policy narrative promoted by major party candidates. Including third party candidates in the debates, risks cracking the democratic facade of America’s corrupt political system.
Americans’ choices have been narrowed down and manipulated by corporate media, whose job it is to manufacture consent. Calling the USA a democracy is a joke! Third party candidates are considered spoilers who steal votes from major party candidates, when in reality they provide an alternative to voters who might otherwise choose not to participate in a rigged election system with candidates who serve the same masters.
The Democratic Party fought hard in numerous states to prevent ballot access for Jill Stein, RFK Jr. and Cornel West. These battles end up in court and wind up costing millions of dollars, which the DNC can afford. The Un-Democratic Party is scared of losing the 2024 election, but they have nobody to blame but themselves since Biden has done nothing to help Americans struggling with the high cost of living.
In 2024, American democracy is an even bigger joke! On the one hand, Donald Trump was elected by Republican voters as their 2024 candidate. On the other hand, Kamala Harris was anointed by Democratic Party officials without a primary election. One must ask the question: Was Biden dropping out of the race, a last minute decision or was it planned all along? Harris demonstrated in 2019, she would likely be defeated in a Democratic Party Presidential Primary race.
In 2019, Kamala Harris was amongst a large field of contenders in 2020 Democratic Party Presidential Primary debates. She was even propped up by the media as a potential frontrunner. In the fourth primary debate of 2019, Tulsi Gabbard exposed Harris’ claim to be a justice reformer as a complete fraud. Harris had been California’s Attorney General from 2011 to 2017 and had a horrific criminal justice record as a corrupt prosecutor. Gabbard’s performance could be called a takedown of her opponent. Harris dropped out of the race before 2020.
It should upset Democratic Party voters that Kamala was chosen by the party elite, but the enthusiasm of getting to vote for a woman of color seems to erase the undemocratic process that occurred in Summer 2024. The Dems have weaponized identity politics.
Harris vs. Trump: Americans Deserve Better
On performance, Kamala Harris won the debate and seemed the most presidential. Harris used her prosecutor skills to bait Trump. Trump’s attacks on Harris backfired. Trump missed opportunities to expose Harris for her atrocious record as California Attorney General. There was even speculation prior to the debate that he would use some of Tulsi Gabbard’s talking points from the 2019 Democratic Primary Presidential debate. When Harris accused Trump of being a racist, it was the perfect opportunity to mention that she put more people of color in jail for minor drug offenses than her predecessor or even locked parents up for their kids’ truancy. Instead Trump claimed she wanted to defund the police and let criminal rioters off the hook in Minneapolis during the Black Lives Matter protests. His accusations went nowhere and Harris’ brushed off most of Trump’s attacks with a smile.
Trump’s demonization of illegal immigrants attained new levels of absurdity, as did his claim that abortions in some States were allowed up to birth with some born babies being executed on the operating table. He claimed that Haitian immigrants were stealing and eating people’s pets. It was almost as if Trump was trying to lose the debate.
Neither candidate addressed the root causes of immigration, such as harsh US sanctions and coup attempts in Venezuela and Nicaragua. The long history of CIA backed interventions in Central and South America, which included assassinations, backing dictators and supporting coups by arming terrorists, resulted in thousands of people fleeing their countries. Donald Trump’s sanctions on Venezuela added to the immigration crisis.
Kamala’s defense of abortion rights is the reason that many people, especially women, will vote for her. Donald Trump deserves condemnation for stacking the Supreme Court with right wing judges, who were only elected after changing the Senate rules to a simple majority vote from the long established two thirds majority vote to approve Supreme Court judges. What was not discussed was the fact that Democrats had failed to ever codify abortion rights into law. In presidential debates, both Barack Obama in 2008 and Joe Biden in 2020 said if elected they would sign an abortion rights bill into law. When Biden took office in 2021, the threat of the Supreme Court overturning Roe vs. Wade was apparent, yet Biden was more concerned with party unity than the urgency of protecting abortion rights. Democrats failed to draft abortion rights bills.
Harris received the first question of the night about the economy and the high cost of living. She was asked “when it comes to the economy do you believe Americans are better off than they were four years ago?” She completely avoided directly answering the question, choosing to focus on what her administration would do to help Americans. Harris said that she came from the middle class and if elected, she intended to make people’s lives better with tax credits for starting families, first time home buyers and starting a small business. Her answer was an acknowledgment that most Americans are struggling in today’s economy, but she never admitted to the harsh economic reality that many Americans have faced under an administration where she is vice president.
Inflation during the Biden Administration was the worst in over 40 years, but in the 1980s housing and healthcare costs were far less. The cost of living has become unsustainable for many Americans. The cost of food has skyrocketed. Both food and gas were much less expensive under Trump. However, neither candidate really addressed the reasons for inflation which include the Fed pumping trillions of dollars into the banks during the Pandemic under Trump’s watch. Nor did they mention the harsh sanctions on both Venezuelan and Russian oil contributing to higher gas prices.
Trump’s answers were simple: He claimed everything was so much better under his watch. He constantly claimed this never would have happened if he’d been president. He claimed Biden and Harris ruined everything. Trump raised one valid question: “For all the things Harris has promised to do, why isn’t she doing them right now?”
Israel’s Genocide in Gaza and the Escalating War in the Middle East
Both candidates expressed their full support for Israel to defend itself, by continuing to provide all the weapons it needs. Millions of people around the world are well aware that Israel is not defending itself, but committing genocide. Israel’s genocide is manufactured in the USA, since the US is providing Israel with all the bombs it needs to destroy Gaza. Harris attempted to show concern for the lives of innocent Palestinians, while insisting that the Biden Administration is tirelessly working around the clock to get a ceasefire deal, as if Joe Biden is powerless to stop the slaughter. She intentionally ignored the simple solution and the fact that she is part of administration of war criminals who are guilty of genocide.
Jill Stein would have called Israel’s assault on Gaza, Genocide! She might have mentioned South Africa’s case against Israel in the International Court of Justice. Jill Stein has clearly said on many occasions, that Biden can easily end the genocide by halting US military aid to Israel or even by a simple phone call to Netanyahu. Past presidents like Ronald Reagan or Dwight Eisenhower did call Israeli leaders to tell them to halt their military incursions.
Stein might have brought up the powerful influence that AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) has over America’s political system. Joe Biden was the largest recipient of pro-Israel lobby money having received over $4.2 million between 1990 to 2024. As a Senator, Harris had received $244,495 from the pro-Israel lobby. Kamala Harris now has access to Biden’s campaign coffers including millions from pro-Israel groups. This could give Harris over $5.3 million from the Pro-Israel Lobby.
Trump claims that the situation never would have been this bad under his watch accusing Biden of being weak on Hamas. Neither candidate addressed the fact that the IDF is not defeating Hamas and Israel’s economy is approaching collapse with over 46,000 Israeli businesses now closed. Biden’s continued military support for Israel has led to a larger conflict in the Middle East involving US warships and troops. The US has been unsuccessful in stopping the Houthis’ shipping blockade in the Red Sea. Israel is fighting a war against the Houthis and Hezbollah while attempting to start a war with Iran. Neither Harris or Trump had any real solutions to end the conflict. One can argue that the goal of the US national security state is not to end it. There are warhawks in Washington DC like Lindsey Graham who are chomping at the bit for war with Iran.
Ukraine War: Where Trump Finally Wins the Debate as the Peace Candidate
The Washington political establishment and their media lapdogs will never refer to the Ukraine War for what it is: The US Proxy War against Russia in Ukraine. Harris continues to promote the lie that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was unprovoked and Vladimir Putin must be stopped because if he takes Kiev, he will set his sights on invading Europe next. She continues to promote the fantasy that somehow Ukraine can defeat Russia and win the war. In fact, nothing could be more delusional. Perhaps Harris knows the truth and is lying to the American people, because the war has been extremely profitable for the arms industry.
The 2023 US Ukraine Partnership Forum held by the US Chamber of Commerce, demonstrated that Blackrock, CItigroup and Exxon Mobil want to profit off rebuilding Ukraine and the resource rich Donbass Region that Russia annexed in Fall 2022.
Congress has approved over $175 billion for Ukraine aid since February 2022. Much of this aid is not for weapons shipments, but paying for Ukraine’s government to function.
Ukraine is losing territory while running out of soldiers to fight Russia. An estimated 600,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed, which is nearly ten times more than Russian soldiers killed. Ukraine lost about 11,000 soldiers a week during most of Summer 2024. Ukraine hasn’t made any significant gains since Fall 2022, when Russian troops evacuated Kherson, in response to Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) shelling and cracking the dam upstream. Had the dam broken, which it finally did in Spring 2023, Russian troops would have been caught in the flood. In 2023, the UAF was defeated in Bakhmut by the Wagner Group, a Russian private military contractor. Subsequently, Ukraine’s 2023 counteroffensive failed to breach even the first or four Russian defense lines. Ukraine captured one village which was recaptured by Russia in 2024.
Ukraine’s invasion of the Kursk Region of Russia has lifted Western enthusiasm for the war effort, but it has failed to make any significant gains. Russian Armed Forces (RAF) have killed and injured nearly 13,000 Ukrainian soldiers in the Kursk region. Exploded Ukrainian missile shells were found at the Kursk Nuclear Plant, which has no protective dome. If a missile hits the nuclear reactors, it could cause a catastrophe like Chernobyl. The invasion of Kursk hasn’t taken Russian troops off the front lines in the Donetsk, Luhansk or Kharkov Oblasts, where UAF are collapsing. Ukraine sent its most well trained soldiers and best military equipment to Kursk. The absence of this equipment on the front lines is accelerating Ukraine’s defeat.
To his credit, Donald Trump acknowledged the huge war cost, both in dollars and lives. He mentioned the danger of escalating a war with Russia, which could lead to WW3 and nuclear war. He said he wants peace and if elected president he would talk to both Zelensky and Putin to end the war very quickly. Trump is correct that Biden hasn’t talked with Putin in over two years and the breakdown in diplomacy could lead to WW3.
Trump missed a huge opportunity to point out that the Biden Administration rejected Russia’s security demand to never allow Ukraine NATO membership. If Biden had promised to keep Ukraine out of NATO, it would have prevented Russia’s invasion. Any discussion about why Russia invaded Ukraine is completely absent from the debate. Since 2007, Putin has said that Ukraine joining NATO would cross Russia’s red line. Furthermore, Russia launched its Special Military Operation on February 24, 2022 in response to a dramatic increase in Donbass ceasefire violations, monitored by the OSCE under the Minsk 2 Peace Agreement.
In April 2022, at peace negotiations held in Istanbul, Turkey, a peace deal was almost signed by Russia and Ukraine in which Ukraine promised not to join NATO if it received security guarantees from Europe. According to Ukrainian Ambassador Oleksandr Chalyi, who was a chief negotiator in Istanbul, President Vladimir Putin was willing to make significant compromises to get a peace agreement signed because he realized the invasion as a mistake. Boris Johnson traveled to Kiev to tell Zelensky to tear up the agreement because Ukraine could defeat Russia.
It is the goal of the UK and US to keep this war going as long as possible to weaken Russia, but this has backfired along with the sanctions intended to harm Russia’s economy. Russia is stronger now both militarily and economically. Antony Blinken just gave approval for Ukraine to use US supplied long range missiles to strike deep inside Russia. Putin and Russian officials have warned that such actions make the US a direct participant in the conflict, therefore Russia will respond accordingly at a time and manner of its choosing.
Americans are uninformed about the details of the conflict which really began in 2014 after the US backed Maidan Coup. RFK Jr. has articulated many of these details that caused Russia to invade Ukraine. Jill Stein, who was one of the guest speakers at Rage Against The War Machine Rally on February 19, 2023, has articulated the causes of this conflict. She has described the dangers of putting NATO on Russia’s doorstep as a “Cuban Missile Crisis on steroids.” Pointing out the truth about the Ukraine War is one very good reason why Jill Stein was denied access to the presidential debates.
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VOTING FOR LESSER OF TWO EVILS IS STILL VOTING VOTING FOR EVIL
While Democratic Party voters see Donald Trump as the greatest threat to American democracy, it is important to notice the increasing amount of censorship on the Ukraine War and Israel’s genocide in Gaza, under the Biden Administration. The assault on the First Amendment rights of pro-Palestinian student activists and professors, who are smeared as antisemitic, has all the hallmarks of McCarthyism. In response to the university protests, Professors have been fired, students expelled and the US House of Representatives passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which some experts claim criminalized Jewish History. This legislation is still awaits a Senate vote.
Young journalist and activist, Jackson Hinkle was banned from YouTube, Patreon and Paypal for debunking the US NATO propaganda narrative about the Ukraine War. Journalist Richard Medhurst had his YouTube channel demonetized for condemning Israel’s genocide of Palestinians while defending the actions of the Axis of Resistance (Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis and Iran). Journalist and former weapons inspector, Scott Ritter had his home raided by the FBI under suspicion of violating the Foreign Agent Registry Act after years of writing articles published in RT and Sputnik. Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who is an officer in the national guard, was put on terrorist watch list under the TSA’s Quiet Skies Program, just two days after criticizing Kamala Harris on Fox News. Green Party VP candidate Butch Ware says America already has “purple fascism” under the Biden Administration.
Kamala Harris is proud to be endorsed by Iraq War criminal Dick Cheney, who as vice president supported waterboarding of terror suspects while he spread lies about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The imperialist warmongers are circling their wagons around Harris, as the Biden Administration attempts to escalate its failed proxy war against Russia. The future imperialist agenda is a war with China over Taiwan. Harris intends to insure that the US has the most lethal military in the world to preserve our global leadership role. China, Russia and Iran are portrayed as tyrants who threaten the rules based order. There’s no talk of diplomacy to resolve conflicts. Peace is not a priority. The marriage of the Democrats and Neo-Conservatives with their warmonger imperialist goals, is now on full display.
While Donald Trump was convicted for paying hush money to a porn star, Dick Cheney is treated with great respect by the Legacy media. Cheney should have been charged with numerous war crimes, and should be investigated for involvement in the 9/11 Terrorist Attack. He is responsible for starting an illegal war built on lies that killed over 1 million Iraqis and thousands of American soldiers. Under Cheney’’s leadership, the US implemented a torture program, passed the unconstitutional USA Patriot Act and engaged in warrantless wiretapping.
In 2024, Americans are again asked to choose between two terrible candidates. It’s a merry-go-round that America needs to get off before it’s too late. This is why I support Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein for president. Jill is the only anti-war, anti-genocide, anti-AIPAC, pro-worker, climate emergency candidate in the race. I’m voting like this election could be our last. If the Democrats and their Neo-Conservative allies continue to lead us down the path toward World War III, it may soon be game over for all life on earth.