AOC and the Desperate Democrats Attempt to Undermine the Greens

Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist

04 Sep 2024

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Image: Instagram @AOC

The incessant and increasingly harsh attacks on the Green Party are indicators of its appeal to millions of people. Democrats engage in political fakery and smear campaigns against the Greens because they know their voters turn against them when they are given the opportunity to consider another electoral option.

The Green Party is the left party most successful at gaining ballot access across the country. It is unusual for a non-duopoly formation to be on the ballot in more than 40 states. That success is indicative of its platform’s appeal to millions of people who vote for them whenever they are given the chance. There is no other party with a national reach demanding independence for Puerto Rico, the abolition of the electoral college, nuclear disarmament, constitutional protection of the right to vote, the right to health care, an Ecosocialist Green New Deal, and cutting the military budget in half.

Because its policy positions are popular, the Greens have become the scapegoats for democrats’ failure and treachery. If a democrat loses a close presidential election as in 2000 and 2016, when they were deprived of an electoral college victory, the Greens were blamed. It doesn’t matter if the loss was caused by putative democrats voting for the republican candidate or because the democrats failed in their get-out-the-vote efforts, or because their allegiance to weapons manufacturers, big pharma, big banks, and rich donors makes it impossible to respond to the popular will. Their grift only works if they pretend to be progressive and pretend not to be under the thumb of the oligarchs who run the country.

Of course, the democrats could dismiss the Green Party threat by simply supporting at least some aspects of their platform. But given the true nature of US politics, that seemingly simple act is impossible for them to carry out. Subverting the Green Party, a truly progressive party is their only option.

One wouldn’t know this of course because every four years the democrats whine and complain about a small party that should not be a problem for them at all. But their refusal to carry out even a little of what the public wants, results in a combination of undemocratic subterfuge and cynical propaganda.

The latest screeds against Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein run the gamut from the usual accusations of election spoiler to grifter to charges of Green Party ineffectiveness at party building. Why don’t Greens run more often? Why don’t they hear from Jill Stein aside from presidential election years? These assertions are funny because they imply that the accuser would like to see a stronger Green party, which is never the case being made. Rarely mentioned are the very undemocratic actions of the democrats when Greens do attempt to run for office around the country.

In 2022 the Democratic Party pulled out its usual bag of dirty tricks by attempting to get the Green Party removed from the North Carolina ballot. Not only did the Greens obtain the required number of nominating petition signatures but they secured an additional 2,000 more, knowing that the Democrats would challenge them.

But the democrats would not admit defeat. Instead, they tried to get Green Party supporters to denounce themselves and remove their signatures from petitions. They called people's homes, sometimes pretending to be from the Green Party and other times pretending to be from the North Carolina Board of Elections. In some cases, they went to the petitioners’ homes.

One man actually filmed his encounter with an operative. When he was asked why his name should not be removed he got this truthful response. “It would be a disadvantage for democrats and an advantage for republicans.” The voter was unmoved by the candor and responded, “Right. You guys should move left and that wouldn’t happen.” For good measure, he added, “If the democrats are concerned about that perhaps then they should probably change their politics a bit as opposed to coming to my house and trying to get me to get my name off of a petition.”

The North Carolina trickery was not unique. In May of this year, the DNC posted an ad for an Independent and Third Party Project Manager whose responsibilities would include, “Following RFK Jr., Cornel West and Jill Stein candidate events in the region and sharing intel in real-time.” The Federal Election Commission announced that the Green Party qualified for nearly $300,000 in matching funds but then withheld the money.

Of course, Greens run for office all over the country every year, but that isn’t really the democrats’ issue. They want them to disappear and to stop giving voters the ability to vote for the things that democrats are determined to never deliver. People who don’t want to pay for an Israeli genocide or who want a free public health care system or a minimum wage increase are a problem for the democrats because they virtue signal while having no intention of giving the people what they want.

Now that Kamala Harris is performing as expected, a shallow careerist promoted beyond her skill set, the democrats have a problem on their hands. They got rid of senile Joe Biden and are now stuck with a hollow woman who is also not up to the task. Polls show her in a tight race with Donald Trump in battleground states and the issue of the U.S.-funded Israeli genocide has not gone away. Her claims of working towards a ceasefire are as phony as she is, and Arab and Muslim communities whose votes are so crucial are choosing not to back the party that is killing their people. Enter the woman known as AOC.

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is an alleged leftist among the democrats but she is actually a useful surrogate for that party’s establishment. They use her faux credentials to carry out neo-liberal and imperialist policies using AOC as cover. At the recent Democratic National Convention, the congresswoman spoke of Kamala Harris as working “tirelessly” for a ceasefire agreement in Gaza. Of course, Harris makes clear that she wouldn’t withhold weapons from Israel and wouldn’t change US policy towards that country.

The issue of genocide threatens the Harris campaign, and polls show Arab and Muslim voters in key swing states dividing their support between the Green Pary and the Democratic Party. Even the loss of a small number of votes might defeat Harris and a call went out for AOC to play her role.

In a bizarre Instagram post, Ocasio-Cortez called Jill Stein and the Green Party “predatory” and “inauthentic” and “unserious.” She repeated the strange claim that democrats want to see the Green Party grow or be better organized, something the not-at-all-progressive congresswoman would never want to have happen.

But the Green Party is undaunted and Stein responded by referring to the congresswoman as “AOC Pelosi” and added, “Clearly AOC is the attack dog du jour and the democrats are running scared and they should be. Who wants to support a genocide?”

Enough voters are drawing red lines and questioning their political allegiances to put the Harris campaign on notice. Of course, the attacks will follow but the question is whether people in the US really have a democracy. The answer increasingly is a resounding no and that is why democrats are once again trying to destroy a small party. The Green Party’s very existence proves the Democrats' inauthenticity and allegiance to neo-liberal policies that most people don’t want. We can expect to see ever more shrill and corrupt appeals in the next nine weeks before Election Day.

Margaret Kimberley is the author of Prejudential: Black America and the Presidents. You can support her work on Patreon and also find it on the Twitter, Bluesky, and Telegram platforms. She can be reached via email at margaret dot kimberley at blackagendareport dot com.