So, now that we have a full democratic platform, let's go back and compare it to the greens, and really get an idea of who is a better candidate.
Kamala Harris
UBI Support- 3/10
Some decent tax credits in there like CTC and EITC expansions, but no UBI.
M4A Support- 2/10
She completely abandoned her 2020 ideas and is mostly just supporting tweaks around the edges, which is massively disappointing.
Other economics- 9/10
She's at least decent on lower priorities. Supports free college, although no more debt forgiveness than Biden did. Wants to do more climate stuff, always up for that. If she's based on anything, it's housing, has a solid housing plan. Supports $15 minimum wage. Supports a lot of pro union stuff. A relative disappointment on my top priorities but okay on other stuff.
Social issues- 9/10
Pretty decent on everything but guns. Goes a bit too far for my tastes on that one with an assault rifle ban and high capacity magazine ban. But yeah, is for all the pro freedom stuff that I am for. Does lean into idpol a lot in the platform but I'm not gonna particularly penalize for that.
Foreign policy- 10/10
Solid on Ukraine, decent on Israel, and pretty decent on foreign policy in general.
Ideology- 12/20
We align on social and foreign policy a lot but her pro work and third way sounding platform kinda leaves a sour taste in my mouth. The worst part for me is, she knows better. She WAS more progressive, but she explicitly moved right. And I'm going to be honest, I'm not happy with her this time around.I kinda realize that I just don't get along with democrats for a reason.
Commitment to progressive goals- 4/10
I mean, in 2020 I called her a fauxgressive. On economic issues, she's proving to be exactly that to me. Kamala Chameleon. She comes and she goes. Surprised Trump didn't come up with that one. But yeah.
Experience- 10/10
I mean she's VP. She's a shoe in for the job at this point.
Is a democrat- 10/10
I mean, we need to defeat Trump. She is the only one who can. So...free points there.
Overall- 69/100
I'm surprised she got as high as she did. Of course, this could be a fault with the weighting of my priorities. Even though I care a lot about economics, I mean, she's fine outside of my top priorities I guess. And she's actually a pretty strong candidate. Just goes to show how passionate I am for UBI and M4A. Speaking of which, let's discuss the greens.
Jill Stein
UBI support- 7/10
I mean the greens support an NIT and an end to "workfare". If any party supports a voluntary participation economy, it's probably this one. Still, it's not a full UBI, and I'm not sure how serious they are about implementing it. Seems kinda shoehorned in.
M4A support- 10/10
Stein supports single payer.
Other economics- 10/10
I mean they're extremely progressive. If anything, too progressive where they spend too much money and their economic platform is a wish list than something practical. Still, I respect the effort.
Social issues- 7/10
Kinda lean hard into the wokeness and social justice stuff. I'm fine with the dems, thank you very much. Still, not bad.
Foreign policy- 0/10
Would be a complete and utter disaster, anti NATO, repeal defense spending by 90%. It's insane. No.
Ideology- 14/20
I mean on economics I feel some affinity with the greens compared to the democrats but on social and foreign policy issues I feel very out of lockstep with them.
Commitment to progressive goals- 6/10
I mean, she likely will try to enact large parts of her platform, but will she be loyal to the country? Some say she's putin's puppet. At this point, I kinda believe it, given the horrid foreign policy. Still, this metric isnt used to measure that, so focusing on progressiveness, she's aight I guess.
Experience/competence- 2/10
No. Just...no. She would actually be dangerous as commander in chief.
Is a democrat- 0/10
I mean, Trump is dangerous and she has no way to win. A vote for her is just a virtue signal for medicare for all and basic income.
Total- 56/100
All in all, she IS weaker than Harris all things considered. Yes, she's better on my top priorities. but it seems clear that to justify a vote for her, I'd have to ONLY care about economics.
Conclusion
In a normal election cycle, I might be willing to protest vote like that. I certainly did that in 2016 and 2020. But in 2024? Eh...I'm sorry, but there's too much at stake. Trump is scary, and let's face it, for every point in Stein's favor, she has liabilities that cancel them out. If Harris wasnt a dem, she would still score better at 59. Harris is polished and experienced, and will be a stable, if not mediocre leader, Stein does well on a couple key priorities, but it otherwise seems clear that I am better aligned with the democrats.
All in all, both candidates are kinda mid in my book. By I kind of feel like, despite my die hard support for UBI and M4A, I kinda feel like I have to cast it for Harris this time. I have downgraded my harris support in light of better understanding her positions, I mean, she was up in the 70s and now she's not. And she deserves the downgrades. She's betrayed the left in some significant ways in my opinion. And she could have been so much better on some fronts.
Still, I feel like I have to support her this time.
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