Democrats Concerned by Cornel West’s Third Party Bid: ‘Not the Time in Order to Experiment’

Harvard professor and philosopher Cornel West, left, address an audience in front of a pro
AP Photo/Steven Senne
Hannah Knudsen

Democrats are growing concerned by Cornel West’s third party bid, asserting that it is “not the time in order to experiment,” according to reports.

The prominent civil rights activist and former Harvard Divinity School philosophy professor formally jumped into the presidential race in June under a third party — initially, the People’s Party.

It  describes itself as a “major new independent party that will guarantee health care, housing, quality education, and peace to all.”

cornel west

File/Professor of Philosophy and Christian Practice at the Union Theological Seminary Cornel West speaks during a press conference calling for a federal investigation into the hiring and promoting practices of United Airlines at The National Press Club September 15, 2016 in Washington, D.C. (ZACH GIBSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Key platform items include Medicare for All, guaranteed housing as well as tackling “climate change,” and ending “mass incarceration.”

“I care about the quality of your life. I care about whether you have access to a job whether living wage, decent housing, women having control over their bodies, health care for all, the escalating the destruction of the planet, the destruction of American democracy,” West said in his announcement video released last month.

West has since transitioned to the Green Party, “with the goal of giving working people, the poor and struggling Americans across the 50 states a real choice that’s of, by and for the people in the 2024 election,” according to a July 5 release from his campaign:

The campaign has switched its FEC filing to the Green Party and its infrastructure has been turned over to veterans of Green Party campaigns, including former Green Party presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein, who is the acting campaign manager. The West campaign plans to leverage the ballot access experience of the Stein/Baraka ticket that was on the ballot in 47 states.

But now, as West continues to speak, Democrats are growing concerned. Democrat National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison, said of West’s run over the weekend, “This is not the time in order to experiment. This is not the time to play around on the margins.”

“What we see is a lot of folks who want to be relevant and try to be relevant in these elections and not looking at the big picture,” Harrison continued, according to the Hill. “We got to reelect Joe Biden.”

RELATED– Cornel West: Trump Is a ‘Neo-Fascist Gangster’ Biden Is a ‘Neo-Liberal Hypocrite’

Former President Obama’s chief strategist David Axelrod also asserted West’s run is “risky,” attributing, in part, the Green Party’s support of Jill Stein in 2016 to Hillary Clinton’s political demise.

“In 2016, the Green Party played an outsized role in tipping the election to Donald Trump. Now, with Cornel West as their likely nominee, they could easily do it again. Risky business,” Axelrod warned last week.

Some leftists noted that many voted for the third party candidate as a “protest” vote “under the assumption Clinton would win anyway” in 2016. However, Alexander McCoy, a progressive operative, said he does not believe it will happen to that extent in 2024 due to some of President Biden’s moves, which he described as ending the war in Afghanistan, among other things.

Others have issued similar warnings.

According to the Hill:

“Dr. West and his supporters’ ideas and frustrations deserve to be heard, but hopefully, that doesn’t come at the cost of the worst possible candidate winning again because of our antiquated electoral system,” said Hassan Martini, executive director of No Dem Left Behind, a progressive group focused on rural voters.

…
One Democratic campaign strategist said Biden should include West in conversations about the direction of the party as a way to keep him and fellow progressives on board.

“Get them in a f—ing room and ask what they want and include it in the platform,” the strategist said, adding progressives love West’s run. “I think they’ll be happy if he moves Biden[’s] rhetoric left.”

The bubbling fears come as West continues to speak out on social media, recently making waves after staunchly opposing Biden’s approach to the war in Ukraine– particularly, Biden’s recent defense to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions.

VIDEO — Biden: We’re Sending Cluster Munitions to Ukraine Because ‘We’re Low on’ Ammo They Need and They’re ‘Running out of’ Ammo

“Let us not be deceived: NATO is an expanding instrument of U.S. global power that provoked Russia into a criminal invasion and occupation of Ukraine. This proxy war between the American Empire and the Russian Federation could lead to World War III,” West warned this week.

“We must stop the war and war crimes (including cluster bombs used by all parties) and embark on diplomatic talks that should lead to a just peace,” he continued, concluding that the “Democratic Party is a party of war and Wall Street targeting Russia and China.”

“Let us save our democracy and world by dismantling U.S. militarism at home (as in Cop Cities) and abroad – as Martin Luther King Jr. painfully reminded us!” West exclaimed. 

A recent Echelon Insights survey asked respondents who they would support in a three-way matchup among former President Donald Trump, President Biden, or Cornel West. In that scenario, Trump takes a one-point edge, leading Biden 43 percent to 42 percent, while West takes four percent of the vote– a clear showing of the Democrat Party’s concerns.

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