A few weeks ago, the NYU College Democrats published a guest essay entitled “Why Kamala Harris is our choice.” While the group raises some valid points, the piece has many issues — particularly its use of the word “choice.” It argues that despite her imperfections, Vice President Harris offers an alternative to former President Donald Trump’s chaotic rhetoric and style of governance. She is, they claim, a candidate who will “address the issues profoundly impacting our lives” and “fight for our futures.” While the College Democrats acknowledge that the Biden-Harris administration isn’t perfect, the essay implies such weaknesses are eclipsed by Trump’s far greater faults, particularly the threat he poses to democracy itself. To this point, the article compels its readers to get out and vote, referencing the following John Lewis quote: “Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part.” 

Central to Lewis’ or any other conception of democracy is the notion of choice. Since the 2016 election, we’ve supposedly been given choices. Democratic presidential nominees, since the rise of MAGA, have relied heavily on the not-Trump narrative to secure votes. At face-value, this seems understandable. For nearly a decade, we’ve been dealing with a narcissistic neo-fascist whose ego and rhetoric have made him a perpetual threat to democracy, and this has galvanized people to vote not for Democrats, but against Trump. Indeed, the threat of Trump has been dangled as the end-all, be-all to lull many unenthused progressives into voting blue. 

A similar sentiment underlies the College Democrats’ essay: The notion that Trump is not just a threat, but that he is the single greatest threat to American democracy as we know it, and that if he’s defeated in his last crack at reelection, the threat will be neutralized. It’s for this reason that they’ll tell you we ought to set aside our differences and unite against Trump one last time. But Trump’s rise is a reflection of an ideology that has been lurking in the conservative subconscious, not the cause of it. The fact of the matter is that MAGA is here to stay, with or without Trump on the ballot — vice presidential nominee JD Vance is just the latest in a long line of sycophants that the MAGA torch will pass to. 

Being anti-Trump is no longer good enough. And this is a sentiment that the Harris campaign knows is brewing. This is why she’s positioned herself as a candidate of hope, youthful energy, humble beginnings and change, borrowing the rhetoric that first brought former President Barack Obama into the White House. 

However, between all the gibberish about Ohio’s pet-eaters and post-term abortions during the debate, Trump landed a sucker punch on Harris in the Philadelphia debate: “So she just started by saying she’s going to do this. She’s going to do that. She’s going to do all these wonderful things. Why hasn’t she done it? She’s been there for 3 1/2 years. They’ve had 3 1/2 years to fix the border. They’ve had 3 1/2 years to create jobs and all the things we talked about. Why hasn’t she done it?” 

Whatever happened to the promises the Democratic Party has dangled for decades and continuously failed to deliver on? Affordable housing? A living wage? Campaign finance reform? These are policies constituents care deeply about. What evidence do we have that the Harris administration will be any different? If her plan for, say, housing is as revolutionary as her campaign makes it out to be, why wasn’t it implemented in response to the housing crisis that emerged during the Biden-Harris administration?

Even more troubling, Harris has dropped key progressive policies from her platform, such as universal health care and aggressive climate action, without explanation. 

Politicians deal primarily in one currency: votes. Democrats have no incentive to follow through on their promises or explain policy shifts if we keep giving them our votes no matter what. Consider a second word, one crucially missing from the College Democrats’ piece: accountability.

Around 78% of Democrats believe that Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip. While the College Democrats’ essay points out that both Harris and President Joe Biden have called time and again for a cease-fire in Gaza, the fact is that their administration continues to fund what a majority of their constituents deem a genocide. The essay’s analysis — “No candidate is perfect” — is inadequate.

If the 78% of Democrats polled are sincere in their responses, it prompts the question: Where is the line for Democratic voters? If it’s not genocide, then what else could it be? If there is no line, can’t the Democratic Party do anything short of putting Trump on their presidential ticket and still expect votes? What kind of precedent does that set? If there is no line, then, just how much of a choice are Democratic voters really making this November? If there is no choice, then what is left of our democracy?

Lewis was right — democracy is not merely the self-proclaimed title of a state. It’s a mantel, a process and an act that ought to be taken up by each generation. We can attend all the protests we want, sign every petition we come across and discuss climate activism, class consciousness and American imperialism in our ivory towers till the sun goes down. We can beam while we offer compassion, hope and a new way forward — but that isn’t good enough.

Democracy requires choice, and choice necessitates real options. A real option for elected government is one that does not ask constituents to sacrifice their core values. A vote for just anyone is a failure to hold politicians accountable. Failure to hold politicians accountable results in the death of democracy. 

A truly democratic system should not ask voters to lay down their most basic moral intuitions, but ours does. There’s a wealth of third-party candidates for progressives to choose from, candidates whose beliefs are truly progressive. Candidates through whom citizens can hold the Democratic Party accountable. For this reason, while Harris may be the NYU College Democrats’ choice, she certainly isn’t mine.

WSN’s Opinion section strives to publish ideas worth discussing. The views presented in the Opinion section are solely the views of the writer.

Contact Omar Drissi at [email protected].