The protest vote over Joe Biden's unrelenting support for Israel continues to gain momentum, with voters writing variations of "uncommitted" and "leave it blank" on Democratic ballot measures to demonstrate their disgust over the president's refusal to help end the war.
I've seen some pieces floating around arguing against the effectiveness of this strategy. But this finger-wagging—sorry but that's exactly what it is—is incredibly frustrating. An antiwar protest at the ballot is one of the loudest, most visceral ways to warn a president that he risks losing their support in an election that he himself brands the battle for democracy.
I was glad to read my colleague Noah Lanard's interview today with former State Department official Annelle Sheline, who resigned last week in protest of the Biden administration's wartime support for Israel. What struck me most about their conversation was Annelle's thoughts on why it was so important to go public with her decision, rather than quit quietly to reduce the risk that her resignation wrangle future employers. As she told Noah:
It came from observing the ways in which public pressure—including through things like the uncommitted campaign—seems to be the only thing that is getting this administration to shift even a little bit. When colleagues asked if I’d be willing to resign publicly, that is what ultimately caused me to make that decision. My hope is that by resigning publicly I can contribute to this effort to build public pressure.
Public pressure. This is what uncommitted voters—sickened by the US's support for a war that has already killed more than 32,000 people, laid the groundwork for imminent famine, and killed seven aid workers—are building. So for any detractors of the protest vote, ask yourself: Do you really want to be someone grading nonviolent acts of resistance?
As Annelle said, "I would encourage people to publicly express their opposition to the policy by putting up a ‘Ceasefire in Gaza’ sign. Because I think that’s what it’s going to take: Other people seeing that they’re not alone."
Hell yeah.
—Inae Oh
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