PEOPLE’S ORGANIZATION FOR PROGRESS ENDORSES BIDEN-HARRIS TICKET

The People’s Organization for Progress (POP) has endorsed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party nominees, for President and Vice President of the United States. POP urges all voters to cast their ballots for the Biden-Harris ticket. President Donald Trump must be defeated. The policies of the Trump administration are antithetical to the needs and interests of working people, poor people, the middle class, African Americans and people of color, young people, and the majority of Americans and people of the world.

He is one of the worst presidents in contemporary American history. Voting for Biden-Harris and doing everything necessary to ensure their victory is the only way to accomplish the goal of removing Trump from office. For the record, POP does not agree with Biden and Harris on all of the issues. Of all the candidates that ran in the Democratic Primary it was Senator Bernie Sanders that offered the most progressive platform. Unfortunately, he did not get the Democratic Party nomination. However, in April before the primary was over Sanders announced his support for the former Vice President and has since endorsed the Biden-Harris ticket.

While we may not agree with all of their positions we believe a Biden-Harris administration would be better for the country than a second term of the Trump administration. POP has endorsed the Biden-Harris ticket but we will struggle to hold them accountable after they are elected just as we have had to struggle with every presidential administration since our organization came into existence thirty-eight years ago. We must vote Trump out. He is a racist, a fascist, a sexist, a bigot, a sociopath and a pathological liar who is leading a right-wing reactionary movement in this country that has violent and extremist elements within its ranks.

This is the man who took out a full page add in newspapers calling for the death penalty for the Central Park Five who have since been exonerated. His 2016 presidential campaign was endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan. At a time when there is a nationwide movement against police brutality he has been endorsed by the major police unions and organizations. He won’t even commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election. He is a very dangerous individual who has set the country on a disastrous course. Both he and his enablers in the Republican Party must be defeated.

We must win the White House and a Democratic majority in the Senate, and hold on to the majority in the House of Representatives. The People’s Organization For Progress (POP) opposed the election of Trump in 2016 and has held “Trump Must Go” marches every year since then including the most recent one on October 3rd in Newark. The moment has arrived.

It is time for us to vote him out and send him on his way. In New Jersey we are having a vote by mail general election. Complete your ballot and vote for Biden and Harris. Mail your ballot, or put it in one of the designated drop boxes or hand deliver it to your county elections office. Don’t wait any longer. Do it right now. On Election Day, November 3, 2020 there will be in-person voting at a limited number of polling places in each municipality in the state. If you are unable to mail your ballot then POP urges you to go to the polls and vote for Biden and Harris on Election Day.

This may be one of the most consequential elections in our life time. Don’t sit it out. Everyone who is eligible should vote. We need a record voter turnout. Biden and Harris must have a landslide victory. If Trump is handed an overwhelming defeat, and Biden and Harris are winning by large margins on election night this will make it more difficult for Trump to challenge the outcome of the election. People have already broken early voting and vote by mail records. POP commends those who have already voted, especially those who have waited hours on line to to do.

We urge those of you haven’t voted to do so now. And for those who are sitting on the fence it is time to make up your minds. The polls show Biden leading but those same polls showed Hilary Clinton leading at this time in 2016. Don’t become complacent because the the polls say Biden is leading. Vote like the race is close. Don’t let anything keep you from casting your ballot for the Biden-Harris ticket. In the words of the old Civil Rights Movement song don’t let anything turn you around. On Election Day, if Trump appears to be losing and he does anything to interfere with or stop the counting of the ballots then POP urges people to fill the streets with protests to demand that every vote be counted. We also urge people to protest any attempts by Trump to steal the election between November and January through the Supreme Court, Electoral College or any other means.

Finally, POP realizes that the struggle does not end once Trump is defeated. As reactionary as Trump and his gang are they are but a manifestation of our political, economic, and social systems. The Trump administration exacerbates the deeply rooted problems and ills of our society. These problems have their origins in the system of racism, capitalism and imperialism. Our struggle against this system and to change it will continue long after Trump is gone.

Lawrence Hamm Chairman People’s Organization For Progress