Ashwin Prabaharan ’26
Chief Opinions Editor
The 2024 national elections are rapidly approaching the electorate, eyeing competitive battles in the House of Representatives, Senate and especially the White House. Incumbent President Joe Biden, holding an approval rating averaging at 40%, struggles to formulate a coherent message behind his executive and legislative agenda. The White House has been pushing “Bidenomics” as the political force behind what they claim to be stagnating inflation and costs of living. However, many Americans have simply rejected the premise, arguing that costs remain too high for the average consumer, and that the president has simply not done enough to keep rising costs at bay. Meanwhile, Congress holds an impressive all-time low in its public approval ratings. Republicans, holding the majority by a razor-thin margin, are set to face Democrats in November across battleground districts to keep control of the Speaker’s gavel. New York is slated to be the battleground state of the cycle, with half a dozen competitive districts held by Republicans serving as the prime target of the Democratic House campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The Senate is proving more difficult to assess, as Democrats seek to defend twenty-three seats including seats held in West Virginia, Ohio and Montana, three states won by President Donald Trump in the last two presidential elections. Republicans are preparing vigorous campaigns against vulnerable Democrats across the board, especially West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin. The 2024 elections are shaping up to be some of the most contentious and monumental battles in American political history.
But when the conversation turns to the quality of candidates and political debate encompassing this cycle, we realize that there appears to be little actual quality of any kind. President Donald Trump, the current frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, is under indictment by not one, not two, not three but FOUR different courts. On the other hand, President Biden remains completely inept and unable to effectively execute the responsibilities of his office, now being blamed for record high prices and a stagnant economy. Can you reasonably ask yourself and find a straight answer: Who in God’s name am I supposed to vote for? The frontrunners for the two major parties of the electoral system may be the worst ones yet to be produced by either party, yet in some grand delusion we all seem to be fine with it. How is it in any way reasonable to suggest that I, as a voter, ought to be comfortable and simply okay with the choices before me? The alternative argument made is that no third party candidate can win, therefore it only makes sense to vote for the lesser of two evils. No Labels, a group attempting to place a third party presidential ticket, has received massive backlash for even suggesting an alternative choice to the current frontrunners for fear that they could pull votes away from President Biden and down-ballot Democrats in November.
The American electorate seriously needs to evaluate its political sensibilities as it entertains this delusional electoral choice. Famous have been the great American elections that saw different ends of the political spectrum arguing on the merits of their platform. From Jefferson-Adams, Nixon-Kennedy to even Gore-Bush, presidential candidates maintained some semblance of reasonability and respect for political norms. It’s somehow now the new normal to completely do away with decency on the airwaves and in-person campaigning while seeking the great offices of the state. We allow our candidates to spew hateful and abhorrent remarks at each other, because it makes for good television and a nice headline. We’ve truly lost our ability to look at opposition without completely hating it from some innate, subconscious part of our minds. No one can truly call the last two presidential elections and the upcoming one anything but disengaging, vile and un-American.
The 2024 elections are not going to be any different, but this is the time we must take to reflect on our political choices, whether we wish to be ruled and governed simply by the “lesser of two evils” or someone who we can hold our heads up high for. It is our choice, no matter what is said otherwise.
Featured image courtesy of Alliance for Securing Democracy.
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