"Uncommitted" is being deliberately misread

But the White House is still feeling the heat

Photo by Manny Becerra on Unsplash

This Super Tuesday massive numbers of Democratic primary voters provided a kernel of hope in a dark time by choosing uncommitted, or non-committed, or no preference in states across the country. Yesterday in North Carolina over 80,000 voters chose uncommitted. In Minnesota, over 18% of the Democratic primary chose not to commit to Biden. Massachusetts saw over 50,000 uncommitted votes. In each state, there was little to no uncommitted movement prior to the February 27th Michigan primary, which saw over 100,000 voters selecting uncommitted. These campaigns brought together broad coalitions and got massive results in just one week, after a well organized campaign in Michigan sprung into action and shocked the country after just a three-week push.

And the message of these inspiring uncommitted voters, both in interviews and in messaging from the organizers, has been clear. Biden has lost our confidence after backing a genocide. He must do more. He must take action like cutting off the flow of weapons and bombs to Israel. He must stop funding Israel. He must use his very considerable power to push Israel to end the genocide in Gaza. This has been made clear, repeatedly.

Yet it’s still being deliberately misconstrued. Instead of listening to the points made soundly and repeatedly by a broad coalition of Democratic voters, the effort to malign the uncommitted campaign is in full swing. John Fetterman is one of the avatars of this push, spamming social media with half-baked memes and commentary making fun of his own party’s voters, and fellow Democratic members of Congress like Rashida Tlaib, for backing uncommitted. Again and again he says that this movement to show Biden just how much backing Israel’s genocide could cost him is helping Trump. It’s a non-existent logic that’s both totally wrong and debasing to those making it in that it feigns a complete misunderstanding of the primary process.

What the uncommitted campaign is doing is sending a message, in the primary: change course or you will lose the general election. And it’s sending that message loud and clear. Biden is already down across swing states in the polls, and thousands and thousands of dedicated voters signaling their intent to opt out if nothing is done sends a powerful message. But many party loyalists are more focused on circling the wagons than on pressuring the President and those around him to change course and avert further disaster – multiple disasters.

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On CNN last night, in one of their analysis bits, a Democratic commentator acknowledged that these uncommitted campaigns are making a difference, then immediately pivoted to “but Trump would be even worse than Biden on Gaza.” And I do think he would be worse, or just as bad. Even if he hadn’t just said the other day that he hopes Israel “finishes the problem” there’s no doubt he wouldn’t even feign the care that the Biden administration is currently trotting out. But what the commentator didn’t understand is that this is exactly why the Biden administration should do everything in its power to stop Israel in its tracks.

The American people want peace. They want a ceasefire in Gaza. A permanent one, not the six weeks pause the administration is currently waving around. And Biden should listen. People do not want a choice between genocidal Trump and genocidal Biden, and those are not the options. The option that the White House and various pundits want to pretend does not exist is Biden actually changing course. That choice would save untold thousands of lives, and perhaps a Trump presidency.

Now some voters won’t come around. For them, it’s too late. And I understand that. But what the critics, the dishonest commentary surrounding the uncommitted movement appear to not understand is that they are hurting Biden, Palestinians, and democracy. Their efforts to circle the wagons rather than listen to thousands and thousands of dedicated party voters is hurting their own cause. They are further alienating these vital constituents, and futilely attempting to diminish the Palestinian cause.

And yet, despite it all, there are clear signs that the Biden camp is hearing these voters, and getting nervous. In the lead-up to the Michigan primary, and in its wake, the White House began to change its tune. Kamala Harris stepped out and called for a six-week ceasefire. It’s not enough, but that was after just one major uncommitted victory. Biden himself is saying there should be a temporary ceasefire by Ramadan. And I do not think he is doing this out of altruism, or that it is sufficient, but that is part of the genius of the uncommitted drive. No one is counting on the conscience of the powerful, but rather on their calculus. They are simply aware that the Biden campaign will run the numbers and see one thing: if Democrats want to win, this block of anti-genocide voters is crucial.

Photo by Ömer Yıldız on Unsplash

It’s impossible to know what the White House will do next. But people are organizing, and escalating. It’s not just hundreds of thousands of people voting uncommitted, it’s people disrupting political events, disrupting Israeli real estate events where occupied land is being sold, locking themselves to the gates of weapons factories. Millions have boycotted Starbucks, to the point where they’re acknowledging the impact on sales and profits. We are taking economic, political, and direct action, and our voices are breaking through the noise. Above all, countless Americans are getting organized, allowing us to act collectively and do more.

And we must do more – that is a certainty. But as Malcolm X famously said, “We're not outnumbered. We're out organized.” Increasing organization is the first step. It is our growing ability to coordinate that has mobilized thousands and thousands of people to vote uncommitted. Don’t let anyone get it twisted, this mass campaign isn’t anti-democracy or pro-Trump. It’s a movement against genocide using the democratic process itself, and the White House knows it. The majority of this country wants a ceasefire, wants to stop sending weapons to Israel, wants an end to the slaughter in Gaza. No matter how anyone tries to distort that reality, we will keep making it clear, and we will keep increasing the pressure to make peace a reality. Hundreds of thousands of people are turning out at the polls to say: one way or another, we will make ourselves heard and force the issue, we will force the United States to do everything it can to end Israel’s genocide in Gaza.