Coop Scoop Special Election Edition #7. The Harris Silent Majority and the "moral" Greens

There is no third way between Democracy and Dictatorship

October 31, 2025

By Marc Cooper

T- Minus six days and the fate of America, your children and your parents hang in the balance.

It’s natural to be anxious, nervous and, why not, depressed about the possible outcome of a Trump victory.

Bur Trump is far away from locking down the win. Indeed, I still think he’s going to lose.  But that is going to depend strictly on everyone possible getting out every possible vote over the next handful of days.  No weekend off, please.

This election, like the last two, were won by razor thin majorities in a number of swing states.  No poll can be so precise and many polls, especially the aggregator polls, use models that estimate turnout on previous elections and do not and cannot factor in significant changes in demographics and more ambiguous voter sentiment that does not fit into the list of 10 or 20 questions that most polls ask.

The polls are neither right or wrong.  They are accurate –more or less—as a snapshot of the moment of those who are responding to the polls. But there are factors not revealed in any poll.

Most polls are “weighted” with an assumption about turn out and that’s who get polled.  Turnout in 2020 was the highest in memory with about 150 million voting.  But that was during the pandemic when all voting was basically by mail.

Early voting this time is high. But that doesn’t indicate what the final number will be. It might easily be higher, or lower.  And I agree with analyst Matt Dowd that the marginal number of votes that might be needed to win are NOT the so-called “undecided,” maybe 2 or 3% in the swing states. But rather what he calls the “unmotivated.”  That’s the staggering number of some 80 million plus eligible voters that sat out the last election and among whom most will do the same next.

But those unmotivated, the stay-at-home voters are not some small pond to cast a line in and snag a few.  It’s a vast ocean teeming with enough voters to create a record haul of a victory – either way. 

And within this cohort resides, in great part, in my theory of a Silent Majority for Kamala Harris.   Not that she has the fire that lit up voters for Obama.  But the simple fact that she presents a calming, and upbeat alternative to an unhinged, threatening and authoritarian Donald Trump.  Not to speak of just how big will be the women’s vote motivated by the recent and threatened increase in abortion bans.  That could upset the whole Trump bandwagon.  There’s a much bigger anti-Trump sentiment out there than a pro-MAGA one and that has to be converted into  actual votes.

A lot of these unmotivated, I believe, may not pay a lot of attention to the election but the bizarre actions and rhetoric of Donald Trump, the obvious improvements in the economy, and the chaos that constantly surrounds MAGA and Trump might just get enough of them to take a few minutes to vote against him more than voting for Harris.  The stepped-up willingness of the press, despite the two notorious abstentions, to finally characterize Trump as authoritarian and even fascist cannot hurt us even though it is coming in the bottom of the ninth after giving him 4 years of walks and slow, high curves. It sure looks like the rMSG rally has set off a wildfire against him among the half million (!) Puerto Ricans who live in the strategic state of Pennsylvania.

In these final days, everybody much reach out to their friends, relatives and neighbors and make sure you get them to vote.  You have certainly been given plenty of ammo by the Trump campaign that has turned to irrational fear and credible threats of repression to make some convincing arguments.

Trump’s done everything except start foaming at his mouth in his clearly fascist posturing that had been somewhat latent during his first term but started flowering after January 6 and is now in full bloom.  And it’s been loud enough and scary enough in the last few weeks to perhaps move some significant numbers off their couches – if you give them a shove.  

The economic issue is beginning to fade as consumer confidence and spending is once again rising. And that’s good.  Trump has turned the so-called “immigration” issue with his vow to deport 13 million migrants into what is clearly now unadulterated racism and that is another argument that should be used.

But I think this election is best presented to low propensity voters – and to everybody else — as fundamentally a non-partisan choice between the continuation of democracy versus authoritarianism.  With the latter choice representing the rollback of basic freedoms, the threatened termination of the Affordable Care Act, and deep cuts in social security, Medicare, student loans and dozens of other programs on which a majority, yes a majority, of Americans depend on.

One more argument to present to those with low motivation is if they want a president who will name 2 or 3 Supreme Court justices that will skew the court even further right for the next 40 years.  Do these possible voters want to let that just happen while they watch daytime game shows on November 5?

THAT brings me to a final point about turn out. Unbelievably but true is the scant attention paid to the Green Party that very easily could swing the election to Trump.

I and others have written about this before but now –pardon my language— this is no time to be fucking around with “protest votes” when the constitution itself, civil liberties, the Supreme Court and our welfare and health policies are in play.  The Greens will probably get about 1% of the national vote but that much alone plus another possible 2 or 3 percent because of the demographics of Michigan and Wisconsin could very easily hand the electoral college to Donald Trump.

The headline and the story is in the link is from Politico. Some who think it’s some sort of war crime that Harris accepts the endorsement of Republicans like Liz and Dick. How do you take Jill Stein accepting in kind contributions from Republican PAC’s?

Many Green voters claim this is a vote for morality. Sure. Those GOP Pacs supporting Stein are just filled with equally moral White Christians and millionaires.

I have always argued voting is about being pragmatic, by winning what is possible, not wishcasting or in the case of the Greens, just plain self-diddling.  Make sure to wear your Che shirt when you vote Green as it will supercharge your virtue

OK, then, let’s talk morality because those are the terms Greens prefer.  I fully understand the horror of 40,000 dead Palestinians. The actions of the IDF have been immoral.  The support from the US is complicit.  But if you pay closer attention, you can see some cracks in the US national security consensus and those must be pried open. And I think that after a year of protesting the Israeli invasion, any protester can see, if they want to, no mass movement has emerged to support their just demands.  And one is not about to materialize.

That doesn’t mean one should stop protesting, but rather start organizing – which is going to be very uphill given the long standing consensus of American support of Israel. And that means working your butt off within the system as there are some Democrats who, after the election, will be ready for some sort of arms embargo and more importantly some sort of international diplomatic conference to find a settlement.

One thing is for damn sure, 2% voting Green will have absolutely zero impact on US policy and the vote becomes one of moral self-affirmation, nothing more.  Let me put that into harsher terms.  It’s a selfish vote that puts at risk the welfare of 330 million Americans.  And to adopt the language of the Greens, it is an immoral vote.

It ignores the possibility of electing a fascist regime whose first actions, ironically, will include repressing, outlawing or jailing those who have been most active in the pro-Palestinian movement.  A Trump regime will criminalize dissent. It will close down whatever space is open for protest.  Do you really want to bring a kufiyah to a US Army infantry company ordered to confront you by imposition of the Alien and Sedition Act?  Do you want to compromise or destroy your own social security or cut the Medicare your parents need?  Just how moral is that?

And, no, a hundred times no, your “safe” vote in a blue state is also a poor choice. It will have no impact other than keeping the micro-party of Jill Stein alive and just as pernicious in the next election – if there is one.  And you will incur the furious wrath of progressives who are mostly in agreement with the Green Party but who will forever, and rightly so, scorn it.  

Your vote will only ostracize you and your ideas from broader much more powerful and effective coalitions. You will be the self-righteous skunks.

I understand those who say they are voting for the Greens “because they represent my values.”  That would be fine and dandy in a parliamentary system where the Greens might be part of a coalition government.  But not here. Not now. And not in the visible future. Here it is self-deluding bullshit.  And do not think for a moment that a 2% green vote is somehow going to move the Democratic Party to the left.  Wrong. If the Democrats lose in part because of you, they will spend millions to keep you off future ballots. Wake up.

So vote for Jill as her party sweeps congress and stops the funding. Talk about a con! BTW I opened Twitter knowing I would immediately find her latest because Elon Musk is pushing all the pro-Trump tweets to the top of the page, mixed in wth the Greens, Chris Hedges and other moralists on “the left” who tell you not to vote Democratic. NOT a coincidence. They are objectively allies.

Here's the bottom line “moral” question. You say the Greens represent your views but you ignore the possible consequences of the vote you are casting because you understand both major parties do not.  So, your views then would include, presumably, all that I mentioned above: you’ll be ok with a fascist White House, a reactionary court for yet to be born grandchildren, an abortion ban, and a rather immediate attack on millions of immigrants and the American poor.  And let’s not forget that Trump has already given the green light to Netanyahu to “do whatever you need to do.” Your moral vote will do nothing to relieve the horrors in Gaza and on the West Bank. And it will achieve NONE of your goals.

That’s one helluva of a moral vote!

Wait, wait Marc…some say… we are only voting Green at the top of the ballot but Democratic down ballot.  Where’s the logic there? 

Most all elected Democrats support the policy you term genocide. It’s Congress not the president who funds the war.  So, you are being unwittingly pragmatic if you are REALLY DOING something to elect those Democrats to take the House away from the religious head case that currently presides over its MAGA majority or are you just saying that to placate your critics or salve your own doubts, or both.  You can answer when you are awake at 3 a.m. wondering about this.

A vote for Jill Stein in California or New York only detracts from the work you need to do to take back the House. There are a dozen crucial swing congressional districts in those two states where you should be spending your energy and money. And for God;s sake do not vote Green in any district held by a vulnerable who is too “centisyt” for your personal tastes.

Further, Stein is an arrogant egotist who if you have not been involved in the party you might not know she basically took it over as a personal cult and filled its ranks with sectarian leftists from the margins of the margin.  And if that truth is too harsh, then settle for the fact that the Greens have a future, if any, only as a spoiler. Not as an electable force, not even for statewide offices, let alone congress.

Do I sound angry?  You bet.  I don’t want my grand daughter or my daughter living under an extra-legal repressive regime. Vote Green and you will have NO allies in the electoral system. You will be among those who tried to elect a fascist, albeit unwittingly.

This newsletter does not have a lot of reach in the upper Midwest where the Greens have the best chance of wrecking the election.  I have no illusions that this tough note will persuade many if any Green to rethink their vote.  I freely admit it is more cathartic than persuasive but too bad, I am a human. But maybe you have some friends who are planning to vote Green and maybe you can persuade them better than anybody.

Repeating the Green trope that the Democrats don’t own your vote is true. 100% true. YOU own it. And if you wind up giving Trump the electoral college’ believe me, millions of us will demand that you publicly own your disastrous mistake. This election is not about YOU.  It’s about our collective future.

If you want to be moral and pragmatic then join the anti-fascist coalition that I still predict we will crush Trump and his collaborators – both those witting and unwitting. ++

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