A general strike against partisan politics
Disrupting the presidential election with a purpose
Countless millions of people, myself included, are frustrated with how the 2024 presidential election is shaping up as a rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. The American Union offers a new paradigm, using game theory and the principles of nonviolence. As a national union of swing voters—citizens willing to vote for both Republicans and Democrats—across all 470 federal elections, our collective power as deciders can be leveraged so the people of the United States emerge as the real winners in 2024.
(Read more: Vote with radical love in 2024)
The power of a union stems from the ability to strike, to disrupt the status quo. This is how a union of voters can do so: If both major party candidates refuse to support the demands of the American Union, one will be endorsed at random, based on the close of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) on October 30, 2024. If it is an even number, Joe Biden can remain the 46th president; an odd number translates into Donald Trump as the 47th president.
Update: Since Kamala Harris received the Democratic nomination instead of Joe Biden, you can substitute her name for his in this post.
Absolutely nothing can be done to stop a November 5, 2024, general strike at the ballot box.
In a close election, a tiny percentage of voters in key swing states can easily flip the outcome.
The DJIA is a widely publicized number, and can even be calculated directly from the 30 stock prices which make up the average.
Shutting down the stock market one week before the election would carry severe political ramifications.
It’s impossible to test voters’ motives for selecting a presidential candidate; striking voters can not be prevented from casting their ballots.
In many places around the world, political minorities have tried election boycotts, with the intention of undercutting the legitimacy of the winner. However, Brookings Institute research into three decades of election boycotts finds the effect “is generally disastrous for the boycotting party.”
The American Union is not a political party; it does not run candidates or attempt to win power for itself. Instead, it focuses solely on policy solutions and avoids partisanship. Since Duverger’s law ensures that our system of elections will maintain a two-party system, electing a winner at random will undercut their legitimacy in a way that an election boycott can never do.
Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people
The American Union offers a framework for nonviolent revolution. Collaborative democracy will crowdsource Congress’ work, and if Washington enacts it before the 2024 election, the bloc of swing voters can reelect both Republicans and Democrats to Congress. By unionizing voters around a specific set of legislative solutions, a positive vision free from partisanship can be offered to the American people, so that everyone wins. But what if Congress refuses to act?
For any union to go on strike takes courage. When a labor union goes on strike, members risk losing employment permanently instead of only temporarily. A tenant’s union engaged in a rent strike risks mass evictions instead of an improvement in living conditions. When a union of voters elects a Republican or Democrat at random, there is a risk of putting the greater-of-two-evils into office.
Martin Luther King Jr. introduced millions of Americans to nonviolent social change during the civil rights movement. He developed six principles of nonviolence, and the first is that ‘Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people.’
The demands of the American Union
The 2024 campaign begins on September 11, 2023, commemorating the tactic of satyagraha developed by Gandhi on September 11, 1906. Satyagraha appeals to people’s conscience, offering a resolution that maximizes dignity. Our adversarial system of electoral politics generally does the reverse; candidates and parties frequently demonize the opposition. This polarization is tearing our country apart, and must be addressed.
The American Union model strives for a win-win scenario, where consensus around legislative solutions is reached before the 2024 election, when citizens have maximum influence over Washington. As in 2022, the specific demands will be encapsulated in a crowdsourced legislative package, which will be assembled by the people’s legislative assembly. As the heads of their respective political parties, Joe Biden and Donald Trump will be responsible for shepherding the final legislation through Congress in the fall of 2024. Cooperation allows them to emerge with dignity. Refusal creates the opportunity for their opponent to win the Oval Office and total control of Congress for their political party.
The 2024 legislative package would be a major upgrade to our social contract—America 4.0. This transformative legislation is named for the candidates whose cooperation can make its passage a reality while simultaneously deescalating a potentially divisive election: the Trump–Biden Peace Plan. The three main planks—end poverty, end mass incarceration, end the endless wars—are supported by broad swathes of the electorate. While no one is expected to like every detail of the American Union’s legislation, as a whole, everyone’s quality of life will be improved.
Just as importantly, passage of the Trump–Biden Peace Plan will demonstrate to the world that the United States is a fully functional democracy, and restore our faded prestige on the global stage.
Game theory: The Prisoners’ Dilemma
In the classic thought experiment, the Prisoners’ Dilemma describes two men arrested and held in isolation. The police suspect the prisoners have committed a felony, but only have evidence of a misdemeanor offense. Each man is offered a deal; if they confess to the felony but the other does not, they’ll go free and the other will get ten years. However, if both confess, they’ll each serve five years. If both remain silent, they will receive just one year on the misdemeanor charge.
Although saying nothing is best for the two men overall, each prisoner can logically conclude that confessing is in their self interest, even without knowing what the other is doing. A confession will allow them to go free if the other says nothing, or reduce their prison time from ten years to five if the other confesses. Cooperation with the police is a ‘dominant strategy’ that improves their individual outcome.
Both presidential candidates have a similar incentive to cooperate in getting the Trump–Biden Peace Plan through Congress. The best scenario allows both candidates to emerge with dignity, going down in history as elder statesmen who united our country before retiring.
That dignity, willingly offered to both candidates by the American Union, can be withheld as part of a principled renunciation of partisan politics. In the example of the prisoners, a coordinated refusal gives a better outcome than coordinated cooperation. For Trump and Biden, it would produce a random endorsement and a ‘winner’ whose second term would be seen as illegitimate across the world. For four years, the occupant of the Oval Office would know that the voters didn’t actually want him there, that he was elected arbitrarily.
More specifics, including details of the proposed legislation, will be established on January 15, the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. and the day the 2024 presidential primaries get underway in Iowa. In short, cooperation with the American Union means Donald Trump accepts responsibility for securing passage of the legislation through the Republican-controlled House; Joe Biden will need to do the same in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Given the tight margins in Congress, each will also be expected to deliver at least 20% of their party’s caucus in each chamber. This works out to 42 Democrats in the House, and 10 Republicans in the Senate. If both candidates cooperate, the American Union will keep the majority party in each chamber the same; should both refuse, control will be flipped.
If only one presidential candidate chooses to cooperate, pledging to enact the legislation if unobstructed by the other party, the American Union will deliver a trifecta—endorse that person for president, and award control of both the House and Senate to their party. In 2022 and 2020, these outcomes were determined by just tens of thousands of voters nationwide.
Given the billions of dollars the parties will spend on their 2024 campaigns, it seems unlikely either would be willing to concede complete control of Washington to the other one. Game theory demonstrates that enactment of the Trump–Biden Peace Plan—an opportunity to be be part of the most transformational political movement in generations—is much more likely.
This is what a general strike against partisan politics can achieve.
Unlike third parties…
Unlike third parties, which need about 35% support to win a single contest, the American Union of swing voters can take national influence with just 3.5%.
Unlike third parties, there is no petitioning for ballot access.
Unlike third party voters, American Union members can’t be accused of being spoilers. They are deciders.
Unlike third parties, there are no candidates to find or fund, so all money raised can grow the union of swing voters.
Unlike third parties, there is absolutely no government permission needed to influence the election. All that is required is for a critical mass of voters to agree to work together for a common goal outside the two-party system.
Unlike third parties who see their policy goals as taking years or decades to achieve, the American Union can deliver much-needed change in 2024.
(Read more: Unionizing as voters is a SMART innovation.)
Three ways to help win a better social contract
Together, we can build the necessary power to persuade Washington to meet the demands of the American Union in 2024.
Financial power
The 2024 election is expected to be the most expensive in American history. Trump and Biden may raise more than $2 billion each. The American Union is a registered super PAC, committed to influencing the outcome by putting people and policy ahead of partisan politics.
Only contributions from individual US citizens are accepted (no corporations or other organizations) and not one dime will ever go to any candidate or political party. Basic membership starts with a $7 monthly contribution, or less than 25¢ a day. It’s a small price to pay to disrupt politics as usual! (One-time contributions are also welcome.)
Electoral power
Candidates pay close attention to the polls. When support for the American Union is greater than the difference between the major party candidates in any given race, they will have to compete for the endorsement or essentially concede. Although a fraction of a percent of the electorate is all it takes to control the balance of power in Washington, at 3.5% nationwide, the American Union will unarguably be the deciders.
This means influencing the polls! Insist that you will vote for the American Union endorsement, Republican or Democrat, in all federal races: House, Senate, President. As the election draws closer, there will be more opportunities to influence online polls. The hashtag #VoteAU can also be used on social media to show support.
Moral power
Peace is possible in 2024, but it will require compromise from everyone. One way to demonstrate a willingness to give something up is through the monthly #fastforpeace on the 15th; a 24-hour period without food or intoxicants, drinking water only. (Medical exemptions are available as needed.) Gandhi, who used group fasts in his satyagraha campaigns, recommended dinner-to-dinner.
The shared self-sacrifice builds moral authority and creates a common experience across class, color, and creed. It unites, building bridges across political division. This is a fast of moral pressure, designed to inspire Americans (especially candidates) to cooperate outside of partisan politics to address the problems of poverty, mass incarceration, and the endless wars. In addition, the fast for peace serves as a hub connecting all the stages of the American Union program.
Conclusion
I was recently watching the trailer for Dune 2, and this line caught my attention: “He who can destroy a thing has the real control of it.”
The American Union has the power to destroy our adversarial system of elections through noncooperation with partisan politics. With that power comes the opportunity for citizens to control the political machinery, and use it to promote the general welfare, as the Constitution directs us.
If you’re looking for a constructive alternative to politics as usual, join the American Union.