Although 28-year-old presidential candidate Peta Lindsay is too young to be elected president of the United States, she toured Louisiana from Oct. 27 to 30 as part of her campaign to build support for the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
“We have no illusions. We’re not going to win,” Lindsay said. “The campaign isn’t about getting votes. It’s to raise activism.”
Lindsay, a graduate student from Los Angeles, took a semester off to campaign. After graduation, she wants to be a high school teacher.
Although she does not meet the age requirement to be president, she refuses to accept being marginalized because of her age.
Lindsay’s running mate, Yari Osorio, lives and works full-time in New York, but was born in Colombia. Because of his job, Osorio was unable to travel to Louisiana.
The PSL defines liberation as freedom from struggle.
According to Lindsay, struggle can take many forms, such as doctor bills, student loans or even the Occupy movement.
Lindsay said she describes her ideals as communist.
“We use the word communist and socialist interchangeably,” Lindsay said. “There’s little understanding of what either word means, but it’s caving from anti-communism when you run from these labels.”
Lindsay said wealth should be used to fund the things working people need.
“I believe in organizing and fighting for these things,” Lindsay said.
She said people call Obama socialist because of his health care ideas, but she doesn’t think Obama is a socialist at all.
The bank bailout is the best example of how Obama caters to capitalists, Lindsay said.
“When banks needed money, the government had money for that, but now that the people need money, there’s no money for them,” Lindsay said.
The states with PSL on their ballots are New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Colorado, Utah and Washington.
Lindsay said being on a ballot largely depends on how easy or difficult a state’s ballot laws are, which explains why a traditionally Republican state like Louisiana might have a socialist candidate on the ballot.
“New York will probably have the highest voter turnout, but maybe we’ll be surprised,” Lindsay said.
Her Louisiana campaign trail included appearances in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Hammond, Lafayette and Houma, among others.
