The Confederates have won this skirmish that is the battle over Kavanaugh's ascension to the U.S. Supreme Court. Yes, I know Kavanaugh will be a fifth vote for cultural reaction. I know he will be a fifth vote for an anti-Federalist position that limits the ability of the U.S. government to respond to the needs of the many. I know Kavanaugh will be a fifth vote that will only be "Federalist" in its worst incarnation, meaning against most of the Bill of Rights, starting with the Fourth Amendment and beyond. Kavanaugh will also be a voice to neuter further on behalf of privilege in our nation the Fourteenth Amendment and restore Antebellum thinking more along the lines of John C. Calhoun than most of our Founders.
But crying in our soup about this Confederate victory is counterproductive. The key is for those who believe in rational discourse, who believe in scientific inquiry, who believe government has a balanced role to play with business and labor, who believe kindness must be part of a government policy to be effective and acceptable for a society to function, and who believe in many of the public policies a majority of Americans believe from sensible gun control to the belief that unions have a constructive role to play in society, to abortion, to taxes on richer folks and corporations, medical care, etc., to join together, and make sure we all vote for Democratic Party candidates nearly up and down the line. Frankly, I cannot think of any State in our nation where that is not true today, though perhaps someone in some single State may enlighten me about one Republican Party candidate. For me, in New Mexico, and I know California and New Jersey, there is every reason to vote for Democratic Party candidates up and down the line in Federal and State offices, and probably even in local County and Municipal offices.*
I have been saying all year in various forms, and now wish to say directly, we need an Argument Among the Rational. And that Argument will only come after both corporate Democrats and progressive Democrats come together and vote for Democratic Party candidates up and down the ballot line. That Argument Among the Rational only comes after corporate Democrats and progressive Democrats join together to get those in the natural constituencies who are not prone to voting in mid-term elections to vote this time in this mid-term. The longer game truly begins with Democratic Party victories in the mid-terms. From there, we who are seen as progressive can--and will!--argue for the policies the majority of Americans support, and we can have the debate over whether the Democratic Party restores its New Deal values or sticks to its corporate Democratic Party values. What I have always said about the Clintons, Biden, Obama, etc. is they are each very smart, they recognize the importance of government functioning in the context of public-policy making, and they are "adults in the room" when having a dialogue about public policy choices. We do not, as we do with Republicans, have to argue First Principles and have to navigate through obvious racist and sexist tropes which get in the way of rational policy dialogue.
What has changed, as we move forward in this first step--and this is a good thing for progressives--is social media. Social media has allowed progressives a voice in the discussion that was denied and continues to be denied in most corporate-owned media. Before social media, progressives were penned into small gatherings of people which garnered no media attention, or individually, we were stuck yelling at the television or in our cars yelling at the radio. When I read people telling people like me not to argue on Facebook, I say, where else am I going to argue where people may read what I have to say and think about public policy issues? It is not like the NY Times thinks me worthy, yet I know if I was in a room with Dowd, Blow, and Krugman, and with others watching, they would realize very quickly I know what I am talking about and am, again, someone who should also be "in the room." There are many, many more like me...and you.
But back to the point we need to recognize in this moment of a Confederate skirmish victory with Kavanaugh. If we are going to protest in the streets about this horrid development, then it must be explicitly stated by leaders and speakers in that protest that our most effective response we can make is to register people to vote, particularly in these last few days where people may still register, and to say to those registered; make sure we all get out and vote for Democratic Party candidates up and down the ballot line. We must not be misled into arguments over "good" and "bad" Democrats for the next five weeks. It remains true that "bad" Democrats exist, and we can even argue about how "bad" and whether someone you think is "bad" I think is "good." I get that. However, it is vital, right now, to elect Democrats, for then maybe even corporate media will notice that it is in the Democratic Party where one may find rational and important policy debates. The progressives and corporate Dems can each pull out our rhetorical swords after this election. Now, however, is not a time for us to go at each other, and delegitimize each other's status when we all have agreed the Republican policies, which Republicans in Congress have pushed onto an ignorant carnival barker like Trump, are deeply harmful to our nation and our planet. I must also tell my lefty friends Hillary Clinton would have appointed a Garland, not a Kavanaugh, and there is a substantive difference. But what we all have to remember most of all: Trump is merely the symptom. The Republican Party leadership in national and state political offices are the cause. Trump follows their leads and does their bidding. They love the diversions he causes with his Twitter rants.
Right now, we face an environmental crisis that continues to become more and more difficult to contain. Wages remain stagnant in an economy that is considered "heated up" when measured in the usual economic metrics. Millions continue to suffer the painful choice of foregoing medical treatment or eating. Public schools continue to be underfunded, public teachers overworked, while under appreciated, and students are over tested, made to take loans they should not take at the early springs of their lives, and then are forced into jobs they hate to pay off those loans. And people are taught in corporate media "news" a "crime-crime-crime" narrative and a narrative that favors yelling over discourse, which influences us to fear each other rather than recognize the need for human and planetary creature communion.
We may, and I repeat, may only begin to untangle what has gone on for the past fifty years by embracing one more time what I know has not worked well in the past, which is voting Democratic Party up and down the line. But I see no other choice than taking this first step in the face of a Republican Party which, as even George Will--goddamn it, even George Will!--has recognized, has become a destructive force which threatens the most basic sense of unity we need as Americans to promote the policies a majority of us tell pollsters we believe. There is a difference now between even the Reaganite and Goldwaterite Republicans of long before and those Republicans currently holding office. It is a difference about basic governing. It is a difference about the level of cruelty one will tolerate and promote. And that difference, in this moment, is worth recognizing and moving to stop. Arguing over Bernie v. Clinton is not only not helpful. It is in fact a disruption and diversion which is totally wrong for this moment. It is time to stand tall and together.
Angry about Kavanaugh? Good. Then tell everyone you and I know to vote for Democratic Party candidates up and down the ballot. For the Kavanaugh fight just ending represents only the tip of an iceberg that continues to hurtle toward our nation. Stopping Republican officer holders from continuing to hold office or getting into office remains the first step toward sanity. It is not enough, and taking this step may bring its own issues. But right now, this is a step we must take as Americans.
* If, however, you live in a district where there are third party candidates, and the Democratic Party candidate in your Congressional district or a Statewide race (gubernatorial and down the ticket) is down by twenty points or more in polling data--and most importantly, it looks as if polling data shows it will stay that way--then by all means, explore third party candidates to coalesce with other activists. But let's remember, we are talking five weeks, and it is vital for the Democratic Party to control Congress and more Statehouses. In any congressional and gubernatorial race in which appears to be somewhat close, we cannot discount more voters voting than in the previous several mid-terms, and higher turnout most often supports Democratic Party candidates. It is why the Republicans have worked so hard to suppress voting. They know what the corporate Democrats rarely articulate and act on. That means unity must be maintained through the election. Again, after the election, the true policy battle begins, with progressives standing tall against corporate Democrats.
* If, however, you live in a district where there are third party candidates, and the Democratic Party candidate in your Congressional district or a Statewide race (gubernatorial and down the ticket) is down by twenty points or more in polling data--and most importantly, it looks as if polling data shows it will stay that way--then by all means, explore third party candidates to coalesce with other activists. But let's remember, we are talking five weeks, and it is vital for the Democratic Party to control Congress and more Statehouses. In any congressional and gubernatorial race in which appears to be somewhat close, we cannot discount more voters voting than in the previous several mid-terms, and higher turnout most often supports Democratic Party candidates. It is why the Republicans have worked so hard to suppress voting. They know what the corporate Democrats rarely articulate and act on. That means unity must be maintained through the election. Again, after the election, the true policy battle begins, with progressives standing tall against corporate Democrats.
