My Congresswoman, Melanie Stansbury, has said, when running for office, the key to success is telling one's personal story. I was appalled at this because it was admission that our politics is built on celebrity culture and the money-power that enables that celebrity culture.
This morning, my feed contained an FB ad for a Latina woman running for US Senate against right wing grifting Republican Rick Scott in the State of Florida. This is what the ad said:
Will you let me introduce myself?
Hello, (emoji) it's Debbie, and I'm the Democrat running to defeat Rick Scott. I immigrated to America when I was only 14. My family lived in a one-room apartment, and I picked up shifts at the local doughnut shop to help make ends meet.
Florida has given my family so many opportunities. I refuse to let right-wing radicals push my beloved home state backwards. And there's no question my opponent will write million-dollar checks to fund his campaign. I need your help to defeat him. Please, will you chip in before midnight tonight to flip Florida blue?
Thank you. Debbie (heart emoji)
In this ad, we learn NOTHING about this woman's policies and whether she would actually stand up against the establishment forces that made her mom's life so hard. Too often, these sorts of people get to DC and are dazzled by the wealth and power. See: AOC. They don't have a Kshama Sawant approach to politics because the politics which got them elected is about self-actualization, not community justice.
My take about the presidential election in 2024 is none of the duopoly's candidates are going to stop Israel's genocidal attacks on Palestinians in Gaza and increasingly the West Bank. None are going to stand up to the military-industrial complex. None. But, Trump has truly become the fascist personified in American politics, and is the likely primary winner. And the court system, other than Colorado's Supreme Court, is too timid to stop an insurrectionist who broke his previously made promise to protect the Constitution--and where the plain language of the 14th Amendment, Section 3 says such a person should be barred from re-standing for or regaining office.
The answer is in movement politics, whether in labor, civil rights, or environmentally based. The thing about Biden is he is more moveable on these issues than anyone else in the current duopoly in ways that may improve the situation domestically or in foreign policy. To ignore his court appointments, NLRB appointments, and FTC appointments is to miss a lot. They are better than the last six presidents.
Yes, I know Biden has completely enabled the Israeli genocidal policies, and is a devotee of the military-industrial complex. However, even there, we may find a positive effect in a different direction when I see so many White House staffers willing to stick out their necks against the continuation of pro-Israeli policies.
I don't expect to vote for Biden necessarily in a state where Biden will win by 10-12 points, and, if you are in a state that expects to vote for Trump by 20 points or more, a third party vote makes a lot of sense (I have different numbers so that it is clearer that Trump's victory will be based not on the national popular vote, but on the outdated and harmful Electoral College). However, as of December 28, 2023, I may, in my State of New Mexico, vote for Biden's reelection next November. Again, it is about not making things worse as there are signs of hope in labor, environment, and civil rights movements. I also believe the economy may well improve with good wages in 2024 if the Fed allows for lower interest rates and doesn't try to sabotage the economy, as I had thought the Fed Chair would do. The irony there is it will increase the opportunity for Biden or another Democrat (in case Biden has the inevitable physical fall) to prevail without the votes of people such as me. That is why I used the term "irony" because I may be more comfortable withholding my vote for the duopoly in that circumstance. If it is not Biden, but another Democrat, we will also see if Biden's replacement, too, is one who is malleable. In that scenario, I am less certain a Biden replacement, even a Newsom, is worth voting for to the same extent as Biden as they are far less likely to be pushed in the way Biden has been pushed on labor, civil rights, and anti-trust actions.
I should say I don't think this is about weakness with Biden. I think Biden sees himself as old and recognizes this is his moment. He is still a believer in the New Deal and the fundamental mythology surrounding our World War II behaviors. It is what drove his desire for bipartisanship, I should also add. But he has been largely disabused of that latter notion, which has made Bernie Sanders more influential in labor, anti-trust, and judicial appointments. He is, though, hit and miss on environmental issues. Hence, again the primary importance of movements.
