Dealing with Disappointment from Super Tuesday
Guest post from a young voter going by PK.
Let me start off with this disclaimer: the 2016 election was my first election as I was 18 when it happened. I went into the presidential race as a neutral, but I pretty quickly started supporting Bernie and throughout the election season I advocated for him. I voted for him in the primaries and was extremely disappointed (furious, maybe) at the result of the DNC handing the nomination to Hillary Clinton. But, I gritted my teeth and voted for Clinton because she was the lesser evil compared to Trump. To say I was disenchanted with the November’s result would be an understatement.
At first, I was confused, I asked myself: “How could this happen? Is the United States really this horrible? Why has democracy seemingly failed? What can I do now?” I searched for answers outside of my textbooks and history lessons. One of the things I learned is that Trump’s victory was not an anomaly or a disease, it was a symptom.
When elections are influenced more by dollars than necessity, when it costs thousands of dollars to get a word in the ear of your congresspeople or millions more to get your candidate elected, the needs of every day working people are ignored.
Every major presidential candidate made a salary that was at least double the national household income, most of the candidates are millionaires, and two are billionaires! I have more in common with folks depending on the altruism of others outside the BJ’s in Newport than I do with any of the candidates. How many of the candidates could actually tell you how much normal daily expenses were? Do you think Mike Bloomberg runs to the store to pick up milk? Do you think Joe Biden knows much printer ink costs? I doubt even Bernie Sanders knows what it like to live paycheck to paycheck.
The results from Super Tuesday were disappointing to me. I am now someone who has little trust left in the electoral system and the “system” as a whole. Bernie, while also a rather rich and probably disconnected (to some extent) politician, was probably the best shot at using the American political system and it’s economic power for some good.
If the Democratic Party really insists on nominating Joe Biden to run against Trump, well, just expect a result similar to 2016. If the choices are the memory of Obama and four more years of “it’s not that bad, plus it’s kind of entertaining”, I think a lot of apathetic, moderate, and fringe voters will vote for Trump.
I ask the Biden supporters this: what policies will actually be different between Biden and Trump? Will Biden close the concentration camps on our southern border? Will Biden come up with a plan to get medical care to all those who need it at an affordable price? What are his proposals that would actually make life better for a majority of the population? Sure, he would make a lot of symbolic gestures such as rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, but would he actually move towards more sustainable energy consumption? Biden sometimes talks a decent game, but I doubt his ideas, if any, will change anything.
Trump’s impeachment, countless scandals, media blunders, appointments, or his few policy changes have pissed off enough people, Biden might be able to win. But, I seriously doubt any real change for good would come of the election, regardless of the result.
But this election cycle is not as simple as Democrats vs Republicans. While Trump’s election and presidency have not been anomalies, however unorthodox it is, but Trump does represent something much more dangerous. Trump is the physical embodiment of reactionary hate, xenophobia, systematic racism, patriarchy, misogyny, and white nationalism.
His Twitter fingers do more than piss off your liberal family members. His advocation for white nationalists and their ideas is a gateway to fascism, what else would you call a reactionary political movement blaming their current situation on a small minority, calling back to a mythical history without the ‘other’ and taking real steps through military supremacy to remove them. Trump strengthens corporations and the rich with his tax breaks and weakens the working class with bad trade deals.
Trump has made it okay to say racist things; he’s made it okay to be a sexual predator; he’s made it okay to have fascist political views. All of this allows white supremacy groups of all variations like the KKK, 3%ers, Patriot Front, Proud Boys, and their propaganda outlets such as Turning Point USA, Breitbart, and the countless talking heads to flourish. If you think Delaware is safe from this, you’re wrong. The largest anti-Muslim and Islamaphobic group in the US, Act for America, has a chapter in Delaware.
The antithesis of Trump is Bernie. Everything that Bernie has worked for throughout his long career in politics stands in direct opposition to the ignorant hate that spews from Trump’s mouth and his brainless army of Red Hats that follow suit. I will never vote for Joe Biden, the epitome of the white moderate and I hope many of my fellow Delawareans, young and old, will join me in this.
Martin Luther King Junior wrote a powerful letter from behind the bars of the Birmingham Jail, and I think it applies to this situation.
“I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Councilor or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.”
So after my pessimistic rant, you may find yourself asking, “well if voting is not worth it, what can I do?” And to that, I would add, everything. The government does not control the conscience of the people, if anything it should respond to the will and the want of the people it’s supposed to be representing. Organize your communities around you, whether it be political groups, neighborhood wellness programs, volunteering with Wilmington Food Not Bombs or one of the many other non-governmental organizations near you.
There are plenty of groups focused on mutual aid and helping those in need. Or you could form your own group at your workplace, neighborhood, school, your favorite park, or wherever you find your community.
We are all stronger and much more capable of caring for ourselves and our loved ones than the government would have us believe because they need us to need them. If their elections and representatives that they give you are not to your satisfaction then go do it yourselves.
When I say that the Democratic Party is abusing, berating and ultimately betraying the base, I am not thinking about REV or myself. I’m thinking about all the people, like this guest poster, who are newer to the game.
These people, my own son included, see nothing of value in the Democratic Party of Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton. NOTHING.
So if Biden Wins, rejoice Biden supporters. Rejoice, Chris Coons. Rejoice and enjoy the ashes and ruble you’ve created where a true working person’s party once stood.
I love how Hillary Clinton winning the popular vote by 3 million in the primary over Bernie Sanders and winning the most pledged delegates in 2016 equals the DNC “handing the nomination to her.” LOL.
I don’t subscribe to the theory that the 2016 nomination was stolen from Bernie.
I do subscribe to the theory that, by doing such a poor job of selecting candidates they believe other people will most likely vote for, Democratic voters dig their own graves election after election.
People voted yesterday not for Joe Biden, but for the idea of Joe Biden. They’ve been hiding the actual Joe Biden so that could happen.
I especially love people who are fired up because Joe Biden gave a barn-burning speech. Jesus, people, that’s the only thing he’s actually any good at, and it’s all he’s ever been good at — talking a good game. As PK noted, there’s not a single animating idea behind his candidacy other than “bring back the good(?) old days.”
Biden might win, but Democrats will be the losers.
I wouldn’t say stolen either.She won more votes and delegates because the establishment leveraged its entire weight in one direction. It’s politics. It’s not against any rule. I’m not crying foul or anything.
But let’s not pretend they didn’t hand it to her, because they absolutely did exactly that.
Also, didn’t work in the end. So I’d probably be easy with the laughing.
Yeah. The LOL is a big tell
I just heard that Trump has pledged to absolutely not bring up Hunter or Ukraine in the general election. So that’s a relief.
LOL! IT’S SO FUNNY.
(It’s bad, obviously. But let me say this. It’s not over. The final count in Cali will take days. Bernie goin’ to close that delegate gap quite a bit. There’s another debate coming. And of course Warren can change the ‘Biden surging’ narrative in many ways any day now. Will she? I honestly don’t know. This is cogent electoral analysis.
If any group is prepared for all out war it’s us.)
Spurs v Norwich cup match today. Gotta prep. Bye.
What kind of “prep” is needed before a football match…lol? Rooney v Man United tomorrow.
I guess I’m that old white moderate that leans liberal that the poster speaks about so negatively, but I disagree with some of the assertions. My view from last night was millions of Dems that are tired of daily/ hourly drama coming from Washington that just want civility restored at some level. Most realize that Biden’s age makes a stop gap to determining a new direction while allowing everyone to take a breath. For most, there is a comfort level with the old reliable way of doing things and their vote counts the same as the revolutionary younger voter. Most people are that person before father time catches us.
I completely agree with the author in regards to the lack of inclusion in the democratic party. As a labor leader (a term most of us hate), we realize we have been the pockets and boots on the ground for a party that rarely acknowledges our existence unless they need something. We are then relegated to the shadows within a week of the election.
During the civil rights movement, Unions were hand in hand because of our belief that everyone is the same in the workplace and deserve to be treated as such. The working conditions that most enjoy today was brought to you by the Unions from vacation, 40 hour week, workplace safety, child labor laws, paid leave, healthcare benefits to a host of other revolutionary ideas in their time.
During the fight for equal protection, whether it is gender or LGBTQ+ related, we were amazed that it took so long to get it done because that is what we guarantee all of our members through a Union contract. If you do the same job, you get paid the same. You have the same rights and protections from a hostile workplace.
These are couple of the changes in society that Unions helped to effectuate. We worked with the activists / liberals of the day. How do you think we feel to be left at the curb year after year? There is much discussion of whether we should participate with the party at this point, but we have to for our members at this point. Should we create our own labor party to garner more support from others?
While I may not like the present indifference in Washington, I can’t let Trump continue to erode society and the middle class. While I wasn’t a great Bernie fan, I will vote for him for the greater good. Anyone that doesn’t vote because of the candidate is a vote for Trump. You can’t start a revolution unless you are ready to take shots. My favorite candidate is out but I’m willing to do the greater good. I can start the new revolution the day after.
I don’t want to hear about blocks the party is throwing at Bernie. The rules were laid out and there have been no changes. He was on a level playing field from the beginning. He was screaming last time about the person with the most delegates before the convention and changed his mind a few weeks ago when he became the front runner. He may have to change his mind again after last night. They all try to rig it for their big egos. Reality check.
I’m getting frustrated with the everyone deserves a trophy approach to life. Here’s the truth…life isn’t fair, but it’s not going to make me stop fighting the people that make it that way. BIG SECRET: the orange menace(Donald Trump) is the ring leader. If you are sitting this one out on principle, get the hell out of the way and get a towel for your tears. Your never going to get everything but you can make it better.
Just today some 20 something I know was whining about how they aren’t allowed to support bernie because they are registered I.
That’s the mystery cloak and dagger. Morons who dont actually care enough to do the work. Ya look at these bernie folks and they resemble magas in so many ways…. primarily the constant victim-hood. the constant whining about all the conspiracies against them, then failing to show up when it matters.
memes don’t vote. There is no actual Bernie movement past the internet edge lords. the younger progressives would do well to drop Ol’ Bernie and carry on with the cause. He’s now an anchor.
I have to admit to some misgivings about Bernie as the leader of the movement at the outset of this campaign cycle. I was hoping Warren had a better showing. I wish Pete Butedgeedge wasn’t a dick. I also wish Paul Wellstone hadn’t died. But he did, and Bernie has earned his leadership.
Maybe if Joe loses AOC or somebody.
if joe were savvy and not surrounded by Clintonite ass-warts, he’d make Stacy Abrams his VP and pledge to serve one term.
But he’s surrounded by Clintonite wass-warts and will go with Pete or something.
There alway needs to be someone screaming from the top of the roof as a conscience, and I think Bernie is good at that. He gives us a starting point but I’m not sure about making it a complete reality. Universal healthcare is a great idea and we need to get all the way there or as close as possible, but he is INFLEXIBLE. Paid secondary education is a great idea but again how to pay for it is the reality. Again, he is inflexible to any changes in his plan that might be palatable to the masses. He is identical twin of Trump from the opposite spectrum. It is bizarro world. If he is really trying to make change, REALLY support whoever the candidate is after the convention. I didn’t like Hillary much, but I swallowed my disdain for the greater good. The Bernie people basically told me that they were hoping for chaos so the revolution would begin. I call bullcrap. This comes from a guy that doesn’t even register as a D.
Time for them to put their money and effort where their mouths are. Put up or shut up.
“Their alway needs to be someone screaming from the top of the roof as a conscience, and I think Dr. Martin Luther King is good at that. He gives us a starting point but I’m not sure about making it a complete reality. Equality for the negro is a great idea and we need to get all the way there or as close as possible, but Dr. King is INFLEXIBLE.”
Inflexible people get shit done. The rest is talking.
Inflexible people also have ideas pushed aside from lack of flexibility. If everyone gets affordable healthcare or free healthcare if needed, does it really matter how it was done?
Inflexible people don’t always get everything they want, but it is necessary to shoot for the moon in order to get something.
Ever see the Republicans be “flexible” in their demands? Ever see them hold back for a more moderate position? Nope, not that I remember, they strike when the iron is hot and never look back. Being “flexible is little different then the dreaded “incremental change” centrists love to talk about. I agree with Jason, “inflexible” people get shit done, talkers don’t.