The Chickens of 2010 and 2016 Have Come Home to Roost [View all]
In both of those years, far too many Democrats sat it out on election day and we lost ground in our effort to make our federal government more progressive. In 2010, Republicans got control of the House and increased their majority in the Senate. Worse, that was a Census year, and we lost a number of state legislatures, which helped Republicans further gerrymander some states.
For those who could not get excited about Hillary Clinton in 2016 and either did not vote or voted in vain for a third party candidate because they disliked Hillary, I hope a realization of the result of that is at the top of their minds today. I am not the only one who pointed out the extreme risk of a Trump presidency leading to an overwhelming majority in the Supreme Court. That is now about to occur.
In 2020, we should be working hard to re-elect Hillary Clinton for a second term. Instead, we are facing the distinct possibility that Donald J. Trump will manage to squeak back into office for four more disastrous years. If you're saying to yourself that such a thing cannot happen, I remind you once again of 2016.
Elections are about the realities of politics, not about the pure ideals of progressivism. We must elect public officials who will, in some way, advance our goals. If we do not, or cannot, progressivism will not be on the agenda. That is what we faced after 2016, and what we again face in 2020. No matter how pure your goals for government may be, if Republicans hold power, none of those goals will be realized.
Some claimed in 2016 that electing Trump would create a massive wave of progressivism in reaction. It did not. instead, it created a reinforcement of the regressive ideals of the religious right and arch-conservatism. The alternative to progressive purity is not the middle road. It is Republicanism and Donald J. Trump.
Can the United States be saved, even after losing the Supreme Court to the right wing? Maybe. Maybe not. That will depend on everyone who wishes for a progressive society to work up their enthusiasm at least enough to get Joe Biden elected as President and to establish a majority in the US Senate.
Is Biden the progressive ideal as a candidate for President? No. Of course he is not. However, the progressive candidates in the Democratic primary lost and Biden is the nominee. The voters spoke, and it is the voters who decide, not idealists. So, progressives, step up to the plate and work your asses off to elect Biden. Make up for 2010 and 2016 and give us all a chance. Please.
Why? Because Republicans are hungry for even more power, and because chickens who are late to roost and who are not productive of eggs will end up in the stew pot on Sunday. Don't become the main ingredient in the Republican's supper. And that is how it is, the day after the death of Ruth Bader Gingsburg.
Will this post be unpopular with some? Of course it will. I am beyond caring about popularity at this point. It is all about survival now.
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