The Democratic Party and Republican Party conventions are history. And we the people are yet again presented with a choice between the lesser of two evils. Neither of the nominees had a challenger on the floor; they had secured enough primary delegates early on. It is how the two major political parties like it, no fuss, no bother, no dickering. So much for democracy in these United States.
On the one side, “Sleepy” Joe Biden, a neo-liberal who carries a lot of baggage since his days in the U.S. Senate, had a rocky start, but quickly gained momentum over his primary challengers. He had the full backing of the Democratic Party leadership (neo-libs all!), particularly when it once again sabotaged the campaign of Bernie Sanders. Party chairman Tom Perez and Company wanted a safe candidate, not some wild man with wild ideas, even if those ideas were what America needed to get back on track in the face of a climate crisis, a health crisis, an economic crisis, and a constitutional crisis.
Biden always has been a champion of bipartisanship, willing to reach across the aisle to obtain support from Republicans for major legislative initiatives. Under the tutelage of Mitch McConnell, the then-minority leader of the Senate, the GOP had a unique approach to bipartisanship: You give us what we want, and we’ll give you a great, big, smile.
McConnell ranted and raved on the Senate floor almost on a daily basis about how the Democrats refused to compromise, i.e. cave on demand. When the Democrats did cave, there was senator Biden leading the parade. As majority leader, McConnell began to talk out of the other side of his mouth; he put legislation from the House in his back pocket and refused to call a vote on it. (“I’m the majority leader, and I can do what I want.”) During his whole legislative career, he has been the biggest hypocrite to walk the halls of Congress. If he wins his re-election in November (let’s hope he doesn’t) or becomes the minority leader again (let’s hope he does), we should expect him to shift sides of his mouth, again.
But I digress.
The one saving grace Joe Biden has is his running mate. Kamala Harris is a neo-liberal; but, as a person of color, she is a cut above the usual neo-lib crowd. She may nudge Biden along the right path, even if it’s at a snail’s pace.
On the other side is The Donald. What more can I say about him than I have already written? How about insult artist, bully, fear-monger, megalomaniac, and imperialist? Hmmm? Concerning the four crises I mentioned, let’s look at the record:
• The climate crisis. Trump pulled out of the Paris climate agreement shortly after his inauguration in order to please his corporate sponsors. He promoted clean coal and oil and gas drilling on public lands. He rolled back numerous climate-related environmental regulations simply because they had been put in place by his predecessor.
• The health crisis. From hoax to no big deal to it’ll go away, Trump walked away from the coronavirus outbreak and took no responsibility for combating it head on. The few things he did do were merely token gestures to mollify the critics (it didn’t work). He touted questionable and/or unproven so-called cures with reckless abandon.
• The economic crisis. As the pandemic spread, businesses were forced to close and millions of Americans lost their jobs. Trump pushed to re-open essential businesses, e.g, meat-packing plants, with no regard for the safety of the workers involved. Even as the pandemic spread, he boasted of a strong economy just around the corner.
• The constitutional crisis. Trump has violated his oath of office to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution to the best of his ability almost on a monthly basis. He has usurped Congress’ power of the purse by transferring money from one agency to another on his own “authority.” He has attempted to usurp the power of Congress to set elections in order to secure his own re-election. He has used his office for personal financial gain through rents from his real estate holdings. He has stated that, as president, he can do whatever he wants; he has chosen to govern by fiat, through executive orders, thus bypassing Congress. And he has meddled in other countries’ civil conflicts without the consent of Congress.
So, dear reader, our choice is between “Sleepy Joe” and the “Great Imposter.”
Or is it?
Just a thought.