From the vault, September 12, 2000 (revised):
Election season is upon us once again, and this time around a new wind is blowing. It is the wind of populism, not the fake populism Donald Trump peddled two years ago to gain the votes of the disaffected, whom he quickly betrayed by filling the swamp with his own species of critters, ideologues devoid of qualifications for their offices, but real populism from the grassroots. It is reaching out to working-class men and women, African-Americans, Latins, Asian-Americans, Native Americans, Muslims, the elderly, the poor/working poor, the disabled, and LGBTQ individuals (have I left out anybody?) – all of whom have been marginalized in this capitalist society.
I dabbled in partisan politics only briefly, from 1964 to 1968. In 1964, I believed that Lyndon Johnson would carry on the legacy of John F. Kennedy. He did, up to a point, but he presided over the illegal and immoral war in Vietnam. In 1968, Americans had a choice between Hubert Humphrey, who stepped into the void created by the assassination of Bobby Kennedy, and Richard Nixon. I quickly lost my political naïveté and looked for a third voice.
I still vote, because in a democracy, it is every citizen’s right, privilege, and duty to choose their public officials. Leaving the choices to the money- and the power-brokers is the surest way to lose our democracy. Sadly, more than 60% of eligible voters do not vote; therefore, any candidate, similar to Trump, who claims a “landslide” victory is badly mistaken. The 60+% are the aforementioned disaffected, and they don’t vote because they believe that (1) their vote won’t count; (2) the candidates spend more time schmoozing their campaign donors than discussing the issues of the day; (3) the candidates are overly concerned about their images rather than their principles; (4) incumbents are more beholden to the special interests than to their alleged constituents; and (5) politics in general equals lies, scandals, corruption, and empty promises.
By and large, they are right.
I still vote, but not necessarily for either of the major candidates. Instead, I vote for that person who shares my principles. I daresay that my principles outstrip those of any politician you care to name, dear reader, and so (s)he who comes the closest gets my vote. Some will say that I am throwing away my vote if I don’t vote for a candidate who is “winnable,” whatever that means. I say that voting for a sure thing is the real vote-throwing-away. I say that voting one’s principles is the true mark of citizenship. I say that, if you don’t vote your principles, you don’t deserve a vote. How many lesser of two evils could we have avoided if everyone voted his/her principles with head held high?
This theme is what the New Populism is all about. It began with the candidacy of Bernie Sanders, which was sabotaged by the Democratic Party establishment, and morphed into the “Our Revolution” movement. The New Populism is spreading across the Nation, linking up with the individual movements of the aforementioned disaffected like wildfire. It may not win the country this year or in 2020, but it will eventually. Essentially, it is the beginning of the second American Revolution by which we overthrow the plutocrats and the militarists and their political stooges.
The present two-party system is corrupt beyond belief. Actually, we have only one party; the Republicans are its right wing, and the Democrats are its left wing. Both have conspired to rig elections to suit their own agendas which is to maintain a monopoly on political power. The most problematic voters are those die-hard Republicans and Democrats who vote the party rather than the individual candidates. They do so, regardless of whether the top of the ticket is Howdy Doody or Adolf Hitler, because they have swallowed the “Republocrat” propaganda hook, line, and sinker. They are the ones who are really throwing away their votes. Their minds are bent, and their minds must be straightened before American can be made great again.
What is needed is a parliamentary system so that other voices may participate freely in the electoral process and, in the fullness of time, create a majority party of their own. The New Populism is the nascent form of this system.
Just a thought.