Tag Archives: elections

Political Rants

When Losing starts to mean winning, we lose

Democracy is always an approximation. The countries we describe as being democratic have systems that exclude some voters, make it hard to participate in one way or the other, and are otherwise imperfect. That’s to be expected. We don’t aspire to imperfection, of course. In many countries, people try to do the best they can with what they’ve got. In France, it’s the fifth republic. In Britain, constitutional monarchy. And right here, we have the U.S. constitution – penned by rich white men, for rich white men.

During the Bush administration, people around the president were fond of saying that the the constitution isn’t a straitjacket. (Of course, they were mouthing those words in defense of torture.) Still, we are kind of locked into certain interpretations of it, and as such remain firmly under minority rule – just as the founding fathers envisioned it. I know others have said this, but apart from 2004, the insurrectionist party (formerly called the Republicans) lost the popular vote in every presidential race since George Herbert Walker Bush was elected in 1988. And yet they “won” 3 out of those seven races. Minority rule.

Narrowing the halls of justice

It goes beyond just the raw numbers of presidential terms served. Republican presidents have had far greater consequence than their Democratic counterparts over this period. Nowhere is this truer than with respect to the Supreme Court. Between Bush Jr.’s two terms and Trump’s term, they have appointed five of the sitting justices – Democrats only three. And we are seeing the results in the form of more and more draconian decisions being handed down by a court majority that is openly contemptuous of the public will.

We are being forced, as a nation, to accept an extremist view of abortion, gun rights, regulatory agencies, and others things. The Supreme Court is like our version of the Supreme Islamic Council in Iran or the old Soviet Politburo. But really, more like the former – they tell us what laws will stand, which will not. They tell us who is a person with full rights and who isn’t. They are aggressively unelected and unconcerned with prevailing sentiments. And there really isn’t much of anything we can do except wait for their next decision. Sure, we can push for court expansion and other reforms, but we have to do so within the constraints their decisions establish, and there are many.

More election drama

With the fall elections approaching, one wonders if the results will be broadly recognized. You can bet that, wherever Republicans do badly, there will be challenges, particularly in states with GOP dominated legislatures and GOP governors. I would like to think that people on the leftward side will take this election seriously and show up in unprecedented numbers, but we shall see. The pro abortion rights vote in Kansas certainly came as a surprise, especially since the ballot measure was designed to be confusing as hell. But even with a massively lopsided majority, Republicans are forcing a recount.

This is what we can expect. We have to be willing to fight back, non-violently (though I understand the need for self defense in oppressed communities). Honestly, we have to get this right. Allowing them to continue to claim victory whether or not they win races is just a recipe for authoritarianism. We know where they want to go – they keep telling us. Viktor Orban is the model they prefer. We need to believe them when they tell us who they are.

Keeping your options open

I would admonish you to vote, but I’ve done that before and look where it’s gotten us. Suffice to say that I am voting, and I encourage you to do the same (and to encourage others to do the same). If only to keep the option to vote open for the years ahead.

luv u,

jp

Check out our political opinion podcast, Strange Sound.

Political Rants

Knocking it out old-school in the fighting 22nd

Unlike many past election years, I haven’t been keeping close track of the state of play in Democratic or Republican primary contests for my Congressional District. Part of the reason for this is the redistricting debacle that New York State recently put itself through. The short version goes like this: the Democratic majority tried to implement a kind of lopsided gerrymander that would likely have flipped three seats into the Democratic column. That map was struck down by a circuit court in Maryland, and New York went with a more “equitable” version.

I have made my opinion on redistricting clear in previous posts, but to summarize: I don’t believe in unilateral disarmament. Red states are gerrymandering the living hell out of their congressional and legislative maps, adding dozens of safe GOP seats nationwide, ignoring court orders that don’t suit them, etc. Democrat-led states, on the other hand, are acting like boy scouts, implementing non partisan redistricting commissions, deferring to the courts, etc. The result may very well be permanent Republican crazy-ass rule. But Democrats can take heart in having been good little girls and boys.

What’s my number?

Okay, so … for a while, my residence was in the 19th district. I was getting invited to meet and greets with Antonio Delgado, the incumbent in that district who has since been named Lieutenant Governor by Kathy Hochul. Then came the court decision, and now I’m back in the 22nd, currently represented by the inimitable Claudia Tenney, the only NY Republican in Congress to vote against the recent bill protecting marriage equality. As I believe I’ve mentioned before, Claudia has decided to run in another district, as the new 22nd is a bit bluer than the old one, now that it includes Syracuse.

With Tenney off trying to gain a seat in the new 23rd, a beet-red southern tier district that stretches to Lake Erie, I am not at all clear on who will be running for the 22nd on the Republican side. I mean, I can read Ballotopedia like anyone else, so I know that Brandon Williams and Steven Wells are vying for the GOP nod. What I don’t know is who the hell they are. Wells seems to be harping on immigration, the Biden Crisis at the border, etc., wheras Williams appears to be a COVID skeptic, anti-lockdown corporatist.

Party of Roosevelt, Jackson, Kennedy, and Wallace

The Democrats in the primary race have been shooting me postcards for a few weeks. I’ve heard from Francis Conole, a dude who looks to be seven feet tall, Sam Roberts, a guy who was particularly good at getting his picture taken with Democratic leadership, and Sarah Klee Hood, who actually stopped by my house when I wasn’t there. Hood may be the best organized one – she was going door-to-door, after all. I have no sense, though, that the party leadership has any preference between these three.

What about policy? Conole seems like one of those Dem party pragmatists, like Anthony Brindisi was – you know, “common sense” solutions, etc. He does pay lip service to universal healthcare, or “greater access” to healthcare – that’s more like what he’s claiming. Then there’s the campaign finance question – apparently a crypto billionaire is bankrolling Mr. Conole to some extent. Not a particularly encouraging sign. Roberts has some very thin details on his policy page – mostly generalities about jobs, conservation, supporting policing, and – yes – “access” to healthcare.

Sarah Klee Hood, on the other hand, appears to support single payer and has posted info-graphics to explain its merits. Not bad.

Divide and conquer

Primaries in New York State are always confusing. They break up some local races from federal and some state races, strangely. For instance, primaries for congressional seats and state senate seats are held on August 23; the gubernatorial primary was held in June. They probably do this to confuse voters, but whatever.

Make your voice heard … even when that means just voting.

luv u,

jp

Check out our political opinion podcast, Strange Sound.
Political Rants

We have met the enemy, and s/he is you know who

We live in an age of miracles, my friend. Well … minor miracles, anyway. Just this week a neighbor’s cat who disappeared ten days ago turned up. That almost never happens. Then, of course, there are the elections. As always, it was a night of many disappointments and few surprises. Elections always give me heartburn, frankly.

The thing is, there are only a few institutions in modern society that are even nominally responsive to the public will. The most important of these is government. And while government has become increasingly unresponsive to the concerns of the people over the past few decades, that fact is partly a reflection of our lack of interest or participation.

Through a mirror darkly

The last thing I want to do is sound like the morning-after prognosticators on MSNBC. But I will say that complaining about Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema is something like displacement. Yes, they are tremendous assholes doing valuable service to capital. Yes, in the most proximate sense, it is their fault that we can’t have good things.

But, again, the Senate is a reflection of the voters, albeit in its very undemocratic way. If people are frustrated with the lack of progress in Congress, they need to work harder at getting progressives elected to the Senate. As a nation, we delivered a 50:50 split in that body, and you can see the result – we’ve basically empowered every senator to be a potential deal-breaker. The fact is, we need more votes … and we won’t get them until we organize more voters.

I wish I weren’t in Dixie

Of course, we’re dealing with some real challenges. We have a center-left party that is dysfunctional and shot through with corporate cash. In the other corner, we have a proto-autocratic party fueled by racism, misogyny, and other bad impulses. The clash between those two organizations was on full display this past Tuesday, particularly in Virginia.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that race-baiting still works in the heart of the old Confederacy. And as someone who knows the history of the PR industry, I also shouldn’t be surprised that propaganda is so effective. The thing they call “Critical Race Theory” is so vaguely defined that it could literally include anything. It’s just the most recent label the Republicans have slapped onto the perennial project of scaring white voters with stories about black people. So, not a departure.

Running the numbers

I haven’t seen the exit polling or any official results from the 2021 elections, but I have heard some comments from people who have. (I will try to dig into this data at some point soon.) From what I have heard, in Virginia, the Republican candidate for governor garnered about 80% of the votes that Trump received last year, while McAuliffe only received about 60% of the votes Biden got.

Since Youngkin only won by about 2%, this underlines the notion that the Virginia race was a turnout election. Republicans motivated their voters, while Democrats failed to do so sufficiently. The blame lies with the flat-footed candidate, but it is the citizens of Virginia who will pay the price for this failure, particularly the most vulnerable. That is what voters on the left need to bear in mind.

luv u,

jp

Check out our political opinion podcast, Strange Sound.