CommentsELECTION 2020-Since Donald Trump was sworn into office almost four years ago, democratic pundits, lawmakers, and their liberal voters alike have been insisting that the most important thing to do moving forward is defeat him.
Of course, given how the President has handled not just the traumatic events of the past five, going on six months but his entire tenure as President, I can genuinely sympathize with the desire to get him as far away from elected office as possible. The reality of the fact that there are over 170,000 lives lost due to not just his incompetence, but his deep-rooted narcissism and inability to empathize should never be lost on us, and the idea of four more years with him in power should be enough to terrify us all.
Unfortunately, the reality is his opponent Joe Biden seems entirely unwilling to do even the bare minimum of what it would require in order to guarantee a victory in November.
With over 170,000 people dead and tens of millions more losing their jobs, their health insurance, facing eviction, and doing their best to come to terms with the reality that any last shred of stability they had has been taken from them, Biden’s idea of voter outreach is to tweet:
“I give you my word: If you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us, not the worst. I will be an ally of the light, not of the darkness.”
There are countless parents across the country wondering how they’re going to feed their children, but I’m sure they care very deeply that Joe Biden pledges to be an “ally of the light”.
In order to guarantee his election under these circumstances Joe Biden doesn’t need to do any more than the absolute bare minimum. All the American people want, is something to vote for. Without a shadow of a doubt in my mind, if Joe Biden were to just come out in support of Medicare for All and promise to fight for it, he would be twenty points ahead. 88% of democratic voters and 70 percent overall are in favor of universal healthcare, but instead Joe Biden has already backed away from even fighting for a public option in the middle of a deadly pandemic. Instead, democrats would rather turn their backs on these voters and take them for granted in an effort to chase the 5 percent of republicans who supposedly don’t plan on voting for Donald Trump.
And people wonder why there’s absolutely no enthusiasm for this campaign?
Any voter that the democrats have any hope in attracting already knows Donald Trump is bad. They do not need to be told, and every time Joe Biden says we won’t have to worry about him tweeting when he’s President he is actively avoiding the issues that matter.
The thing is, the people that Joe Biden surrounds himself with are smart enough to understand all of this. They would just rather cash their checks while risking losing the election than actually make a promise to do something for the people. Americans are very aware of the fact that Trump’s incompetence cost them their loved ones and their livelihoods. What we need to know is what democrats actually plan on doing to help. How are they going to work to improve the material condition of families all across the country who are suffering?
Unfortunately, the answer appears to be absolutely nothing.
If 2016 taught us anything, it’s that you have to give people something to vote for, not just barrage them with the horrors of what they should be voting against. Given the fact that the American people have had four years to grow numb to just how awful Donald Trump actually is, that’s arguably even more true now than it was then.
Asking for guaranteed healthcare so that an insurance company doesn’t get to dictate whether you live or die based on if you can afford to pay them or not is not radical. Asking that corporations don’t destroy the planet and bring the species that live on it to the brink of extinction just so a fossil fuel industry CEO can continue bringing in their millions is not radical. The American people made this country the richest nation on earth, and sacrificed their time, their labor, and oftentimes their health and safety as well in order to do so. All we want in return is healthcare, decent wages, and a planet that our kids and grandkids will be able to live on. When the democratic party can’t even offer us that, then a loss in November isn’t a failure of the American people to turn out to vote; it’s a failure of the democratic party to give them any reason to whatsoever.
(Lauren is a writer & leftist with analysis on topics related to politics & policy. This piece appeared on Medium. She can be reached at [email protected] or Twitter @xlauren_mx) AP Photo/Andrew Harnik. Prepped for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.
