And he wasn't ever really a liberal on civil rights and civil liberties eitherI really liked the two Jeff Sharlet books I read, The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power and C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy and his Netflix series, The Family (based on the two books). Between Ken, Gaius and I, there are a dozen posts that feature him, the most recent of which, Most Religions And Many Governments Feed The Poor-- But Not All... And Millions Of Elderly Americans Are Literally Starving, was last year.Last week Sharlet published a piece on his Facebook page explaining why he is not just voting for Biden, but contributing money to his campaign. It's a good post and I agree with his analysis, albeit not his conclusion, at least not to me personally. Read it if you have a minute or two:
It may feel like too soon, but the hour is already late. I'm sending my first donation to the Biden campaign. I've despised Biden as long as I've known about him. Sure, he's done some good things. But he has been a loyal servant of empire and corporation, there are allegations of sexual assault (I haven't examined them, but I'm troubled by those Biden supporters who attacking his accuser using the same misogynist playbook as Harvey Weinstein), he is constitutionally dishonest, his vanity pales only next to Trump's, and he is woefully mismatched to the hour. My first choice was Warren by an inch; Bernie better matched my politics, and I still believe he would have had the better shot at beating Trump.I supported his campaign, but his campaign is over, and even absent pandemic we would we be facing full meltdown. Is Biden the answer? Hell no. He is part of the problem. But he won't actively try to kill us. I know what Biden is; it's dispiriting. And I've reported on Trump in 2016 and this campaign close up; he's worse than horrifying because he's not even as bad as it could be. He's not full fascism, because he's too self-involved; but he is the door, and it's open, and it's pouring in.So with respect for those who can't do it, I'm asking fellow Bernie and Warren supporters planning to sit it out now that Biden's the only option to swallow the bitterness-- and it will be bitter-- and vote for Biden. I'm donating, modestly, even though it feels like paying protection money, because I know firsthand from reporting on Trump how astonishing his fundraising is. If you haven't been paying attention, he's been by far outraising every Democrat. Before I gave money to Bernie and Warren, so I knew what their fundraising was like-- I got all the emails, all the texts. Sloppy, compared to Trump's operation. You may look at him and see a fool and at his followers and see only racism or delusion, but the machine around him? The people who are profiting from his authoritarianism? They're no dummies.The people around Biden, meanwhile? I kind of think they're maybe not keeping up with the program. They can't believe it's not 2008 anymore. They believe the center will hold. They don't understand that their neoliberalism, their corporate coziness, let any idea of "center" slouch so far rightward that Trumpism is now the center. He's not an aberration. He is our horrifying new normal. So a return to normalcy isn't an option. the old normal wasn't so grand. The hope is to build anew--and Biden won't do that. I'm not suggesting we pretend Biden is anything other than what he is: a means of buying time. Voting for him isn't a moral choice; it's a very temporary survival mechanism. I keep thinking of the campaign slogan associated with the utterly corrupt Democratic Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards, running against actual Klansman David Duke: "Vote for the crook."Same deal here: Vote for the hack. Then maybe we can fight like hell for what comes after.
The post from Wednesday on my own blog, Will Deeply Committed Progressives Vote For Status Quo Joe In November-- The Lesser Of Two Evils Play? caused hysteria on my Facebook page. I only unfriended the nastiest commenters, none of whom I know or had ever heard of (and have no idea how they became my "friends," but some former colleagues from work went right up to the line in their denunciations of me-- or anyone else-- who refuses to vote for Biden. I wonder how they would receive Sharlet's Biden endorsement.I don't disrespect or look down on anyone who decides they want to vote for the lesser evil. Many express-- like Sharlet-- excellent and reasonable arguments to do so. But I vote for candidates who I want to see in office, not because the opponent is worse. My hatred for the Democratic Party, which has used the lesser-of-two evils strategy to turn the party into a neoliberal corporate hellhole, is, as my grandfather taught me when I wasn't even a teenager, less than my hatred for the Republican Party... just not by much. I'm a progressive, not a Democrat.Rebecca Parson, who is challenging the head of the Wall Street owned and operated New Dems in Washington state, is also a dedicated progressive. "Voters in my district," she told me yesterday, "are excited to turn their energy to local elections like mine. We've all heard of NY-14, but I am bringing that populist leftist message to a working-class rural district, and volunteers from Bernie's campaign are coming over to mine after he dropped out. My opponent isn't well known nationally but he's been getting away with taking millions of dollars of corporate PAC and lobbyist money and he's the chair of the conservative New Democrat Coalition. But there are other reasons voters care about my campaign: my district is on the coast and has a beautiful national forest, so issues impacting the environment are on voters' minds, and yet my opponent doesn't support the GND. Our district also has some of the highest rising rents in the country, so voters in Washington's 6th are ready for a candidate like me who is making affordable housing a top priority with nationalized rent control and a Homes Guarantee. Trump is a symptom of greater problems within our political system; those problems existed before he came into office and they will persist afterward if other down-ballot candidates don't step up."Yep, godspeed, to all the people putting their hearts and souls into electing Biden and other conservatives who call themselves Democrats. I'm putting mine into progressives like Rebecca. And Shan Chowdhury, running in the southeast Queens district where that hospital you keep hearing about with all the deaths-- Elmhurst-- is. "It’s clearly disappointing that Bernie is not the Democratic nominee," he told me. "So many working people put their money and time into seeing him win. Now all there’s left is anger, and rightfully so. I’m reminded more than ever now how critical down ballot races like mine are. I’m taking on one of most corrupt members in Congress. I am his first serious challenger in over 20 years, and I’m doing it completely 100% people funded, turning out new voters with a mission to fight for progressive change. This is how we will win! The movement does not end with Bernie."I heard a similar message from the Blue America-endorsed candidate in the suburbs north of Indianapolis, Jennifer Christie. "Until a month ago, we were out knocking doors every day. Now we are phone-banking and people are home. I’ve talked with thousands of Indiana voters. People are sick of politics and want real leadership. Hoosiers are interesting. We are considered a 'red' state, yet we elect Democrats throughout the state at all levels. The average voter here regularly crosses the ballot. Indiana voters care deeply about authenticIty. Bernie won my district in 2016, and he won the state. We have always had wonderful volunteers in our campaign. In the last couple of months, our team had been growing immensely with new volunteers joining us every day. Why are voters enthusiastic about our campaign? Real change and genuine leadership. We have Democrats, Independents, and even a few Republicans who support our campaign because we are willing to take a positions and leadership on the issues. I am the only candidate in the race to support Medicare For All, a Green New Deal, and other important progressive policies. I am also the only scientist in the race, which, especially during the pandemic, people appreciate as a much needed voice in policy-making. We find over and over again that most Hoosiers support these policies, even across party lines. I believe that voters are especially enthusiastic now because we have an opportunity to flip a seat with a true progressive. We know that our best shot for passing our policies is to fill the House and Senate with progressives. Much of our support comes from Bernie and Warren supporters who understand that, while Biden is not a progressive, if we get a Medicare For All or Green New Deal bill to his desk, he will sign it. Since I am running for an open and flippable seat, we can make a big difference toward making that happen."She's more hopeful than I am about getting Biden to sign a Medicare for All bill-- or anything progressive by twenty-first Century standards. But electing candidates like Jennifer Christie, Heather Parson and Shan Chowdhury is the way to move and get the country out of the ditch Trump and corporate conservatives have shoved us into. Please consider contributing to all three campaigns by clicking on the Blue America thermometer above.And, by the way, AOC staffers and Team Biden have been discussing how to get progressive enthusiasm up for Biden: policies. She's asking Biden to more in a more progressive direction in terms of healthcare climate change, immigration and federal treatment of Puerto Rico.
On the subject of Biden’s health care proposals, Ocasio-Cortez said his support for lowering Medicare’s eligibility age to 60 is not “going to be enough for us,” adding that the party is “going to have to pursue a much more ambitious health care policy.”Ocasio-Cortez also elaborated on Biden’s stance toward climate change, characterizing his preferred methods for combating the threat from rising global temperatures as inadequate.“I don’t think that the vice president has a climate change policy that is sufficient right now,” she said, “and I’d like to see us really work on that.”The congresswoman also offered advice on the most important decision Biden will make in the coming weeks, casting his choice of vice presidential nominee as another litmus test of the candidate’s progressive credentials.Although Ocasio-Cortez said she was heartened by Biden’s pledge to name a female running mate and his openness to a woman of color being on the Democratic ticket, she argued that “what’s really important is not only just that woman’s identity, in terms of gender and cultural terms, but... who that woman is and [what] her stance is.”
