This is the most important election of our lifetimes. Again. What are you doing about it?
Americans defeated white nationalism and Christian supremacism in 2020, but like every horror-movie villain, it’s come back for one more try. The good news is, we have every chance to beat them for good. We can deal these fascists an overwhelming defeat in 2024, consigning them once and for all to the trash heap of history. But that will only happen if good people stand up and fight. I want to do my part to make that happen, and you should too.
Reasons for, not just against
Unlike Republicans, we have more to run on than just fear and hatred of the other side. Progressives can point to a long and impressive list of wins we’ve gotten in the last four years from the Biden-Harris administration.
Joe Biden passed the Inflation Reduction Act, far and away the most transformative climate law in American history, as well as a massive infrastructure bill. He’s the most pro-union president we’ve ever had.
He ended forced arbitration in sexual-harassment cases. He’s taken steps to legalize cannabis, made Juneteenth a federal holiday, bolstered the IRS to catch tax cheats, ended the occupation of Afghanistan, won Medicare the ability to negotiate drug prices, capped insulin costs, and brokered an interstate agreement to conserve the Colorado River, among many other underpublicized progressive wins.
And he’d have done more if he could. Most notably, we could have had full student-loan forgiveness and prosecution of Donald Trump for his many crimes, if both of those hadn’t been stymied by wacko far-right judges. But that isn’t Democrats’ fault. If anything, it shows the vital necessity of winning more elections so we can appoint the next few Supreme Court justices.
I’m not satisfied yet. I want to defend all these wins, and I want more of them. I have every confidence that Kamala Harris will extend the winning streak of the Biden administration, on top of the historic nature of her own candidacy. I’ll proudly cast my vote for her to be our next president this November.
Oh yeah, but what about Israel?
Progressives are often hampered by our own sense of morality and nuance. We argue, we agonize, we second-guess our decisions. Too many of us withhold our votes as protest, waiting for a perfect candidate who will never materialize.
Meanwhile, religious conservatives have no such reservations. They worship their golden calf with cultish devotion, they ignore every one of his lies and outrages, and they don’t care what harm he might inflict on themselves, the country or the world. Too often, this means that thoughtful people of conscience lose, while the worst side wins.
I’m not saying we need to take lessons from the right in how to be more mindlessly obedient. But I am saying this is a perverse dynamic that leftists should be able to step back and appreciate. Too often, we let the perfect become the enemy of the good. We end up actively hurting our interests for the sake of ideological purity, rather than taking our wins where we can get them.
It’s okay to support Democrats even if you still have disagreements with them. Voting isn’t a religious pledge of eternal loyalty, it’s a utilitarian exercise in harm reduction. It’s simply an answer to this question: given the choices available to me, which is the best one? Which one most pushes the world in the direction I want it to go?
I wish I could cast a vote in this election to end the latest round of Middle East wars, but I can’t. But I can cast a vote to protect future generations from even worse climate change; to protect immigrants from white supremacy and mass deportation; to protect women’s reproductive rights from anti-choice attacks and abortion bans; to preserve Obamacare, Social Security and other safety net programs from plutocracy; to protect and advance unions; to do something about gun violence in America; to defend science against aggressive anti-intellectualism; and to help the people of Ukraine resist the invasion of a tyrannical aggressor. My vote can’t stop every evil in the world, but I’m not going to let that dissuade me from doing the good I can do.
So, with that in mind, here’s what I’m doing in 2024 in addition to voting:
• I’m writing postcards to voters in swing-state races all around the country. I’ve signed up with Postcards to Voters and Activate America. You choose a campaign and how many postcards you want to send, and they e-mail you a list of addresses and an approved message to write.
I’ve been writing ten postcards per week, and I plan to do more as the election draws near. This is my favorite method of outreach because it’s easy and flexible. You can write whenever you have a spare moment, and send out as many or as few as you’re capable of doing.
I also think it’s less intrusive and less annoying than other methods of contacting voters, which makes it more likely to be effective. A friendly, handwritten postcard is a good reminder to vote that people can keep and stick on their fridge.
• I’m donating money, as my budget allows. I dream of a post-capitalist world where money is no longer a factor in elections, but that world doesn’t exist yet. Where possible, I try to donate to local and overlooked races, rather than big national campaigns that get the lion’s share of funding.
• I volunteered to canvass for two competitive races in my backyard, one for the New York state senate and one for the House. I wanted to travel further afield, maybe to Pennsylvania, but unfortunately my son’s school schedule and my wife’s work schedule just made it unworkable. If you can travel to volunteer, you should consider doing so.
• As Election Day draws nearer, I also want to sign up for text banking. I’ve done phone banking before, and I’m not a huge fan – I find I have to make calls for an hour or more to reach just one real person, which doesn’t seem like a great return on investment for my time. But text banking seems like an acceptable compromise.
• Last but not least, I have this hat:
I don’t know what’s going to happen in November. There are reasons to be anxious, but there are also many reasons for hope and optimism. Unlike the frequently-wrong-but-never-in-doubt Christian prophets, I don’t claim to be able to see the future.
But, win or lose, I want to be able to say I did my part. It takes millions of people working together to shift the course of democracy, and I want to be one of the people who helped push it in a better direction. I imagine that one day, when he’s an adult, my son will ask me about this election. I want to honestly tell him that I did everything I could, for his sake and for the sake of the world he’s going to grow up into.
Here is what I’m doing: I wrote 200 GOTV postcards to registered Democrats in North Carolina (via Postcards to Swing States – Progressive Turnout Project). These go out on the 26th. I wrote and sent 20 GOTV letters to voters in Washington’s 3rd congressional district via Vote Forward. I am now writing 20 letters to voters in Pennsylvania, also via Vote Forward. If there is time left until the 26th I will write another batch of 20 letters.
Hey, you look good in the hat!
I really deplore the democrats supporting and contributing to Palestinian genocide, and other Israeli war crimes. As Adam says, if I could end it, I would. But, as he says, at least we can vote and help (any remaining) Palestinians in other important ways.
But, let’s also think of ourselves (mostly, no one needs to be reminded to do that.) Do we want the US to continue as a democracy (or, at least as much as it ever was one), or do we want authoritarianism, which will likely soon turn into dictatorship and fascism?
One candidate is for democracy, the other is for authoritarianism. Well, *that* make the choice easier!
Unfortunately, the MAGAs, and it sounds like a lot of republican politicians, do want authoritarianism. Because they can’t get into power anymore in a democracy. So, we have to work on it, like Adam says.
Also, I really wonder why people are so down on Biden? I didn’t expect much when he was elected, another center-right corporate democrat.
But, he really surpised me with what policies he actually went for, lots more progressive than any other president in recent memory, I think. He said that he’d consulted with The Squad, perhaps he listened and learned something.
Anyway, I think he’s been much better than people think, and I’d have had no problem voting for him again. Although, if Trump was the other candidate, I’d have no problem voting for Lucifer The Prince of Darkness himself.
I agree, garnetstar. IMO Biden is the best president the US has had since FDR. According to Hamilton Nolan this is much thanks to Sanders’ strong showing in the 2020 primaries. If the pro-Palestine Democrats had presented a stronger challenge in the 2024 primaries some things may have been different.
I’d concur garnetstar, but I have a slightly different take on it.
Biden may have conferred with The Squad, but I think, more importantly, he created a cabinet and found advisors who are both younger and much more in touch with the current problems of the USA. And, crucially, he listens to them. A lot of his policies are not things he appeared to be concerned about when he was VP. Based on his record, I was expecting little from Biden’s administration. But he listens to his advisors, appears to be willing to be convinced about a plan of action, and will change his mind.
The biggest problem I see in both parties is aging leadership. Some of the high-ranking people in the Democratic party formed their opinions about how the world operates in the 1970’s. A few remain who grew up in the 1950’s. The world has changed a lot since then, and the issues they first arrived in Washington to solve in 1975 are no longer the biggest issues of our time. The republicans are even worse, and I think largely because the younger people who have joined the Republican party appear to be mainly in it for the graft. Most of the few remaining principled Republicans are also old, and they are unable to distinguish between the theocrats who want to own people and the grifters who know they can raise money by appealing to God, Country, and step-side pickups. While the Democratic party has a problem with aging leadership, the Republican party has a serious infestation of parasites (it will probably have to be put down).
But the Biden administration, and due to Biden being willing to listen to his advisors, has been remarkably progressive. Far more than I had hoped. We can still do better, but it could have been much worse.
BTW, we received one of the post cards today. I think it’s a much better approach than the endless texts and emails I’ve been getting for months.
A lot of the email and text requests for funds I got were for candidates from other states. News-flash, I have a limited amount of discretionary income, and I’ll use it on local races. If I had enough money to spend it on races outside my area I might be interested, but in that case I would be looking. Panhandling does not work. If I don’t respond the first seven times you ask me for money, stop trying!
But the postcard thing was nice.
Not very useful though. My wife and I have already voted.
I’ve never heard of the Harris Waltz. Is it anything like the Tennessee Waltz?
Thank you for this. As a socialist I’m constantly seeing “materalists” (LOL), almost always cis men, pushing the narrative that voting is bad and useless and we shouldn’t bother. As someone directly in the crosshairs of Trump and his pals, I am constantly terrified that people on the left (mainly cis men) will hear this bullshit and not be arsed to vote. It is really exhausting and I’m glad to see at least some people being sensible.
Surely I am not the only person to recall this gem:
https://poets.org/poem/second-coming
Yes, a fine poem, but worth noting that Yeats was a fascist. This is not hyperbole: he openly supported the Blue Shirts, the Irish fascist movement. He’d have a very different idea about who “the best” and “the worst” are than commenters here!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackshirts – there were a lot of nationalist colored-shirt movements a century ago, with a range of colors:
Black, gray (silver), brown, red, yellow (golden), green, blue
re: tallora #8 – Absolutely. Hitler did not win because he had an absolute majority. He won because the anti-Nazis were unable to create a majority coalition. We all, every one of us, need to unite behind the Harris/Walz ticket. Not because they are ideal but because they stand between us an a fascist/theocratic nightmare.
re: KG – Very true, we put ourselves into art. Yeats was also kind of a nut in a number of ways. But what a poet!