(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Her Ideas Aren't Pretty, But She Can't Be All Wrong [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-06-21 Disclaimer: The discussed blog in this diary is for open-minded audiences only. If you see Joe Biden as your savior, and as nothing else, it may anger you. I do not agree with all of the blog author's assertions, but she has a way of raising some fascinating questions and I find that she has an incisive view of things. Kathleen Wallace recently wrote a blog where she questions, what if the Democratic party leaders were running Joe Biden to throw the election on purpose? Her speculation is upsetting, but it is interesting to see how she rationalizes it. https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/06/21/the-fix-is-in-and-clueless-joe-is-up-at-bat/ She references the enormous threat of Project 2025, which she melodramatically, but not wrongly, describes as "The Handmaid’s Tale , Mein Kampf, 1984, and the last episode of Lost", then questions why the Democratic party isn't treating it as the threat it is. It is a good question. On her way to answering that question, the author accuses both parties of ignoring the will of the people. She uses reproductive rights as an example. Even in deepest red Kansas, the people's votes indicated they wanted reproductive rights. Obviously, the Republican party doesn't support the will of the people on this. Then she rightly asks, what has the Democratic party even done to codify reproductive rights whenever they've held the majority? It is the will of the wealthy powers that own our government that matters, not the will of the people. She asks how the stubborn Republicans can work their legislative magic, whether the majority or minority, What is the argument to her assertion, "We are to believe the Democratic party has no power when thoroughly in charge and also when they are not in charge." The truth behind that quoted statement has bothered me for so many years even before she ever said it. What about you? To further document how the power of wealth trumps the will of the people, she points to Biden's failures. These include a lack of interest on muzzling Israel's rampage, the non-follow through on Student Loan forgiveness promises, and especially the lack of will to aggressively call out and tackle corporate corruption in the on-going inflationary price gouging plaguing America. I’ve often wondered why Biden abides this corporate corruption when he knows it has to hurt him at the polls. Ms. Wallace states that these failures, and more, are all policy appeasements to the real ruling party of the country, the rich and powerful, who really run the show, no matter whether a Republican or Democrat is in office. Either way, America continues it's fall into fascism, although she concedes that "The descent does seem more precipitous and falls into regressive social policy when it is the Republican party in charge, however……so wouldn’t you want to send in your best and brightest to combat that?" She doesn’t believe Biden is the “best and brightest” leader that America needs. I don’t disagree. And yet, he still has my vote, because what other choice does anyone who has a hope for democracy have left? No real choice. Although, you have to ask yourself, does that no real choice seem outside the working definition of a democracy? The question of are we sending in our "best and brightest" against Trump is asked more than once in the blog. Her answer, made on behalf of the Democratic party, is always no. One argument she gives is that we aren't even having a rigged primary this time around. I can't think of a time in my life when the Democratic party didn't have a presidential primary. I think that the threat the Republicans present to American democracy would warrant the need for a primary, not negate it. One could argue that it is because of the threat of Trump and demographics, it is Biden that is the best hope we win against him, but really? That is no more absurd than sending Biden to wrestle Putin in a death match, winner take all, world-televised match, sponsored by Chick Filet. Ms. Wallace also makes a point that having 2 elderly men as candidates makes them more malleable to whomever funds and runs both parties' machinery. Even if she is wrong, I don’t see the benefit of having men of that age as America’s presidential candidates. When you are that old, in a job as taxing as POTUS is, you have to have extraordinary abilities to rightfully best a candidate 20 or more years younger. Biden may come closer to that ideal than Trump does, but he is still country miles away from being that kind of extraordinary. So, what do I think after reading Ms. Wallace’s opinions? 1) Whether Ms. Wallace's hypothesis that the powers behind the Democratic party are fronting Biden to lose the election is correct or not, she is definitely correct about one thing: America does not fall toward fascism as fast under the Democrats, so GOTV! If Ms. Wallace is correct that they’re fronting Biden to lose to Trump, it would be hilarious to make Biden win and then hold him to all of his promises, both fine for the common good and to piss off the party bosses and oligarchs. Either way, we win, so GOTV! 2) I don’t entirely disbelieve Ms. Wallace’s assertion that the leaders of the Democratic party care more about rich donor “free speech” than they do about democracy. It is my sincere belief that we need to become more French-like in holding our politicians' feet to the fire when they ignore the what is good for the common citizens to feed the whims of the wealthy. Demonstrations and strikes are really all that the powers behind our politicians will ever understand. Without such vocal civil disobedience, as long as Citizen’s United stands, both parties will always be guided by influential money rather than the common good. When Biden gets in, this time we should hold him, the government, and the powers behind them all, to promises made and to the common good. If Trump gets in, all hope dies unless counter-insurgencies are enacted. Either way, America and democracy do not win without the will of the people. Mark Ames: “A corpse vs. a felon vs. a guy with brain worms. Greatest system on earth.” [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/6/21/2247921/-Her-Ideas-Aren-t-Pretty-But-She-Can-t-Be-All-Wrong?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/