By SJ Otto
Finally,
the Donald Trump show[1]
is over. He may not go easy and peacefully, but his time as president is up and
everyone but him knows it. I think he is the first president in my own personal
history that did not call and congratulate Joe Biden on his win. The nastiest
elections I can remember, besides this one, was the Richard Nixon –George McGovern
campaign, 1972. McGovern called Nixon and congratulated him on his win, even
though at one point during the campaign McGovern called him a would-be ‘king’
who was power hungry.
I
like what David
Brooks said about this election: “Yup, I wanted a grand rebuke, too.
I wanted Donald trump demolished by 10 points.” I couldn’t have said it better.
He goes on to say that elections are educational. He also points out how bad
the Democrats did elsewhere.
Trump
was a right-wing brute—a thug, whose bluntness made him popular with some
working class people. He was a $billionaire and yet many of his supporters were
very working class. It seemed to be his attitude they liked. He called them
like he saw them. Many times I’ve heard his supporters say “he talks like I
do.” He was unrefined and his followers liked it. As I see it, Trump’s working
class appeal was an illusion. He had nothing in common with working people. He
had the same red neck opinions as some working class people—a kind of “pull
yourself up by the bootstrap and if you can’t- suffer the consequences. But he
did nothing to help out the workers. He and his allied in Congress couldn’t
even agree on stimulus checks to help out working class people during the coronavirus
pandemic.
Biden
on the other hand won because he is not Trump. Progressives across the country
came together and worked hard to get rid of trump—a racist, misogynist,
anti-woman and xenophobic bigot. The campaign was a lot more anti-Trump rather
than pro-Biden. My brother John Otto disliked Biden so bad he refused to vote for
him. He told me “he promised to do nothing more than sit back on his ass.”
During the Democratic primary it was Elisabeth Warren who accused the Democrats
of campaigning on what they couldn’t do rather than supporting actual changes,
such as health care for all. In fact all the centrists, such as Biden, just
laughed at the idea of health care for all.
So
far Biden has promised to tackle the Coven 19 pandemic and he said he plans to
revive Obamacare (Affordable Care Act). Obamacare had a lot of problems. Many
of us would like to see the entire system ripped out and replaced with a sing
payer system. But that is not on the table right now.
So
far Democrats did terrible in the Senate and House. They lost seats in the
House and gained nothing in the Senate, although some extra counting and
recounting may change things. Over the last 20 years the Democrats have
perfected the ability to lose elections. At times they have lost some easy to
win elections. I’m sure a lot of people will tell them to move to the center or
political right. The Democrats have moved as far right as they can go. A lot of
people were begging for a “good ol’ fashion Democrat to run against Trump”
rather than that radical socialist Bernie Sanders and all his allies. That is
why they all got Biden elected. He has toppled Trump. But a struggle lies ahead
for the Democratic Party and it will be a battle between centrist and a
coalition of progressives and socialists.
So
this election does not represent the end for me, but a beginning of intense
struggle.
Pix by Mother Jones, Kamala
Harris Endorsed Joe Biden This Morning – Mother Jones
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