So the Amazing atheist had a video in which he responded to a video bernie put out encouraging people to vote for Biden by saying Bernie is part of the establishment now. And...idk, I have a weird mixed take on this.
First of all, bernie's video. As the Amazing atheist pointed out, it wasn't the most impassioned plea, kinda like he was reading off of a script, but he was serious, he's said it before, multiple times by this point, and I kind of have to agree with him. In a sense, yes, bernie is working with the establishment. But he's not working FOR FREE. Bernie is working with Biden, because Biden did try to implement parts of Bernie's agenda. Keep in mind this is one of the reasons I myself have been softer on Biden. And while I'm likely a lot more free to speak out against the Biden administration than bernie is, I have to admit that Bernie has a point.
Look, this isn't the year for a protest vote. i know that democrats say that every year, but this year in particular, they're right. Donald trump is a threat to democracy, and the left, including establishment democrats, are in a tough spot where the key goal is simple: survive. We're like in that epilogue of halo reach where the goal is to hold out as long as you can against hordes of enemies coming to take you down. And that's where we're at electorally. We're not in a position to launch an offensive, politically speaking. We're not in the position to push for universal basic income, or medicare for all, or free college, or a green new deal. Even if Biden wanted to, it wouldnt happen, because he doesnt have the votes in congress. Hell, congress shot down much of what Biden WANTED to do.
I know some, like the amazing atheist, are feeling a bit nihilistic about that, but it's true. Why attack the few allies we have, who actually are trying to move things in our direction, because they arent accomplishing anything, when the fault lies with congress and the courts. Blame congress, blame the courts, blame the people who deserve blame. if Bernie were in the hot seat, you think he'd accomplish even a tiny bit more? no, and you know what? People would likely be more sympathetic about it, screaming about 'establishment democrats" and the GOP...and uh...yeah. Blame the GOP, blame Kyrsten Sinema, blame Joe Manchin. They are responsible for why we haven't gotten anything done. Yes, it's THEM, blame THEM. Remove the roadblocks there where we can. Let's stop crapping on lefties like bernie, or AOC, or Ro khanna, or even fricking John Fetterman who people crap on for semi legit reasons, but I understand what he's doing and I can give him a pass. Look, everyone is just trying to survive, to make it to the next election cycle, and sometimes that involves making some uncomfortable compromises. it ain't pretty, but it's necesary. Instead of attacking people for not solving all problems with a magic wand, we have to be realistic here.
Which is where I kinda come down on the amazing atheist's take. I kinda like this guy's both sidesism, and cynicism at times, but not this time. The fact is, he's wrong here. And yes, I know income inequality isnt improving under Joe Biden, but what policies would we need to solve that? We all know what they are, UBI, universal healthcare, union support, $15-20 minimum wage, etc. Is Biden doing any of that? No. Does he want to do any of that? Eh, a couple things. CAN he do any of that? no. So...what now? DO we attack Joe Biden for not accomplishing any of that? That's the problem with this extreme cynicism. Yes, Biden isnt accomplishing things. But replace Biden with bernie or anyone else, and ask, do things change. if the answer is no, look elsewhere for the problem. Look in congress, look at the courts. Are your senators doing things you want them to do? What about your house member? Are they voting and introducing legislation to your satisfaction? If not, maybe primary them. Maybe run against them if they're republican. Come on, get someone, something, somewhere. Figure out where the roadblocks are, and blame them.
That's why I'm soft on Biden. I KNOW BIden wants to do more. Like TJ (Amazing atheist) mentioned how the GOP denies climate change exists and then Biden wants to do like 3% of what is needed...um...ok, but uh....the inflation reduction act actually gets us 40% there, or 80% of what we need by 2030. Build back better would've been compliant. Would that totally solve the problem? No, but it would mitigate the damage. The fact is, and I say this as someone who looked at the exact policies on this blog, yes, Biden's policies help. Heck, I actually prefer build back better OVER a GND given GND is expensive and would take resources away from other stuff. With solving climate change, I just wanna do it in the most efficient way possible. A lot of leftists have these weird fixations on job creation and their weird forms of urbanism that involve reinventing the entire wheel that is our infrastructure, and I'm going to be honest, I'm not really interested in any of that. I just wanna fix the problem in the easiest, least intrusive way possible. So...that said, build back better was looking awfully nice, fully compliant of IPCC guidelines, a scaled down version of bernie's program. I mean, it's a nice program. Let's not crap on him for that. I get why biden is like the half measure guy. He is. He's never gonna solve every issue ever. But right now, he's the best we got, sad to say. I've spent much of 2023 and even this year talking about possibly replacing him, but it aint gonna happen. Not just because the DNC rigs the process, but because there literally is no one else who can poll well enough to beat trump. Again, the best we can do is live to fight another day. Just get Biden across the finish line, and then in 2028, when the seat is open, hopefully we can get our crap together. But right now, again, this is a year for defense. Do we want the guy who by the time he leaves office will get us on track to solve climate change at least somewhat (and yes, it's more than 3%, again, like 40%), or the guy who wants to let the planet roast and who wants to take away democracy? Don't be dumb, America.
I mean, Biden aint everything I want, and I know people are frustrated by the political status quo. I just wanna guide people to realize that gee, this problem is bigger than biden. The obstruction is greater than Biden. Biden WANTED to do nicer things than he's doing, and even if those things are, by my own admitted standards, half measures a lot of the time, they're still...something. And if we lose to the right in this political environment, we literally get nothing. And the clock will keep ticking on the climate, every republican presidency WILL make it harder to tame that given we got about 26 years to get out crap together according to IPCC guidelines, and yeah.
And on the economy in general. Again, I'm not the dude who normally simps for Biden. Biden is milquetoast. But let's face it, the left aint amazing either given they ARE all full green new deal and jobs jobs jobs themselves. We need a UBI, and i aint really enthralled with anyone. Most lefties running this cycle dont know the first thing about policy, their policy preferences diverge from mine, and both Biden and the left kind of...leave me feeling disappointed. Yes, the left is better on some things, like healthcare and free college, but the center is better on climate, neither side is really pro UBI, so i'm just kinda meh.
Point is, no one is actually gonna make ME happy there. Even Bernie has flaws. Jill Stein and Cornel West have flaws. hell, those two have no idea what they're doing. Williamson seemed decent on paper, but even she probably doesnt have a ton of policy expertise to actually implement these things. Bernie is unique in that he had detailed policies to get us there. And parts of those made it into the biden administration, so idk, I'm kinda feeling more willing to work on actual practical goals than wish lists right now. It's not a wish list year. It's time to preserve our legacy, and get work done when we can. We can always worry about this other stuff later. What the left needs to do right now is regroup, find someone who knows wtf theyre doing, and in a future election, run THEM. But for now, let's just keep Biden in, please? Pretty please? That's how I see it.
Again, I know it's cliche, this isnt a year for a protest vote. It REALLY isn't. We're not accomplishing jack crap in sabotaging Biden here. We really arent. We're kicking ourselves in the face. Seriously, lefties, stop hitting yourself. Seriously. THis is counterproductive. If the left had a better candidate this time, and we werent facing an election with such high stakes, I could see supporting them. But that just isn't how this is playing out. Bernie's right. Right now, our best move is to preserve Biden's progress. We gain nothing from going against the guy. We're only hurting ourselves. I get the nihilism. I kind of agree with the idea that Biden is all half measures and doesnt go far enough. But still, those half measures do get us part of the way there and the left isnt up to the task this time around. Let's just settle for what we can get. We can relitigate this later on in a future election cycle (hopefully 2028).
No comments:
Post a Comment