So, I know I'm on vacation, but I do have some things to say quick.
First, Dick Cheney is endorsing Harris. I cant say im surprised. Principled conservatives voting for a moderate democrat in order to avoid supporting orange man isnt uncommon these days, nor is it irrational. it seems even if I didnt abandon conservatism back in the early 2010s, I'd end up here anyway.
However, having abandoned conservatism back in 2012, I don't really like this shift. I understand it's necessary given the electoral realities of this election (race is currently roughly 50-50 and we're lucky for it to even be that given where we were), but honestly, this is a nightmare for me. This is what i was trying to avoid. The democrats have been seeking to expand the democratic coalition with moderate republicans since 2016, and it's happening. Clinton's grand strategy is coming true in 2024, and i HATE it. I understand its a necessary evil at this point to stop fascism, but this is hell for me. Back in 2016, I wanted to wreck the GOP with left wing populism and expand the obama coalition. But the Trump-Clinton continuum screwed everything up where now a lot of white working class voters are now MAGA and the dems are winning over moderate republicans from 20 years ago just to fricking break even. This sucks. I hate this. I fear for the future of the democratic party and the country even if Harris wins. Because the political realignment in 2016 might be so far gone that Clinton got the last laugh after all. And it means that the progressive economic left is screwed for another generation.
At the same time, I've been reading Harris's book on vacation. And...to be honest, I kind of think she's somewhat based. She aint as progressive as I'd like at times, but I think she has a very progressive background and I see how it is impacting her 2024 platform, especially her housing policy. She does seem to have some systemic understanding of the issues and has the potential to, if allowed, be a quite progressive president. Hell, even if she isnt as left as i want her to be, im pretty sure I could pitch UBI to her in theory and she'd at least be open to it, as it would solve a lot of systemic issues that contribute to poverty, crime, social dysfunction, etc. She understands the problems that plague the ghettos of this country and how generational poverty and systemic barriers lead to people becoming desperate and committing crimes. I LIVE in a ghetto basically. My views are ALSO shaped by the serious dysfunction of these areas and ive come to the conclusion that ONLY policies like a UBI can actually FIX them.
The real problem is....can Harris actually be progressive with this modern democratic party? With Harris being constrained, both by being an extension of the Biden administration, and the democrats' centrist impulses in appealing to moderate conservative suburbanites in the sun belt becoming not just a choice but a necessity to win, can Harris actually be progressive?
I dont know. And this is why im all over the place with harris on this blog. Sometimes I think she's the next best thing to bernie or yang, and I believe she has that potential, if allowed to be. But political pressures associated with the democratic party, it electoral strategy, and being effectively forced to provide continuity from the previous guy's administration seem to be constraining Harris hard and pushing her hard to the center.
Harris is progressive, but the democratic party largely isnt and largely has a culture and internal political ideology hostile to progressives. And sadly, Harris is more of a team player than a fighter at times it seems. And thats why the centrists pushed her over Bernie in 2020. Harris is maybe 70% as progressive as Bernie on paper, but she's also far more controllable by the party itself, and can be pulled to the center despite her progressive impulses.
In terms of electability this makes her a bit of a shrodinger's candidate, where you have to ask, is she left? is she center? And the answer is "yes."
But on Janaury 20th, 2025, that state of superposition she's currently in for the election season where she has something to offer both is going to end, and she's going to have to govern. And she's gonna have to make a choice of what to stand for. Is she gonna actually go for broke with progressive policies and bring us into a new age of progressive politics? Or is she gonna shy away and run to the center and be another Clinton, Obama, or Biden? Sadly, if I had to guess, it's the latter, but it's kinda sad. Her book actually makes he sound very progressive and makes me WANT to vote for her. But then I watch her cringey centrist campaigning and all of these republicans endorsing her and I just hate everything about it.
And yeah, that's where I'm at.
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