Democrats’ only hope: we the people

topic:	Election
located:	USA
editor:	Yair Oded

The first presidential debate on Tuesday left viewers around the world demoralised about the current state of American politics. While most headlines since have revolved around President Trump’s relentless bullying throughout the evening and his refusal to call out white supremacy and commit to a peaceful transfer of power, greater attention should be given to the fact that, at the moment, no substantial alternative is offered to Americans from the Democratic camp.

Former vice president Joseph R. Biden, the Democratic nominee who had been catapulted to the party’s helm at the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, had failed last Tuesday to convey a clear vision for how he intends to heal divisions and tackle some of the greatest crises currently facing the nation. It is true that Trump’s brutish conduct and incessant interruptions throughout the debate would have made it challenging for anyone to get in a full sentence, let alone set forth a coherent political agenda. But Biden’s record as a senator and presidential candidate points to a more fundamental flaw in his political enterprise.

Take the pressing issue of the climate crisis, for instance. Unlike his Republican rival, Biden does acknowledge the severity (and existence) of climate change, and has vowed to make tackling it a top priority of his administration. Over the summer, Biden unveiled a detailed plan that aims to, as part of a greater economic recovery agenda, invest $2 trillion in infrastructure projects, conservation initiatives, and renewable energy industries that will create hundreds of thousands of jobs, promote energy efficiency, and gradually transition the U.S. economy to greener methods of production. And yet, even his climate plan, arguably Biden’s strongest and most coherent policy proposal, is “not nearly enough,” as Kate Aronoff, author and staff writer for The New Republic, told Democracy Now.

In its current iteration, Biden’s plan leaves out key aspects of the Green New Deal, which he has refused to endorse, that would put us on a course to meet the looming deadline set by scientists to avert climate change's most adverse consequences. As pointed out by journalist Mehdi Hasan on his podcast Deconstructed, Biden’s plan does not eliminate fossil fuel subsidies and tax breaks, which both he and his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris, had pledged to do away with. Furthermore, despite the fact that Biden mentioned Brazil’s rainforests during Tuesday’s debate, and highlighted the vital importance of preserving them, a close look at his plan for Latin America reveals policies favouring corporate interests, including in the resource extraction industry.

On the issue of racial justice, the Biden-Harris ticket is just as bewildering. Biden has put forward fairly progressive plans to tackle systemic racism by reforming the criminal justice system and instituting an economic agenda that advances racial equity. As part of his criminal justice reform plan, Biden vows to do away with mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent crime, decriminalise marijuana, eliminate the death penalty, and abolish the private prison system. But Biden’s decades-long support of “tough on crime” policies as a Senator makes many Americans question his commitment to achieving racial equality; Biden was in fact instrumental in crafting and passing many of the racist criminal justice policies he now claims should be reversed. Biden has repeatedly dodged questions about his sordid record on crime, and has refused to incorporate into his plan crucial criminal justice reforms demanded by a growing number of Americans, such as defunding the police.

Biden did pick Kamala Harris as his running mate, making her the first African American and Indian American woman to be nominated for the vice presidency, but Harris, too, boasts a “tough on crime” record as a prosecutor that alienates many progressive voters.

Crucially, Biden has refused to adopt a “Medicare for all” plan, even in the face of a global pandemic that left millions of Americans uninsured and inflated the number of people without access to healthcare in the country. Biden’s refusal to commit to a plan guaranteeing government-provided health coverage to every American will disproportionately affect racial minorities.

This, however, isn’t merely a Biden issue. The former vice president’s vague and insufficient policy proposals mirror the state of the entire Democratic establishment, which has aligned itself with corporate interest and has been largely deaf to the will and needs of the greater public. Democrats such as Congresswoman Alxandria Ocasio Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders, who try to steer the party in a more progressive and egalitarian direction, are being ostracized by its establishment.

Many Americans, understandably, see in Biden’s bid for the presidency a desperate attempt by the party establishment to preserve a status quo that benefited a privileged few, left a growing number of people bereft and struggling, and primed the stage for a demagogue like Trump to exploit the pain and fear of millions around the country.

For Democrats to gain the trust and enthusiastic support of a greater number of people, major changes would have to be applied to the party’s structure and agenda. Closer attention would have to be paid to the thousands of grassroots movements and community organisations fighting for justice and equality; their leaders would need to have greater representation in government; their demands would have to inform and guide policy makers. It would take a bold determination to, for once, place the welfare and prosperity of the people above the interest of big money and industry.

Call to Action

Help our democracies survive COVID-19