Kamala Harris Deserved Better?
Kamala Harris Deserved Better?
Joan Walsh at The Nation Totally Misses the Point
At The Nation, Joan Walsh argues that Kamala Harris deserved better from the American people; apparently, she deserved to win the election just because she’s Kamala and not Trump.
As I wrote back at The Nation:
No, Joan Walsh, Kamala Harris didn't deserve better. The American people did. We merited a candidate not endorsed by the Cheneys. We merited a candidate not complicit in genocide. We merited a candidate committed to helping the working classes while speaking their language. Don't cry for Kamala. Cry for the people most vulnerable to Trump's policies. Policies that could have been prevented by a truly deserving Democratic candidate.
*****
Cornel West is a fine intellectual but a horrible politician. Still, his critique of American politics, which he gave in a recent conversation with Chris Hedges, was spot on.
West said the U.S. system (both Biden and Trump, of course) consists of legalized bribery, normalized corruption, and politicized larceny. That both Harris and Trump represented “business as usual” in DC. That those within the Beltway bubble are obsessed with careers, careers that feature conformity, complacency, and cowardice. That “success” is measured in terms of power and profit, where profit is put over the health of the planet, and where morality and spirituality simply don’t matter.
I doubt any of this will change under Donald Trump. An old friend of mine with extensive experience in business had this to say about Trump: “He’s a terrible businessman who has cheated small businesses and people out of money his entire career (including cheating the government out of tax dollars via a shell company that he and his siblings used to funnel money from their father’s empire to their own pockets). Fuck that guy.”
*****
I noticed this blurb courtesy of FP: Foreign Policy:
The Ukraine aid scramble. More than $6 billion in outstanding U.S. military aid to Ukraine has yet to make its way to the country, but the Biden administration plans to rush that out the door before Trump’s inauguration, two administration officials told Politico. Yet there are challenges to doing so quickly enough, and Trump could still stop shipments once he takes office.
That blurb is a big reason why Biden/Harris lost in 2024. They are—or at least seem to be—much more concerned about rushing (mostly military) aid to Ukraine (more than $6 billion between now and early January) than getting aid to Americans who are suffering. And that military aid is incredibly generous compared to the parsimonious funds offered to Americans.
Readers, what are your reflections this week?
I had an exchange this week with the wife of an old Mennonite classmate of mine. In “mourning,” she forward of Jimmy Kimmel's election response loyal readers here may have seen. My response to her follows:
“…for journalism, for justice, for free speech”!? Ukraine and NATO somehow represent “truth, and Democracy and decency”?! NATO?!?!
Maybe Team Blue should have: 1) listened to the protesters regarding live-streamed genocide; 2) had an actual primary rather than pretend all was well with Biden; 3) once the in-house coup was done, held a contested convention instead of a Kamala coronation; 4) not embraced the Cheneys and other warmongering, security-state swamp creatures; 5) not put profits for the MIC and USA hubris over the lives of Ukrainians and Russians; and 6) put duct tape over Biden, Obama and the Clintons' big mouths.
No administration has done more to expose USA hypocrisy on human rights than Biden/Blinken. The global majority sees this plainly while Blue Team apologists (Heather Cox Richardson leading the pack) pretend they are human rights champions. As for climate change, just look at the destruction from the proxy war and the middle east wasteland. Our bombs and missiles. Optimism is not a strategy, nor, as is now proven, is running against someone rather than offering a clear and concise course of action. At least Jill Stein and Chase Oliver brought integrity to the race. Of course, neither was even given any serious reporting by our hallowed mainstream media.
I can't give Team Blue an ounce of sympathy. Full disclosure: I contend both corrupt, bought-and-paid-for parties are disgusting.
No, Kamala didn't deserve better. The voters deserved better.