What Democrats Really Are
See the dude in green? He’s a member of the Washington Generals. If you don’t know, the Generals’ main function is to serve as stooge-like foils for the Harlem Globetrotters, one of the most acrobatic and exciting basketball teams around. Since 1952, the Generals have beat the Globetrotters exactly three times, according to the Generals’ own website, the last one coming in 1971. That gives them an overall record of three wins and more than 17,000 losses. Just astoundingly bad. You’d think they’d replace the Generals at some point with people who could play better. Except. Their role isn’t to function as an actual opponent. Their role is to give the appearance of competition. And that’s exactly what the Democrats are for Republicans.
I wish I could find the clip so I could give credit to whoever came up with this brilliant analogy. I heard it one-day, several years back, either on the radio or a podcast, and it was one of the Young Turks who said it. Listening to him, it was like the heavens parted and sunlight shone through for the first time. His theory, in essence, was the primary function of the Democratic party for the past 40-50 years has been to act as an easily defeated foe for Republicans, all to preserve the illusion of choice and competition.
If the Globetrotters just showed up at an arena and did their tricks and dunks, it wouldn’t be very entertaining. There isn’t anything all that special seeing guys who can dunk and dribble in an empty gym. Social media is filled with it. But doing that amazing stuff against competitors? It makes their athleticism and skills seem even more impressive and it gives the audience a good show. We can root for one side or the other and engage in the “idea” of a match, even though most people know the Trotters are going home champs.
As more and more money is poured into the American political system, accelerated by the Citizens United decision from a few years ago, it became easier for corporations and other monied interests to secure their political will. How? Pretty simple, and Trump has actually talked about this at length, one of the few times he was accidentally honest. You donate money to BOTH SIDES. Why buy one vote on one side of the aisle when you can buy all of them on both? Do you think the NRA grew to be as powerful and influential as they are (were?) without the support of Democrats? Do you think when the Affordable Care Act was being written that we were denied a public option and negotiated drug prices because the Democrats (who held power at the time) couldn’t muster the political will to make it happen? No. Drug manufacturers and health insurance companies (two big Democratic donors) made a few calls and suddenly, both of those options were off the table. Funny how that worked out.
Republicans do not play around. They can’t afford to. They know and have been shown by both the Tea Party and the newer MAGA movements that if they do not deliver what their constituents want, they will be primaried by someone who will. Even if the idea is crazy, like Q-Anon. Say what you will about the GOP but they get results. When they want to block gun legislature, they do. When they want to stop people from voting, they do. And when they want to install a new SCOTUS Justice before the body of RGB is even cold, they do.
I had such high hopes for Obama. Here, I thought, was a dude who got it. He knew what we were up against, in terms of climate change, healthcare, the failing drug war, and the prison industrial complex. I figured he’d at least accomplish something on those points. And I guess, to some degree, he did. The Paris Accords, while well-intentioned, were not nearly strong enough and mostly acted as a symbolic gesture. People continued to be locked up for minor drug offenses. Prison populations grew. And all we got for healthcare was the (controversial opinion alert) unconstitutional ACA.
Yeah, I said it. While I agree with the idea that for a national healthcare program to work, everyone must participate in it, I am loathed to support legislation that forces citizens to purchase a private product or face higher taxes. That’s a dangerous precedent to set. I’m also not a fan of the ACA because I think, and history has born this out, that it was actually a step AWAY from having a true universal payer system. Instead of kicking out the middlemen, we ended up giving them more power. It also set Democrats up for years of fights and costly litigation in the courts. Plus, it gave Republicans something to crow about. Score another one for the ‘Trotters.
In my life, I have seen the Democrats do the “right thing” more than I’ve seen them do the thing we WANT them to do. It’s almost like they’re too polite to make waves or get their knuckles dirty. Or it could be that they’re paid to throw up their hands and say “sorry guys, we tried! But you know these Globetrotters are just too much!”
That isn’t to say progress hasn’t been made. It has. And the millions of people who have insurance and aren’t denied coverage for pre-existing conditions, something the Trump administration is actually trying to remove (contrary to their public lies otherwise), are probably very grateful for the ACA’s passage. But since when do we accept “good enough”? Why have Democrats been willing to accept table scraps while the GOP hogs all the power?
Money, plain and simple.
There’s this notion that Democrats govern in a responsible, adult way. They play by the rules and want to be as inclusive as possible. They so desperately fear alienating or losing whatever support they have so they constantly try to cling to the middle, knowing that the more progressive parts of the party will go along for the ride because, hey, it’s better than the alternative. They’re like a failing restaurant on Kitchen Nightmares that won’t change it’s crappy menu because they’re afraid of losing the six customers they have. Meanwhile, they’re going bankrupt. And so while we’ve seen Republicans embrace their most wild and radicalized people within their party, the Democrats have generally steered clear of them. Sure, we’ve got a couple of firebrands like Bernie, AOC, and Ed Markey. But by and large, the Democratic party is happy just to be here.
We can change this. It will require work and the courage to risk a little bit of power now for long-term gains. The first thing we have to do (if you really want a progressive government) is to support candidates who are ACTUALLY progressive! People like AOC who speak so eloquently and easily about progressive ideas and how we can really accomplish things. Nothing against Low-Energy Joe, but he isn’t exactly what we’re talking about. Oh sure, he’s better than the alternative and everyone should vote for him because, my god, what will Trump do with even more power and less oversight? And Biden did move a little to the left in some areas of his policies. But they are far from progressive. It’s the usual bland mix of Democratic middle-of-the-roadism. And without the power of Congress to help pass laws and maybe even an Amendment or ten, none of this changes.
It starts with us. We have to support people who don’t take corporate money in exchange for their votes. And yes, both sides do this rampantly. We have to have the courage to support these people even if costs us an election or two. Change doesn’t happen overnight. We have to normalize these ideas (which are only radical in the US and not controversial in the least overseas) so the masses become used to them. Bernie has helped do this more than probably anyone. But he’s like 100 and he’s just one man from Vermont. We need a lot more. We can’t stop there though.
Democrats have been bringing pens to a gunfight for decades. While most progressives see government as a balance between ideas, a place for compromise, the GOP views it as a winner-take-all, zero-sum game. It’s time for the Democrats to start playing the Globetrotters game and posterize some of these creeps. We need to be willing to bend the rules, or break them if necessary, to get what we want from our government. The time for talk and compromise passed us long ago. We can do this guilt-free because it was the GOP that changed the game. Mitch McConnell has more than 400 bills currently sitting on his desk in the Senate. And he refuses to bring ANY of them to the floor for debate, let alone a vote. And this is supposed to be governing? By doing nothing?
It’s absurd.
If the party we’re supposed to govern with refuses to govern, then it is upon us to make stuff happen. Get rid of the filibuster. Pack the court with justices. Do whatever we can to get what we want and get as much of it as possible. The majority of Americans are progressive. Only one Republican has won the popular vote in the last 30 years. Why do we keep letting the unpopular losers make our laws?
If the new standard for norms is going to be “you would do it” then I say we go hardcore over the next two years, if we somehow get progressive candidates elected and get the orange rat out of the White House. Let’s show Americans how great this country can really be when we have the courage to stand up for our ideals and fight like our lives depend on it.