“In Springfield, [immigrants] are eating the dogs, the people that came in! They’re eating the cats! They’re eating … they’re eating the pets of the people who live there and this is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame.” — D.T. last night.
Being raised the child of lefty parents, I always had Dodger Blue running through my veins. Back in Brooklyn, they were the team of the working class. The team of Jackie Robinson. I was born a Yankee hater (they were the bourgeoisie). But if the Bronx Bombers were playing a team that carried assault weapons onto the field instead of bats, I would likely root for the Yankees.
(Stay with me here.)
I’m trying to explain metaphorically (I can’t justify it any other way) why we should vote for the Democrats in November, given my anger and disgust with the party’s seemingly unshakable support for Israel, and the party’s takeover by the neocons. If there was some other viable electoral alternative to MAGA fascism, I would take it.
I already have taken it in a way, by supporting the dynamic protest movement on campuses and in the streets, against the war in Gaza. A better alternative, along with voting, is building a movement that continues to dog both parties right up to November 5 and beyond, until we put an end to the genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank. At the same time, I can’t sit at home on election day. It would be like surrendering the hard-won right to vote in defense of democracy and caving into Trump’s call to do away with elections altogether.
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The Cheneys’ endorsement
To clear up any confusion about my view on the Cheneys’ endorsement of Harris/Walz, I wrote this in Monday’s post: I’m not worried about the Cheneys becoming Democrats. I’m more concerned about the Democrats becoming Cheneys.
I can’t call my words prophetic since I uttered them after the fact. After listening to Kamala Harris last night, it’s clear that the Democratic Party is now officially the voice and home of neoconservatism, to the near exclusion of the democratic left. The Democrats are convinced their center-right alliance is unbeatable and that a critical mass of lefties and progressives will fall in line and vote for Harris/Walz in November.
And they are probably right.
Trump called Harris a “Marxist.” That made her (and me) laugh.
I agree that Kamala, in the words of Jon Stewart, “opened up a can of “Ass Kapital” on Trump after hearing him red-bait her. She was perfectly prepped and knew just what buttons to push to drive DT off the rails.
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Harris at her best… was lethal, especially when it came to the topic of abortion and a woman’s right to choose. She shamed Trump and, like a courtroom prosecutor, demolished his lying arguments.
TRUMP: But her vice presidential pick says abortion in the ninth month is absolutely fine. He also says execution after birth, it's execution, no longer abortion because the baby is born, is okay.
LINSEY DAVIS: There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it's born. Madam Vice President, I want to get your response to President Trump.
HARRIS: You want to talk about this is what people wanted? Pregnant women who want to carry a pregnancy to term suffering from a miscarriage, being denied care in an emergency room because the health care providers are afraid they might go to jail and she's bleeding out in a car in the parking lot? She didn't want that. Her husband didn't want that. A 12 or 13-year-old survivor of incest being forced to carry a pregnancy to term? They don't want that. And I pledge to you when Congress passes a bill to put back in place the protections of Roe v. Wade as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law.
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But when it came to laying out her other policy positions, Harris’ pitch sounded more like a neoconservative than a defender of progressive values.
ON ISRAEL: Even while calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and ultimately a “two-state solution, Harris began by dutifully repeating the now-debunked claims about mass rapes by Hamas on October 7th. Then this: I have my entire career and life supported Israel…But the one thing I will assure you always, I will always give Israel the ability to defend itself, in particular as it relates to Iran and any threat that Iran and its proxies pose to Israel.
In other words, the arms shipments will continue, no matter what.
MILITARISM: I believe in… ensuring we have the most lethal fighting force in the world.
THE PROXY WAR IN UKRAINE: And because of our support, because of the air defense, the ammunition, the artillery, the javelins, the Abrams tanks that we have provided, Ukraine stands as an independent and free country.
DRILL BABY, DRILL: I was the tie-breaking vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, which opened new leases for fracking…We have had the largest increase in domestic oil production in history.
NEOCON ENDORSEMENTS: I actually have the endorsement of 200 Republicans who have formerly worked with President Bush, Mitt Romney, and John McCain including the endorsement of former Vice President Dick Cheney and Congressmember Liz Cheney.
Stewart Pukes
By the way, Stewart’s post-debate riff last night on the Cheney endorsement (3.50 on YouTube) had us in stitches.
Stewart tried to move on but then interrupted himself. “I’m sorry, Dick Cheney can you meet me over at Camera 1?” The show then cut to a different angle with Stewart directly addressing Bush’s former VP, to which he delivered an emphatic “F—k off,” barely containing what appeared to be legitimate anger simmering just beneath the surface.
Mike, you gave a case regarding foreign policy, at least as Harris has spelled it out so far. But on domestic matters, especially given her embrace of the UAW and other unions, I find very little that would fit the label 'neoconservative,' especially Cheney-style. You can go here and look it over: https://kamalaharris.com/issues/