Aging Capriciously

This years election is going to force people to decide between the lesser of two evils.  Trump is undoubtedly the winner in being the most evil person to ever run for president in the USA.  His former Chief of Staff said that Trump was the most vile man he had ever met.  Kelly declared:

“A person that thinks those who defend their country in uniform, or are shot down or seriously wounded in combat, or spend years being tortured as POWs are all ‘suckers’ because ‘there is nothing in it for them.’  A person that did not want to be seen in the presence of military amputees because ‘it doesn’t look good for me.’  A person who demonstrated open contempt for a Gold Star family—for all Gold Star families—on TV during the 2016 campaign, and rants that our most precious heroes who gave their lives in America’s defense are ‘losers’ and wouldn’t visit their graves in France.”  — The New Republic, Oct 2023

Running against a man who would further erode what democracy we have left in this country is a coward who is afraid to take on Netanyahu and his US lobbies.  Bernie Sanders had the courage to say that he would not give Israel one nickel for defense until a permanent cease fire was declared. 

“I will be damned if I’m going to give another nickel to the Netanyahu government in order to continue this war against the Palestinian people.”  — February 13, 2024, by John Nichols; The Nation

Just yesterday, Biden said that “There would be no red line for Israel.”  He takes this cowardly position even in the face of a horrible death toll and as Israel prepares another major offensive designed to kill as many Palestinians as they can in Southern Gaza.  Then Netanyahu spits in Bidens face and says that “Victory is close.”  The Israel Defense Force won’t be “getting off the gas” and eliminating Hamas in Rafah is a “prerequisite for victory.”  — NY Post, March 11, 2024

Let me add that not only do I hold Biden complicit in the genocide going on in Gaza but also for the number of soldiers killed in the Ukrainian War with Russia.  This war could have been prevented by pursuing more diplomacy with Russia.  Instead, we have a sitting President who is still dumb enough to be spouting the Domino Theory of Communism.  He tells us that if Russia defeats the Ukraine they will soon be after Europe and then America.  I had thought only fools still believed this theory, but Biden spouted it in his SOTU speech the other night.

One empirical study on the validity of the Domino Theory was done in 2009.  Using spatial econometrics and panel data that cover over 130 countries between 1850 and 2000, Peter T. Leeson and Andrea M. Dean empirically investigated the democratic domino theory.  They found the following:

“We find that democratic dominoes do in fact fall as the theory contends.  However, these dominoes fall significantly “lighter” than the importance of this model suggests. Countries “catch” only about 11% of the increases or decreases in their average geographic neighbors’ increases or decreases in democracy.  This finding has potentially important foreign policy implications.  The “lightness” with which democratic dominoes fall suggests that even if foreign military intervention aimed at promoting democracy in undemocratic countries succeeds in democratizing these nations, intervention is likely to have only a small effect on democracy in their broader regions.”  — “The Democratic Domino Theory: An Empirical Investigation” by Peter T. Leeson and Andrea M. Dean,  American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 53, No. 3 (Jul., 2009), pp. 533-551

Keep in mind that this is only one study, however politicians routinely use this theory to justify intrusions and violations of other country sovereignty all over the world.  The real truth is not a fear of communism but a fear that our capitalistic hegemony over the world will be put at risk.  But I am divulging from the main issue.  Do I vote for Biden who exemplifies the policy of continuing never-ending wars or Trump who will attack minorities, attack immigrants, attack women, attack veterans, attack disabled, attack people of other gender identities and attack every institution of democracy left in America?

Clearly Biden is the lesser of two evils.  But I will not vote for Biden.  I certainly will not vote for Trump even if my soul depended upon it.  I will vote for one of the independents who I admire.  So, say it now “You are going to throw your vote away.  A vote for anyone else but Biden is a vote for Trump.  Independents have no chance of winning and will only take votes away from Biden.  Do you want Trump to win?”  Eight years ago, I made this same argument against supporting Sanders rather than Hillary.  My arguments for Hillary became so aggressive that I lost several friends before the election.  People who have never talked to me since the election.  And who won?  Trump!  Trump won and I lost.  I lost on three counts.

1. I lost the chance that Sanders might have beaten Trump
2. I lost friends
3. I lost my integrity by voting for someone I did not really like.   

Ironically by not voting for Biden this year, I may lose more friends.  Almost everyone I admire seems to have decided to go with the “lesser of two evils” argument.  Is there merit to this argument?  Can we really predict the future based on it?  Is it any more valid then the Domino Theory?  Here is another opinion besides my own with some reasons why this argument should lose its validity.

The “lesser of two evils” argument has been a mainstay of Democratic election strategy since 2016. The formula is clear: 1) Throw overwhelming institutional support at an often unpopular and watered-down candidate.  2) Tell primary voters not to actually vote for their desired candidate because they are “unelectable.” 3) After forcing through a politician that many voters did not want, tell voters to be a good citizen and choose the “lesser of two evils” in the general election.  This strategy is unsustainable, ineffective, and sabotaging the core of our democracy.

In 2020, voters accepted this premise.  “Unprecedented” times called for “unprecedented” measures, so people swallowed their tongues and checked their ballots.  This is how the Democratic party garnered record-breaking voter turnout for an aggressively mediocre candidate.  According to Forbes, 56% of voters in 2020 admitted to voting for Biden because he was “not Trump.”  The Democratic PACs (political action committees) leaned into this message, spending heavily on “anti-Trump” ads.

But this coming election is different.  Not only are Biden and Harris particularly unpopular, but voters are also beginning to understand that you can’t call the times “unprecedented” forever.  At some point, we enter into a new normal.   And with the rising stars of the Republican party, like Ron Desantis — whose platform and policies prove just as Trump-y as Trump himself — it is becoming evident that the DNC, if allowed, will make this pitch indefinitely.

The 2016 election was a trial run of this method for the Democratic party — they were testing the waters to see how far they could push the party’s base without facing repercussions.  Minor changes did take place following the election, like stripping some power from superdelegates to appease the outraged progressive faction of the party.  Still, when faced with lawsuits from Democratic voters, claiming that the 2016 primary was unjust, DNC lawyers tried to cling to their ability to choose the Democratic candidate behind closed doors without input from voters.  They argued that “the words ‘impartial’ and ‘even handed’ — as used in the DNC Charter — can’t be interpreted by a court of law.”  This laid the groundwork for the growing unabashed bias toward specific candidates that emerged first in 2020 and is now resurfacing for 2024.

In this primary, the Democratic party has become more aggressive than ever in pre-selecting the candidate for voters. For example, they are infamously attempting to shift primary dates to benefit Biden’s campaign and give him a stronger start in the primaries.  And despite the few challengers that are running collectively taking around 30% of the vote, the Democratic party is adamantly refusing to host a debate.

While in past primary elections, the Democratic Party maintained some semblance of plausible deniability when supporting candidates, in this election it is clear that the DNC is unequivocally backing Biden.

Voters are villainized for being apathetic toward a candidate that they did not even choose.  In 2016, op-eds stating “you do have an obligation to vote for the lesser of two evils” were plastered across major news outlets.   In 2020, Biden controversially quipped, “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t Black” while being questioned on a popular radio show.  In 2024, we are seeing a similar strategy play out again.

DNC Chair Jaime Harrison recently scolded Democratic challengers and third-party candidates, saying, “This is not the time to [sic] experiment.  This is not the time to play around on the margins … we got to re-elect Joe Biden.  We have to re-elect Kamala Harris.”  — Rhea Karty: The Lesser of Two Evils Argument Needs To Die, The Dartmouth, August 2, 2023

A poll taken back in January of this year gave the following results:

“Seventy percent of respondents – including about half of Democrats – agreed with a statement that Biden should not seek re-election.  Fifty-six percent of people responding to the poll said Trump should not run, including about a third of Republicans.” — Trump vs. Biden: The rematch many Americans don’t want, by Jason Lange, January 25, 2024

I am going to join the ranks of those who are sick and tired of having to choose between “The lesser of Two Evils”.  A choice where I was not given any real say in the making of.  In the words of Patrick Henry,

“For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate.  It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth and fulfil the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country.  Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offence, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.” — St. John’s Church, Richmond, Virginia, March 23, 1775

So, there you have it my friends.  I am not going to allow the Democratic Party to keep running their game on me.  If Biden loses, we may forfeit any democracy we have left in this country.  However, if Biden wins, the Democratic Party will continue their support of unpopular wars and the propensity to elect people not popular with the majority of voters.  I have heard many people say that they do not want either man.  Yet here we are folks.  Both sides feeling like they are choosing between the lesser of two evils.

I have made my choice.  Choose now for yourself.