You have six months to understand that without our slice of the electorate, you lose.
By Tom Crofton
Commoner Call (4/20/20)
So come and get me
As a conscientious voter who started this election cycle with clear standards of whom to support, I am left with no one from the blue side who meets my criteria. As 20 some candidates threw in their hats, I said a massive program to address climate change ( the Green New Deal) and single payer health care with no private insurance (Medicare for All) were the cleavers to divide the field. The early debate stages were split somewhat evenly between those who had at least one of my requirements and those who had none.
The underlying reason for picking these two issues is that they form a path to a sustainable political/economic system that could bring about peace and prosperity for all. I ran for state Assembly in 2008 on a hybrid health plan called Healthy Wisconsin that was far better than the ACA we were delivered, by those hoping to keep the private insurance industry breathing. I also ran on sustainable economic development, emphasizing local renewable energy to make rural America fossil fuel free and to double local economies (a major piece of the GND). The need for a huge
Now our last advocate has dropped out. The last man standing will veto single payer, and thinks 2050 is soon enough to fix the climate. Say it ain’t so, Joe. I’ll tell you what is so. I don’t owe you my vote.
military to protect fossil fuel extraction and transportation vanishes in this type of scenario. Those massive savings in dollars could build a new infrastructure in our country and start the transition to fossil-free transportation and manufacturing. The suffering of working people who avoid preventive care and early treatment due to high out-of-pocket costs vanishes in a transition to universal health care and the resulting savings also double local economic activity.
On those early debate stages the advocates for these issues folded one after another in favor of industry lobbyist positions, and the corporate media’s framing questions with republican talking points. My favorite was Kamala Harris advocating no-insurance health care one night, to a correction the next day, of offering up the idea of privatizing Medicare within the week; a 180-degree switcheroo in a few days. She cleaved herself off my list. Populist champion Elizabeth Warren went from being stupidly coy about how to pay for her plan to inventing a “make the rich pay for it” plan that avoided the simple statement “your tax will be half of your current premium and co-pays”.
Green New Deal champions were never given the opportunity to lay out the dire urgency of action needed or the benefits of their plans.
Say it ain’t so, Joe
Now our last advocate has dropped out. The last man standing will veto single payer, and thinks 2050 is soon enough to fix the climate. Say it ain’t so, Joe. I’ll tell you what is so. I don’t owe you my vote. I am working to create a new party that evolves from a growing movement to address issues first, and has a goal peace and prosperity for all. American exceptionalism is based on ignorance, xenophobia and greed. There are sufficient resources on this planet for everyone to live vibrant, healthy lives and we can stop the destruction of a million species in the process. Out of the many progressive issue-based groups, the movement for a People’s Party is growing. An online, alternative media is expanding and a coalition of young enthusiastic activists are choosing a different path for their future.
Those of us who have been fighting these battles for decades have a chance to jump aboard and help get this train rolling. We do not have 30 more years to address climate change. We cannot afford to support rip-off insurance/health/pharma/ fossil fuel/ military/industrial complexes who buy up our leaders with a small slice of their profits.
So Joe, if you want my vote, come to me. I’m clear on my cleaver, you have six months to understand that without our slice of the electorate, you lose. Presently, many of your positions are in step with the orange-haired monster. So, what does that make you?
- Journalist Glenn Greenwald On Noam Chomsky Favoring Biden Over Trump & Voting for Lesser of Two Evils: Link To 10-Minute Video
(Commoner Call cartoon by Mark L. Taylor, 2020. Open source and free for non-derivative use with link toe www.thecommonercall.org )
