Biden's Character

If I had any doubts left about Biden's character--if he has any--the way Bernie's Joint Resolution and the most recent UN vote played out removed all those doubts. Biden was often very coy when expressing his worry about the innocent Palestinians being killed by Israel in Gaza (and don't forget about the West Bank, which has nothing to do with Hamas). But since the election, his lack of care and total support for genocide is now in full view.

Once again, Biden and his administration went out of their way to insult the opponents of Israel's genocide, accusing them of doind the bidding of Hamas. Biden's White House was alongside AIPAC in lobbying Senators to vote no. This is the same AIPAC which is all in on Trump. Their loyalty is to Netanyahu and not America. It is time for American foreign policy to be based on America's interests (which ought not include supporting a genocide with our words and our treasury).

The US also vetoed another UN resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The slimy part of this is that the US lobbied the writers of the resolution to water down part of the language, and then they vetoed in anyway. Sleezy.

Polling has shown that rank-and-file Democrats have consisitently favored a ceasefire by incredibly large margins, I think 75% and more. Yet two-thirds of the Democratic senators voted against Sanders' resolution. I have never been a big Biden fan, but the year 2024 has been especially bad. Blame it on senility if you want, but he has shown a deficiency in moral character. Very disappointing. Between Biden and his administration, and the Dems, it is high time to rethink the whole structure and leadership of the Democratic Party.

Quickie

It is very bad that Trump has been elected.

Having said that, good fucking riddance to Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, John Kirby, and Joe Biden himself. Thanks to your unflinching support for genocide, all I will ever remember the Biden administration for is how god-awful monstrous you all were for this.

 

 

Some Election Ditties

• Harris/Walz carried Minnesota (Walz's home state) by ~140,000 votes. Amy Klobuchar won her Senate election by ~500,000.

• Seems that campaigning with conservative Republicans (and war criminals) didn't bring on board the suburban white Republican women as intended. They were never going to vote for Harris. Maybe the Dem elites should go after the voters who actually want to vote for them if you just give then a reason to.

• Another suggestion: maybe Dems need a fresh cohort of highly-paid political consultants. The old status quo folks aren't cutting it anymore.

• Harris is trailing Trump by about 4.5 million votes. Did she really think she was goin got fine them from suburban white women by campaigning with Liz Cheney? One of the stupidest things I have ever seen in my years of following politics.

• Trump's 51% of the vote in 2024 represents about 3 million fewer votes that he had in 2020 when he had 47% of the vote. The narrative that he won because of finding lots of new support isn't borne out by this fact. Harris got 13 million fewer votes than Biden did in 2020 (all the votes haven't been counted). Trump won in large part because millions of Biden voters stayed home.

  
  

  
  

Quote of the Day -- November 11, 2024

From Rebecca Solnit's Guardian op-ed today:

The media might be the simplest to describe. A democracy requires an informed citizenry, and the US media over the past eight years in particular created an increasingly misinformed citizenry.

When people are more concerned that a trans girl might play on a softball team than that the climate crisis might profoundly devastate the biosphere and much of life on it, human and otherwise, for the next 10,000 years, the media has failed. When people worry about crime when it is low, an economy when it is thriving and immigrants when they do much of the hard work that sustains that economy and commit fewer crimes than the native-born, the media has failed to reach them.

 

 

More Gaza (and West Bank and Lebanon and...)

Okay, so I have already voted for Kamala.

Having said that, I will also say that I am tired of the lectures from the wide range of folks on the left--including Bernie and The Nation--about how important it is to be "inside the tent" where the Democrats in power will listen to us. So, we are supposed to vote for Harris because then we will be listened to.

If only I had that same optimism. Here's the thing: in 2024 there were people already inside the tent who were telling Biden to stop the genocide. Not only were they ignored; they were time after time accused of antisemitism by spokespersons for the president. So much for that argument. And it has always been so.

So I get it. I voted for Kamala Harris because she will overall be better than Trump. In the Middle East, I am not so sure. The vote scolds tell me that I should vote for Harris and then I will be at the table to influence policy. My experience has always been that those running the party and deciding policy have a different attitude toward the left: knock on doors for us, send us your money, and give us your vote. Then shut the fuck up because we know what's best. (The Democratic Convention was full of Republicans, but no Palestinian Americans.) The powers in the Democratic Party heed the oligarchs. Different oligarchs that the Republicans maybe, but oligarchs nonetheless.

I hope Harris wins the election on Tuesday, but expect little change in foreign policy in general, and Gaza in particular.

Dissenting View

A week or two ago, The Nation magazine published an endorsement of Kamala Harris. In today's online edition The Nation published a dissenting view from its fall interns, entitled "Kamala Harris Does Not Deserve The Nation's Endorsement". It's a pretty bold and compelling piece. I commend The Nation for allowing this to be made public.

A Failed Presidency

I will be among the few people on the left who will rate the totality of the Biden presidency as a failure. All the good things accomplished on the domestic side are totally overshadowed and outweighed by the administration’s unabashed support for Israel’s Gaza genocide, which Israel has now widened into the West Bank, Lebanon, and Yemen. Cabinet members are openly talking about an all-out attack on Iran.

I have to assume that Biden and his War Cabinet never had any intention of pushing a ceasefire in Gaza. The US has a tremendous amount of leverage with Israel and exercised zero amount. As a lame duck, even if he wanted to now, that leverage has expired.

Bibi wants Trump to win the election. AIPAC (which determines American foreign policy vis-a-vis Israel) wants Trump to win. Biden, and now Harris, have done all they can to increase the odds of Trump winning.

I have already voted for Harris. I hope she wins. It’s not looking good. I hope I’m wrong. Joe Biden’s failed presidency hasn’t helped.