The Real Winner Of The 2020 Democratic Primary? Trump.
By: Jenna England
Tags: Politics, Joe Biden, 2020 Presidential Race, Democrats, Bernie Sanders

Image courtesy of Pixabay

The COVID-19 pandemic has swallowed up people’s focus on the Democratic 2020 primary, and understandably so. Voter turnout has been and will continue to be lower in the remaining states, and many polling places are closed because elderly poll-workers don’t want to expose themselves to risk. Even Bernie Sanders responded to a CNN reporter when asked about the future of his campaign: “I’m dealing with a fucking global crisis. You know? We’re dealing with it and you’re asking me these questions.”

But let’s turn our attention back to the primaries for a bit. Joe Biden’s nomination seems all but inevitable. Out of a diverse, progressive, young(ish) group of candidates, an old white male centrist without any bold progressive ideas will most likely win. So regardless of who wins the presidency in 2020, Trump has already won.

I don’t mean to say he will win the presidential election, because I can’t know that yet. I mean he and his regressive ilk have won by limiting our collective scope for what is possible — our ability to dream for an alternative future and positively affirm what we stand for, rather than simply negate what we don’t.

Voter’s calculations seem primarily motivated by fear. We’re afraid a woman can’t win, a person of color can’t win, a socialist can’t win, in this regressive climate we find ourselves in. We’ve sacrificed everything at the altar of electability, believing that electability is defined by being an old, white, straight, male centrist. Even though others have painstakingly documented all of the things that will come back to bite Joe Biden (his support of the Iraq war and the Patriot Act, his role in Anita Hill’s testimony, his support of the 2005 bankruptcy bill, his support of anti-choice policies, and his co-authorship of the disastrous 1994 crime bill, to name a few). His history is full of moments he has betrayed women, people of color, the middle class, and working class people who voted for him and sold them out to corporate interests. Even though he has lost two primary elections before, and centrists like him have lost elections, somehow the electability myth persists.

It’s important to remember:

1. Barack Obama, a middle-aged black man, won in 2008 with progressive rhetoric and platform, including universal healthcare, the closure of Guantanamo, decreasing the influence of corporate lobbies, and increasing energy independence.

2. The party should be more progressive than when Obama won over a decade ago, not less. A lot of progressives (myself included) were disappointed by how centrist Obama’s policies turned out to be.

3. Biden is to the right of Obama on almost every policy position, and at a time when xenophobia, right-wing extremism, and authoritarianism is on the rise, we need someone who understands the threat and will not only counter it, but offer up alternative progressive policies.

What does Biden stand for? No one really seems to know. He has no signature policy (not one that’s widely praised, anyway), no strong through-line of conviction running through his long political career. For most people, their feelings for him function at a symbolic level rather than a fact-based, policy level. Biden represents the return to normalcy in the form of the Obama years.

I’m no stranger to this concept. My mom once told me that she follows the news now during Trump’s administration more than ever before, and how exhausting it is. During the Obama years, she felt safe. She had faith in his competence, and thought to herself, “Obama’s got this, so I don’t have to worry.” When Trump won in 2016, his erratic, petty behavior and lack of experience stole that feeling of security from her. I know a lot of Americans can relate to this. So now many of us just want to return to that feeling of safety.

But we can’t go back. It was wrong for us to be so oblivious and complacent during the Obama years. We needed to hold power to account more. Yes, I know that Obama had to contend with the most obstructionist Senate ever, and that he faced so much racist animosity from the right that many of us felt that he needed our support more than anything else. But he also deported the most people, bailed out banks during the recession instead of individuals, and expanded mass surveillance and the drone program. And most of us despise Trump for doing similar things.

We have to want more than complacency and a sense of the familiar. Was the status quo really so great for those who aren’t wealthy? And what about the climate crisis, which absolutely requires bold action and urgent changes, and cannot continue with the status quo? In times like these, the only way out is to dream more, not less.