Progressive Perspectives On an American Coronation

If you want to save democracy, you’ll vote for the candidate whom we, the party elites, have just installed. We first tried to shoehorn the incumbent into the nomination, but after years of lying to you about his health, we finally had to admit he was a liability and let him go. So now we’re shoehorning another candidate of our choice into the nomination, and it’s being done in such a way that we can completely dispense with an actual fair and democratic primary – along with an open convention. Also, the fact that this new candidate we’ve selected for you was polling in the single digits when she tried to become president in a fairer primary four years ago, is just another reason why we had to rig the primary for her this time around. But don’t think about any of this. Just do as we say, line-up where we tell you to, and then get out there on November 5 and save democracy!

– Unknown
August 5, 2024

[The] Democrats’ recent and rapid shift from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris was a brilliant move not just for her party but for the U.S. capitalist ruling class and system. The dreadful 2024 presidential contest between two narcissistic and decrepit white male brutes was symbolically instructive. It evoked mass dread over the dystopian denouement of a viciously racist, classist, sexist, imperialist, and ecocidal social and political system that had vomited up the sick choice between jelly-brained “Genocide Joe” and the malignant fascist Dona’ “Poisoning Our Blood” Trump. On the “left,” among the more decent and non-fascist parts of the U.S. population, Biden had a way of turning folks beyond that great “coffin of class consciousness” (the late left historian Alan Dawley) that is the Minority Rule, right-tilted U.S. elections system.

When I recently wore a t-shirt bearing the revolutionary slogan “No Fascist Trump, No Genocide Joe, the Whole Damn System’s Gotta Go!” in bright blue Iowa City, numerous folks gave me a thumbs up and engaged with me on . . . well, the system.

The Kamala coronation has changed the situation. It’s not just that the slogan has lost much of its luster with Biden’s stand down. We’ll find new slogans. The real problem is that the Harris candidacy has juiced up the seductive power of the American bourgeois-electoral sirens in ways that are pulling untold masses away from thinking about radical system change and back into the paralyzing quicksand of Howard Zinn’s “election madness” with big notes of spurious identitarian (race, gender, and age) harmony.

. . . Never mind that the former prosecutor Harris is a full-on imperial neoliberal in the ruling class Clinton-Obama-Citigroup mode who rose to power based on a curious California combination: liberal identity politics and the advance of racist mass incarceration in the name of “law and order.” (I will never forget how Harris came to a 2015 “Chicago ideas conference” to openly mock progressives as childish protesters who foolishly wanted to move tax dollars from mass imprisonment to public education – imagine? She chided “the left” for not empathizing with her and her millionaire white husband for having to “put three locks on our door.”) It’s not for nothing that the Bay Area Black Lives movement nicknamed her “Kopmala.”

. . . Besides breathing new life into “the election frenzy,” Harris is an alluring double identitarian (race ala Obama and gender ala Hillary) shame card to deploy against those who dare to oppose the deadly American System. Her race and gender will be used by the bourgeois-democratic wing of the U.S. ruling class and its allies to tar as racist and/or sexist those of us who accurately point out that Harris is herself an agent of imperial genocide and eco-exterminism as well as a longtime leader in racist mass incarceration. Radicals who get it that the “real issue to be faced” beyond “superficial matters” (e.g. the race and/or gender and/or sexual identity/orientation of a political candidate or television personality or women’s basketball star) is “the radical reconstruction of society itself” – to quote Dr. Martin Luther King Jr in his final essay – were accused by Democrats of racism for having the basic decency to point out that Barack “The Empire’s New Clothes” Obama was a ruling class imperialist candidate and president. Radicals who got King’s point were accused by Democrats of sexism for having the decency to point out that Hillary Clinton was a ruling class imperialist candidate. With “Kopmala” Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket, radicals speaking and acting in the spirit of Dr. King’s final essay will be accused by Democrats of racism AND sexism at one and the same time for pointing out that the Democrats’ presidential candidate is a ruling class imperialist candidate.

– Paul Street
Excerpted from “Kamala Harris and the
Maddening Siren of U.S. Electoral Politics”
CounterPunch
July 26, 2024

Kamala Harris the horrible campaigner and Kamala Harris the cop can be easy to forget if you’re only considering what Harris has done lately. Her tenure as vice president has been almost entirely unremarkable. The most distinguishing feature has been a series of bizarre but benign word salads. And political memory is short.

So Harris isn’t the best orator? Surely that’s surmountable. Besides, the lack of distinguishing actions during her vice presidency could even be to her advantage. She’s basically a blank slate, at least if you don’t look back too far.

But what if you do look back?

The first thing you’ll see is Harris’ shambolic 2020 campaign for president. She wouldn’t commit to policy positions. She couldn’t defend her past actions. There were ongoing stories about her poor treatment of her staff. She entered the race as a top-tier candidate, with glowing press and some big-time backers, and dropped out two months before the Iowa caucuses, polling at just 3 percent nationally. She wasn’t even polling as a top-tier candidate in her home state of California.

It was impossible in that campaign to ascertain what Harris stood for. This wasn’t just a case of national campaigning jitters. One major thread in Harris’ career – including during her days as district attorney of San Francisco and attorney general of California – has been flip-flopping on issues to suit the audience or the political moment.

This may have worked as a short-term strategy. But it left a long-term impression of her as rudderless and ruthless – a phony.

– Elizabeth Nolan Brown
Excerpted from “It’s Been Easy To Forget
How Bad Kamala Harris Is”
Reason
July 21, 2024

If Democratic leaders unite and pretend that someone, likely Kamala Harris, is now the anointed leader, then [. . .] the Democratic Party would march backward. They would be doing precisely what got them in trouble in the first place, saying, "We’re going to pick the leader and make you vote for them!"

How can anyone not see the value of having the delegates [at an open convention] pick the strongest candidate in front of our own eyes.

What if it’s a mess, you ask? So what? What kind of mess? The kind where we disagree with each other about some policies? And how is that a bad thing? That sounds like democracy to me. In the meanwhile, the whole country is talking about Democratic policies – and young, up and coming, Democratic politicians. Billions in free media for those, too.

Are we really going to give all this up so that someone else can be anointed? Have we learned nothing form this debacle? Blindly following authority figures in the Democratic Party doesn’t have a great track record of success. They haven’t been able to solve Donald Trump, for Christ’s sake. These are not the rocket scientists you thought they were.

Time for a fuller democracy, where the voters weigh in through a primary, has unfortunately passed. So, the delegates selecting the new candidate is the most democratic option we have left. At this point, if we are going to make the case for democracy in the general election, it’s about time we prove we believe in it.

– Cenk Uygur
Excerpted from “Want to Really Defend Democracy?
Don’t Anoint Kamala – Open the Convention”
Newsweek
July 22, 2024

At first glance, Kamala Harris may seem an unlikely savior of democracy. As a career prosecutor, including stints as the district attorney of San Francisco and the attorney general of California, she specialized in sending people to jail and prison, adding to the nation’s crisis of mass incarceration. As a senator and failed 2020 presidential candidate, she was often accused of opportunism. As vice president, she operated largely out of public view for three years, and was saddled with disapproval ratings that rivaled and sometimes exceeded those of President Joe Biden. But if the study of the past teaches us anything, it is that history is often driven by unlikely heroes who rose to the occasion in an hour of dire need. . . . To win, Harris will have to do more than highlight Trump’s negatives or promote herself as a seasoned prosecutor capable of standing up to her opponent. The “cop versus con” slogan that has emerged in the early going is catchy but insufficient. A successful campaign will require the formulation of a forward-looking positive agenda.

– Bill Blum
Excerpted from “Can Kamala Harris
Be the Unlikeliest of Heroes?”
TruthDig via Common Dreams
July 3, 2024

From the toxicity of our food supply to the dangerousness of our agricultural methods, from rising hunger to diminished opportunities among our young, from corporate capture of our government to the militarism and economic imperialism of our foreign policy, every candidate should feel the need to respond to the list of moral crises in our midst.

Anything someone gets away with not talking about as a candidate, they’ll feel no need to act on when they are president.

– Marianne Williamson
via Facebook
August 3, 2024

[Potential Vice President pick] Josh Shapiro challenges democratic practices. He doesn’t believe in free speech. He has warned state employees here in Pennsylvania about how they respond to the genocide in Gaza, questioning their behavior, policing their behavior. He very clearly supports Zionism – political Zionism. He very clearly supports the genocidal war in Gaza. He’s been actively and vocally supportive of Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7th and prior.

We can also get into school vouchers. We can get into climate justice. In every conceivable way, Josh Shapiro is not a progressive candidate. And it would be very frustrating to see [Kamala Harris] make that choice.

But in some ways, it would make our political reality much more clear. People right now are trying to project a green screen onto Kamala Harris, the same way they did to Barack Obama, meaning they want to project their radical ideologies and their progressive ideologies and imagination onto her. That’s not who she is. She very clearly supports AIPAC. She very clearly is a liberal, but certainly not a progressive or a radical. So, what Josh Shapiro as a choice would do is it will remind us of what we’re dealing with. If you’re voting for Kamala Harris, it’s not because you’re getting a radical or even a progressive. You’re voting for her because you want to keep Trump out of the White House. You can make your own political decisions about what that means, but we need to be very clear about what we’re getting and about what we’re not getting. But if you were somebody who was not voting for Biden because of him underwriting this vicious war in Gaza, then there’s absolutely no way you could justify voting for Kamala Harris if she chooses Josh Shapiro. And the two of them – it’s not just Shapiro – the two of them are just as supportive of this war machine as every other mainstream corporate Democrat.

– Marc Lamont Hill
Excerpted from “Picking Shapiro as VP
Would Remind Voters That Kamala Harris
Is Liberal, Not Progressive”
Democracy Now!
August 2, 2024

Kamala Harris is dangerous in the exact same way that Barack Obama was dangerous, in so far as he put a Black face on a fundamentally corporate agenda. The Democratic Party’s strategy for so many years has become increasingly anti-labor and aligned with the same interest groups that have historically funded the Republican Party. And the way [the Democratic Party] distinguishes itself [in all of this] is through identity politics.

– Briahna Joy Gray
Excerpted from “Abandon Kamala:
Why Gaza Could Cost Democrats the Election”
BreakThrough News
July 290, 2024

The stakes of the 2024 election cannot be overstated. Trump’s potential return to the White House is widely viewed as an existential threat to liberal democracy. His previous term was marked by attempts to undermine democratic institutions, a disregard for the rule of law, and the emboldening of far-right extremism. The prospect of a second Trump term, potentially unconstrained by reelection concerns, sends shivers down the spines of many Americans, regardless of their position on the political spectrum.

Given these high stakes, the impulse to rally behind any Democratic nominee might seem natural. However, such unconditional support could prove counterproductive and potentially damaging to the long-term promotion of a genuine progressive agenda. To understand this perspective, it’s essential to examine the delicate balance of power within the Democratic Party and the role that progressive pressure has played in recent years.

The Biden administration’s most celebrated achievements – from ambitious climate initiatives to student debt relief to massive infrastructure investment – owe much to the persistent pressure exerted by progressive forces both inside and outside the government. The creation of a strong progressive voting bloc, coupled with grassroots movements and the strategic positioning of left-wing officials in key roles, has been instrumental in pushing the Democratic agenda leftward. These victories were not gifts bestowed by a benevolent party establishment but hard-won concessions extracted through sustained activism and political maneuvering.

The obvious fear among progressives is that without this constant pressure, the Democratic Party will inevitably gravitate back toward its corporate-friendly, centrist tendencies. Historically, the Democratic Party has maintained close ties with corporate interests and the military-industrial complex. While the party has made strides in recent years to address issues like income inequality and universal healthcare, these efforts often fall far short of the transformative changes needed to address systemic problems.

The influence of wealthy donors and corporate lobbyists remains a significant concern for progressives. As Sen. Bernie Sanders has long pointed out, the replacement of Biden as the nominee could potentially open the floodgates for even greater donor influence over the party’s agenda. This fear is not unfounded, as evidenced by growing pressures from certain donors to replace Lina Khan, the current head of the Federal Trade Commission, who has been a leading figure in challenging big tech monopolies.

Vice President Harris’ political evolution provides a case study in the tensions between progressive ideals and mainstream Democratic politics. As a presidential candidate in 2020, Harris embraced several progressive positions, including banning fracking and significant police reform. However, as she transitions into her role as the presumptive nominee, there are signs of a shift toward more centrist stances. Harris has begun to distance herself from some of her previous progressive positions in order to “bolster a more moderate image.” This rightward drift is seen by many as an attempt to court moderate voters and assuage the concerns of corporate donors.

The reluctance of some progressives to offer immediate, unconditional endorsement to Harris is not merely about ideological purity. It’s a calculated strategy aimed at shaping the Democratic platform and ensuring that progressive priorities remain at the forefront of the party’s agenda. By making their support conditional on commitments to key progressive policies, leftist leaders hope to prevent a wholesale abandonment of the transformative vision that has energized millions of voters, particularly young people.

This approach serves several strategic purposes. By withholding immediate endorsement, progressives retain bargaining power to influence the party platform and Harris’ campaign promises. A vigorous debate within the party can actually serve to engage and motivate progressive voters, rather than suppressing turnout through a perception that their concerns are being ignored. Conditional support encourages specific, measurable policy commitments rather than vague platitudes. Moreover, by clearly articulating their expectations now, progressives lay the groundwork for holding a potential Harris administration accountable after the election.

While the threat posed by a potential Trump presidency is real and significant, offering unconditional support to any Democratic nominee carries its own set of risks. Without pressure from the left, there’s a danger that the Democratic platform could shift even further to the center, abandoning key progressive priorities. Young and progressive voters, who have been crucial to recent Democratic victories, may become disillusioned if they perceive that their concerns are being sidelined. The transition period presents a unique opportunity to push for party reforms and policy commitments, and immediate, unconditional endorsement would squander this chance. Once full endorsement is given, progressives lose much of their leverage to influence the direction of the campaign and potential administration.

– Peter Bloom
Excerpted from “Why the Left Must Resist
Unconditionally Backing Harris”
Common Dreams
August 4, 2024

Related Off-site Links:
Is This the End of the American Empire? – Chris Hedges (Real Talk via YouTube, August 5, 2024).
Trump And Harris Neck and Neck, New Polling Shows; Will They Debate? – Rising via YouTube (August 5, 2024).
Democrats Should Run on a Progressive Economic Agenda. Americans Are Ready – Bernie Sanders (The Guardian, August 5, 2024).
Progressives and Working-Class Advocates Push Tim Walz for VP – Edward Carver (Common Dreams, August 2, 2024).
Kshama Sawant Blasts Progressives and Labor for Supporting Kamala Harris – Status Coup News via YouTube (August 1, 2024).
Progressives Warn Against Josh Shapiro as Kamala Harris Nears VP Choice – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, August 1, 2024).
Kamala Harris Says She Was a Progressive Prosecutor. Her Record Tells Another Story – Democracy Now! (July 28, 2019).
Kamala Harris Hopes You’ll Forget Her Record as a Drug Warrior and Draconian Prosecutor – ReasonTV (January 31, 2019).


UPDATES: It’s Official: Kamala Harris Becomes Democrats’ 2024 Presidential Nominee – NPR News (August 6, 2024).
Kamala Harris Taps Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as Democratic Running Mate – Dana Ferguson (MPR News, August 6, 2024).
The Heartening and Progressive Choice of Tim Walz – Jeffrey C. Isaac (Common Dreams, August 7, 2024).
America’s Politics Are Changing: How Tim Walz VP Pick Highlights Support for His Progressive Stances – Democracy Now! (August 7, 2024).
Disgust at DNC “Leftists” Who Feigned Anger Over Gaza and Now Don’t Care – Glenn Greenwald (System Update via YouTube, August 7, 2024).
“Uncommitted” Leaders to Harris: “Voters Need to See You Turn a New Page on Gaza” – Julia Conley (Common Dreams, August 8, 2024).
On War and Peace, Can Harris and Walz Promise More Than Lesser-Evilism? – Robert C. Koehler (Common Dreams, August 8, 2024).
How Gov. Tim Walz Failed the Indigenous-led Movement to Stop the Line 3 Pipeline – Mandy Medley and Erik Wallenberg (CounterPunch, August 9, 2024).
Harris-Walz’s Good Vibes Aren’t Enough – David Sirota (Jacobin, August 10, 2024).
Wall to Walz Distraction – David Swanson (Let’s Try Democracy, August 11, 2024).
Kamala Harris is an Accomplice to Gaza Genocide Says “Abandon Biden” Co-chair and Palestinian-American Farah Khan – Status Coup via YouTube (August 10, 2024).
Palestinians Won’t Vote for Kamala’s Crocodile Tears, “Can’t Get Worse Than Genocide” – Status Coup via YouTube (August 11, 2024).
Kamala Harris and the Misalignment with Black Voter Expectations – ElleBeah LB (ElleBeah’s Substack, August 14, 2024).
Journalists Defend Kamala Harris’s Lack of Interviews – Glenn Greenwald (System Update, August 15, 2024).
Kamala Harris Fully Supports Arming Israel, No Different Than Biden – The Electronic Intifada via YouTube (August 16, 2024).
Democracy Despises a Coronation – Hamiliton Nolan (In These Times, August 15, 2024).


See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Memes of the Times
• John Cusack: Quote of the Day – July 26, 2024
• Marianne Williamson: “‘Vote Blue No Matter Who’ Is Not Enough to Win in November”
• On This Momentous Day in U.S. Politics, a Visit to the Prayer Tree
• Yes, Just Imagine
• Progressive Perspectives on the Crisis in U.S. Electoral Politics
• Will We Let Fascism Come to America?
• Marianne Williamson on What Democrats Need to Do to Inspire Voters and Counter the “Hotbed of Grievances That Donald Trump is Offering”
• “The Absolute Gall”
• Progressive Perspectives on the Biden-Harris Ticket (2020)

Opening image: Artist unknown.