Let’s not be naive about American politics. The truth is the Democrats are as self-interested and calculating as the Republicans are. The difference, however, must be said. While the Democrats are as partisan as the Republicans are, their partisanship runs more or less in the direction of democracy and its first and second principles, which are equality and freedom, in that order. If a political party gets what it wants in the pursuit of delivering something most people want most of the time, then so be it. That’s not a cynical observation. Instead, it’s an observation of a healthy republic.
The same cannot be said of the Republicans. Their interests do not run in the direction of democracy, especially not equality. Freedom is important, but by that, they mean the freedom of the dynastic and monied few to flex power over the many. Democracy is not an objective, because it and its first principle give power, rights and privilege to people who contemporary Republicans do not believe deserve them. Consider the meaning of “special interests.” For the Republicans, it’s the rich, businesses and corporations, almost always. For the Democrats, it’s Black people, LGBTQ, teachers, labor, etc. Both parties are partisan. But only one of them is partisan in the service of most people.
If a party gets what it wants in the pursuit of delivering something most people want most of the time, so be it.
There’s nothing morally wrong with being the party of corporate interests. There’s nothing wrong, for that matter, with viewing politics as the preserve of the few, not the many. (Democracy does contain multitudes, after all.) What’s wrong is lying about it. What’s wrong is treating the opposition as if it does not have a legitimate claim. What’s wrong is setting off a conflagration of white-power fury that consumes nearly everything, even the republic itself, in order to slake a thirst for power. The day Joe Biden decided to run for president was the day this white-power fury burned through Charlottesville, screaming, “Jews will not replace us.” That day, according to published reports, is the day Biden chose to fight to “restore the soul of America.” Continue reading.