WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?

Valentine's Day and the trajectory of the Democratic party

(Photo by MANDEL NGAN / POOL / AFP) 

This Valentine’s Day I’m thinking about more than personal love. I’m thinking about love for humanity. And you can’t think about that without getting into politics…

If the Democrats lose in 2024 it will be because of one essential reason, and it is not President Biden‘s age or state of cognitive ability. It will be because Democrats forgot what it means to be Democrats.

Somewhere along the line, the party abandoned its most soulful principles, selling out to big boy donors so we could compete with Republicans. The moral raison d’etre of the Democratic Party is the unequivocal advocacy for the working people of the United States and at a certain point, particularly in the age of vulture capitalism, you cannot have it both ways.

This is not a question of messaging, it’s a question of policy. It’s not a question of who we run, it’s a question of what we stand for. If the Democratic Party continues to leak its principles, it will lose more than the White House in 2024. The faux geniuses now running the Party are running it into the ground.

Even now, with the threat of actual fascism breathing down our neck, they still will not budge. They will not give an inch.  They refuse to offer a genuine alternative to the soullessness of corporatism. No universal healthcare. No tuition free college or tech school. No subsidized childcare. No guaranteed sick pay. No guaranteed living wage. No standing up to the war machine. No questioning the war on drugs. And please don’t tell me, “Oh but Marianne, they tried.”

Corporate Democrats will do what they can to ameliorate the suffering of millions of Americans, but they won’t do what it takes to end the fundamental injustices that guarantee suffering’s return. And do not kid yourself. They know what those injustices are. The problem is that  corporate donors will not allow any deviation from their fundamental dictate: “You cannot  question our bottom line.” 

Those political operatives think the Party needs the money. You and I know they need the love.