truth in power of politics
as we approach the end of the 2020 election, it has never been more obvious where the two parties stand.
when republicans are in power, they spend that commodity to remain in power; to exert that power over marginalized peoples, to make the country less balanced—the rich become richer, the poor become poorer.
when democrats are in power, they spend that commodity on first, undoing the harm that republicans have caused, and second, attempting to make the lives of the majority of citizens better.
when barack obama held the most power—in the first two years of his first term, when democrats also had majorities in both houses of congress—he seized that opportunity not to pack courts, not to ensure democrats would stay in power for as long as possible, not to make himself wealthier, but rather, he chose to spend his political capital on passing obamacare. he knew this would be divisive. he knew that it would most likely cause him to lose support, perhaps lose control of the house and/or senate, but he did it anyways. why? because people needed reliable and affordable healthcare. while obamacare gained popularity over the years, and obama’s support didn’t diminish considerably, eleven years later, the democratic party is still fighting to acquire as much political power as it had in 2009. as a whole, the democratic party lost considerable political power, but I am quite sure that that loss of power was worth the gain in legislation to most, if not all, democrats. because for the democratic party, the end goal is never to remain in power, but to make incremental progressions in legislation to improve people’s lives.
when it started to appear that trump would lose reelection, and potentially mitch mcconnell would lose his senate majority, the republican party used their power—not to pass a life-changing, life-saving covid relief bill, that might also have gained them more favor with the american public—to fill the recently vacant supreme court seat left by the passing of the iconic ruth bader ginsburg. this disgusting power grab is one of innumerable instances that the republican party ignored the will of the majority of americans, ignored precedence, ignored laws, ignored decency, all to gain more power.
a question to meditate on as we all face the future of this country is this: what is the role of the government in our lives? I believe it is to provide services to and protect its citizens. the next time someone argues “…but the economy” to you, I urge you to ask that person if they believe that the government’s role is to protect corporations and help the rich get richer, because that’s what the “…but the economy” argument is actually about. it’s a holdover from reaganomics, is racist, classist, and has no place in our current world.