The Michelle Obama/Trump Drama is a Snapshot of a Bigger Problem
She’s not wrong, but she’s also only scratching the surface.
To the surprise of no one, the Donald is throwing a hissyfit about Michelle Obama’s milquetoast DNC speech. Sure, she said that he’s the “wrong president for our country,” but I think that basic sentiment is implied when she’s speaking at the other party’s convention. She also said he’s “in over his head,” which is clearly true, but shouldn’t really be news to anyone, and is not exactly a hard-hitting takedown, despite claims to the contrary.
Although everything the former first lady said was technically true from what I heard, her speech was essentially more of the same “vote for our team because we aren’t Trump” that is obviously the best the DNC can do. That’s a problem. As Caitlin Johnstone said:
That said, there is one specific, and also true, thing Michelle Obama said, that also leads me down a darker path:
“I understand that my message won’t be heard by some people. We live in a nation that is deeply divided, and I am a Black woman speaking at the Democratic convention.”
That’s also a problem, and a big one. What she’s talking about should not be controversial at all, but we all know that it is for some. It seems to me that much of what she said was basically just criticizing Trump’s utter disregard for humanity, and that is controversial in some circles. Some have made the argument that these vermin mostly only crawled out of the woodwork with the election of Trump, but do you really think they’ll all just scurry back now? Remember “birtherism?” Well, it’s back, and there’s another problem with this kind of far-right lunacy. The Democratic establishment doesn’t know how to fight it, and history shows that they would rather compromise with it anyway. They’re doing it again, right before our eyes, and everyone should know by now that you can’t compromise with fascism.
That leads to the next problem. We can’t deny that we’re talking about a battle between two right-wing parties here, and the supposedly “lesser evil” isn’t putting up much of a fight. Bernie Sanders also spoke the truth in his DNC speech when he said we’re fighting “authoritarianism, greed, oligarchy & bigotry,” the problem is that the Democratic party enables or even embodies those things as well, particularly the first three, and often just as much as their alleged opponents. Let’s look at just a couple of examples from the “oligarchy” category, because it ties into everything else, including authoritarianism.
You’ve probably heard the phrase “follow the money,” and this certainly seems like a good place to apply that. Joe Biden’s list of donors includes a number of questionable sources, including hedge fund investors and (for-profit) healthcare software vendors. One that really stuck out to me in particular though, is Bain Capital. Yeah, that Bain Capital. As for Kamala Harris, her list is a bit less problematic, but it’s worth noting that she also doesn’t have Biden’s political rap sheet. She’s still managed to pull some big fish though, including Charles Schwab, Comcast, and the Walt Disney Co.
These are problems that don’t go away with Trump, and for many of us, the “lesser evil” argument rings hollow. The argument about pulling the dems left is no better. After all, how can you expect to do that after the election, when they’re still fighting policies like Medicare for All while talking about how much they need our votes? I also just have to say that the second argument loses a lot of weight for me when I see so many of the people making it posting memes about how Obama’s biggest scandal was wearing a tan suit. Not the drone strikes on civilians, or the expansion of the surveillance state, or torturing “some folks.” Well, okay then, don’t let us keep you from brunch.
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