Don’t Think of It as a Contest Between Biden and Trump (www.nytimes.com)

submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by silence7@slrpnk.net to c/politics@lemmy.world

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Personality certainly matters. But it might be more useful, in terms of the actual stakes of a contest, to think about the presidential election as a race between competing coalitions of Americans. Different groups, and different communities, who want very different — sometimes mutually incompatible — things for the country.

The coalition behind Joe Biden wants what Democratic coalitions have wanted since at least the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt: government assistance for working people, federal support for the inclusion of more marginal Americans.

As for the coalition behind Trump? Beyond the insatiable desire for lower taxes on the nation’s monied interests, there appears to be an even deeper desire for a politics of domination. Trump speaks less about policy, in any sense, than he does about getting revenge on his critics. He’s only concerned with the mechanisms of government to the extent that they are tools for punishing his enemies.

If you're an American, and you like what the Democratic coalition is after, then get involved, help with money if you can, and pay attention to downballot races too, not just the top.

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[-] silence7@slrpnk.net 3 points 7 months ago

His power has been limited because people who fully share his views are a minority of the Senate and of the Democratic Party primary voters. You want something like what he wants? Then you need to organize to elect people who are willing to do it.

this post was submitted on 15 Mar 2024

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