[2019—it’s been
real, it’s been good, but it ain’t been real good. Actually, I’m not even sure
I’d say it’s been good, but it has definitely been eventful. So this week I’ll
AmericanStudy a handful of major 2019 stories I haven’t been able to cover on
the blog, leading up to a few predictions for what’s likely to be an even more
eventful 2020.]
On what’s
unquestionably historic about the presidential primary, and why the story doesn’t
end there.
The campaign for
the Democratic nomination for president has been going on for at least a year
(although it feels like much, much longer than that), and for much of that time
I’ve publicly and frequently proclaimed that it was too early to think about
the November 2020 election. I meant it, and I think my psychological and
emotional health for much of 2019 were greatly improved by not focusing too
much on a still very early campaign and specifically on the sniping and
infighting that are perhaps inevitable (and perhaps necessary, in moderation
anyway) but also unquestionably frustrating elements of such a campaign. But
even I have to admit that January of a presidential election year is very much
primary season, not just because the first
primaries and caucuses
will soon take place, but also and more importantly because it’s time for each
and every one of us to figure out who and what gives us the best chance to
defeat this historically horrific administration (provided he hasn’t been impeached
by the time this post airs—and with a recognition that, as I’ve said quite a
bit over the last few months, I would vote for the soap scum that has hardened
around my shower drain if it were running for president against Donald Trump).
I’m not going to
get into my own current preferences for the nomination in this post, as I don’t
think that’s what this space is for (feel free to follow me on Twitter if you want to see a
bit more of that conversation, although even there I mostly implore the
candidates’ uber-fans to stop with the constant circular firing squad). But I
will make a couple more overtly AmericanStudies type points about the primary
thus far. For one thing, this has been without question the most diverse group
of candidates (that’s as of late October, so I’m sure it’ll be different by
the time this post airs) fielded by a major party in American history: five
women (with three still in strong contention as of this writing); four
candidates of color, including the first prominent Latinx and Asian American
candidates (and with all four still in contention as of this writing); and the
first openly gay major party candidate, among other milestones. At the end of my second book on a
new definition of American identity I described President Barack Obama as, in
purely symbolic terms (the representation and embodiment of that national
identity) that nonetheless matter a great deal, “the first American president”;
and along those same lines, I would say that this has been the first inspiringly
American presidential primary. May they all be at least this diverse from here
on out!
If we are
fortunate enough to have future presidential primaries, that is. Because the
other unquestionable thing about the 2020 Democratic primary is that the stakes
have quite literally never been higher (I’d say they were as high in
1864, and that’s about the only competition). That doesn’t mean that the
idea of its symbolic value is insignificant, as I think part of the stakes—and not
a small part, either—is replacing the worst possible representation of the
nation in this highest office with an individual who embodies some of the best
of who and what we are (and I think that applies to just about every person
included in the categories above, with the definite exception of Marianne
Williamson; it also applies to Bernie Sanders who is not part of those
categories). But along with such symbolic value, and along of course with the
candidates’ platforms and views, primaries also represent an opportunity to
asses which candidate has the best chance of defeating the incumbent. That’s a
difficult (if not in some ways unknowable) question, and one for which we
certainly shouldn’t be too quick to accept easy narratives
of “electability” or the like. But however and whenever we answer that
question, there’s no way around the fact that defeating Donald Trump is the
most vital electoral goal of any of our lifetimes.
2020 predictions
this weekend,
Ben
PS. What do you
think? 2019 stories you’d highlight?
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