Democracy – RobinCravey

Decline and Fall

There is a specter stalking America. It is the specter of Totalitarianism. This specter inhabits the body of a demonic demagogue. But it is supported by mobs of the unthinking, the amoral, the ambitious, and the avaricious. It is opposed by a quavering line of political time servers wondering how much they must risk to stop the destruction.

The destruction continues apace. The demagogue and his henchmen unilaterally disarm the nation’s intelligence services, stand down our defenses against foreign influence, discontinue our efforts to root out the manufactured lies and myths infecting our discourse, give a green light to corruption. The demagogue cavorts across the globe, bullying our friends, befriending bullies, betraying the free people fighting a menacing dictator overseas. He exploits every weakness and buried flaw in our constitutional system to seize power.

What is an alarmed citizenry to do? The long game is to rethink our political organization and governmental structures. Even our philosophy of society. But the immediate crisis requires us to go to the barricades. Will we fight as hard for our freedom as the embattled peoples in Ukraine? As hard as American soldiers once fought in the trenches of a burning Europe?

The first order is to choose the real leaders among our political classes. Who will stand and fight? Who will advance? Rally behind them.

Running series — Democrat at the Breakfast Table

Afterthoughts

There’s no way to sugarcoat that election. It was a whuppin.

The newspapers are full of analysis. The Democrats didn’t understand, or they did it wrong, and here’s what they should have done, and finally, here’s what they must do. There’s a lot that needs to be said, and a lot that just wants to be said.

I’ll just say a few things. Here’s my answer to the question I posed in July. I’m sorry to say that Biden choosing Harris as his running mate was one of his mistakes. This is not because she was unworthy. It was because Biden chose someone he did not have confidence in to carry forward. That inflated his conceit that only he could do it. It also reduced his party to tongue-tied indecision.

Kamala, for her part, ran a spirited campaign, but one obviously missing any forethought. She was light on her feet and did a creditable job of making it up as she went along. That wasn’t enough.

I can’t say much about how Trump won. I do know that a majority of voters were willing to risk the destruction of our democracy in order to get off the track we’re on now. That should be clarifying.

What can we do? In the short term, compromise where we can, resist where we must, and fight where we have the people with us. But we have some big long-term work to do. Thinking to do. First we must think philosophically, then strategically, then intentionally, and then tactically. Don’t rush this. It’s important.

Kamala Harris for President

Kamala Harris has risen brilliantly to the opportunity that fate has given her. She began her short race for president with a smile that outshone the sun, giving the country new hope. She has laid out her case for election deliberately, forcefully, and convincingly.

Her case is a good one. First, and it must be said first, her opponent is a malignant man of the worst character and the most dangerous ambition. She, in contrast, is a dedicated public servant with strong patriotic values. Second, her vision for the country is one of reconciliation and modest but solid advancement. Third, she has been part of an administration that has already accomplished landmark advancement toward the country’s goals.

It is the duty of all citizens of good will to turn out to vote for this remarkable stateswoman. While in the booth, we must also vote for Democrats for Congress, to give the future President Harris the majority to accomplish great things. Let there be no doubt on November 6 that this country has chosen the path of freedom, democracy, and progress.

Joe Biden bows out

At the last minute, and after anguished pleas from many Democrats and many more Americans, Joe Biden has withdrawn from the presidential race. At last, without admitting it, he has acquiesced to the reality that his age is catching up to him. This was the reality that Americans were worried about for the last two years and terrified about for the last month.

He has acted when it is very late in the season, when there is almost no time for an open nominating process. So, the party has thrown itself at Vice President Kamala Harris, endorsing her to take on Lying Devil Donald Trump. I’m optimistic. I think she can take the old blowhard. I liked her in 2020, but she couldn’t perform. Then she stumbled through her first two years as vice president. But now, she seems to have found her footing.

I was never a fan of Joe Biden, the Senator from Big Credit. His long career in the Senate contained as many mistakes as successes. Then he turned out to be a very successful president, producing landmark achievements for the Democratic Party and for the country, including bold new programs on climate change, infrastructure improvement, and economic reform.

But even in success, Biden was undermining his legacy. His first big mistake was letting Kamala Harris flounder for two years. His second big mistake was deciding to run for a second term. His third big mistake was refusing to face reality until it was too late for the party to make a considered nomination. Now, we’ll see if his selection of Harris for vice president was one of his successes, or one of his mistakes.

Stations along the route

Austin station is an insult to train riders. This is what you get from a city that gives endless lip service to public transit, but does very little about it. It’s on the edge of downtown, but it’s hidden away up a hard-to find dead-end street behind the YMCA. The station itself is underwhelming, with a small inside waiting room and not even the most basic food services.

As we roll north, the conductor announces the stops. Most are quick. At some, through-passengers are allowed to get off, stretch their legs, and breathe fresh air or have a smoke. The conductor offers a wry caution, “When all aboard is called, enter the train. If you are not on the train when the train leaves the station, you will be left. That’s all right, you can catch the next train tomorrow.”

At Dallas Union Station, I get off to stretch my legs. The trainside walkways are pretty nice, red brick edged by that yellow bumpy caution strip. Little canopies are spaced down the middle. There are several sets of double tracks. If I walk down a way, I can get a look at the station building, brick painted while. A walkway crosses all the tracks and leads to the station, but I don’t want to leave trainside.

At St. Louis Union Station I get off again. The trainside platform is bare concrete with the yellow edge, but it’s clean. The tracks are out in the open air, under the sky. A hulking skyway rises from the platform and crosses other tracks, crosses car traffic, ducks under a raised highway, and disappears.

Boarding platform outside train station. — Dallas Union Station beside the tracks.

Train beside platform — Dallas Union Station beside the tracks.

Second Day on the Texas Eagle

In the morning, about 5:30, I head down to the diner. Walt has an urn of coffee made at a little station by the stairs, and I draw some into a paper cup as I pass. The kitchen won’t be open until 6:30.

In the diner, I sit down at a table to read the news. Out the windows to the east, the sun is rising over the Mississippi. The sky glows a soft orange.

Breakfast comes. I have an omelet, home fries, and sausage links. Not bad.

Todd and I talk about the state of the railroad and the way it got this way. For the first time in decades, there is hope. Amtrak Joe pumped a tank of billions into the system. A lot of deferred maintenance will be done, but more difficult is the restoration of a train industry in the U.S. after decades of underfunding.

Lately, during the pandemic, Amtrak cut operations way back. Then their parts suppliers went out of business. So now there are no parts to repair the trains. That’s no way to run a railroad.

After breakfast I retire for a respite in the room. I make some notes. I nap a little. I read a little. Soon I pick up the macbook and head for the diner.

In the diner, I find the table with my room number on a slip of paper and sit down. I have at least an hour until lunch. I open the macbook and start drafting.

Lunch was forgettable.

Amtrak took all the full-service diners off the trains during the pandemic. After the pandemic, Amtrak did not have enough cars to restore full dining to all trains. The Texas Eagle was one of the losers.

One thing, the food is plentiful. You won’t lose weight eating in first class.

Soon after I’m done, I have to vacate the table for the next hungry seating.

Back in my room from lunch, I read a little. Then I turn myself to organizing and packing for the train change.

I listen to crew members chat as they pack up their rooms. We’re near the end of the trip. Everyone on the crew is thinking of the chores they must do to shut down the train. Their paid time stops when the train stops. If they’re not finished with their chores, they will finish on their own time.

Goodbye again.

Watching sunrise over breakfast. — Sunrise over the water, looking out the diner window.

Luggage waits to be pulled into action. — Sunrise over the water, looking out the diner window.

Democrats compromise

This is what democrats do. They argue for what they believe in. Then they listen to the opponent’s argument. Then they agree on middle ground. That’s what makes democracy work.

A special kind of compromiseis badly needed. I mean that Democrats should compromise among themselves. The Democratic representatives in the U.S. House must forge a compromise among themselves that they can then represent to the whole country.

I’m a social democrat, meaning I’m in the left wing of the party. I believe in Medicare for All. I believe in the Green New Deal. I believe that it is urgent that we impeach the loathsome sociopath impersonating a president. But I believe in something else more.

I’m a majoritarian, meaning I want the Democratic Party to build a stable majority in this country that can govern for a generation. You don’t do that by holding purity votes and holding out for exactly what you want. You do that by forging compromises and achieving significant legislation that moves the country forward.

This is not the time to be trying to scrape off those moderate Democrats who won in Republican districts. This is the time to listen to them. They are important messengers from persuadable voters. They are also messengers from the Democrats to those persuadable voters.

What good is it going to do to elect a Democratic president for one or two terms, if the Democrats are going to be driven out of office by a Republican wrecking crew that then devotes itself to undoing all the progress that was made?

Focus on the settlement zone. Democrats should be focusing on the settlement zone, not the end zone. The settlement zone is that area between two ends where compromise is possible. It can usually lie in the middle 40 percent between the two ends. If I say $100 billion, and you say zero, then the settlement zone is somewhere between $30 billion and $70 billion. I’m going to make my argument for $100 billion, yes. But I’m going to accept something in the settlement zone.

I hope Speaker Nancy Pelosi will not give up on passing a budget in the House. This is a critical test of leadership, and it is a critical test of Democrats. If Pelosi can’t get her own party to agree on a budget, then how is she a leader? Does she know about the settlement zone? If the Democrats can’t get a plan among themselves, how are they going to govern the country?

House Democrats must remember that they are America’s team now. This is their chance to prove themselves. They can win the confidence of the country if they rise to the challenge. They can give our next president an effective force for change, if they rise to the challenge.