It's been a long summer here in Phoenix, hot humid weather, monsoon storms, power outages, trees falling down. Thankfully, all my trees managed to withstand the strong winds (so far). & thank God, because I really don't need any more expenses since all summer I've been living beyond my means; family celebrations, milestones, trips, etc. Hey, at least I had fun.
I felt like writing this post because this past saturday, my senator, John McCain passed away. For a while there, the cable news channels (MSNBC, CNN) went on & on about a moment during the '08 campaign when a blonde woman asked McCain a question with the premise she didn't trust Obama because he was an "Arab". In response, McCain rightfully corrected the woman. However, McCain went on to lose the presidential election. & like many people, I was thinking; had it been candidate Trump answering the question, the Donald would have answered "Yes, I also suspect Obama is a secret Muslim foreigner, which is why I have a team of investigators looking into it" & a 2008 candidate Trump might have actually beat Obama.
By now it's old news; Trump rewrote the rules of campaigning & ran his presidential campaign using "alternative facts". Taking that into account, very soon the midterms will be here. And in many cases, it seems to me, politicians have learned all the wrong lessons from 2016. They probably believe relentless attacks (whether true or false) and complete obliteration of their rival's character is the type of rhetoric that wins elections. And looking at what happened to the McCain style of politics versus Trump, are they really wrong?
This past week, I've been seeing all kinds of posts and videos about John McCain. Many in the republican base hate McCain
that much is true. & since Trump appears to only govern for his base, earlier this week we got the ridiculous spectacle of Trump raising, lowering, then raising the flag again at the White House.
Being from the left, how I actually feel towards McCain is complicated. I know McCain was wrong on many of his votes: He voted for the Iraq war (which I was against), he voted for the Trump & W Bush tax cuts, he chose Sarah Palin as running mate, etc. Nevertheless, I've always admired McCain because of his military service, heroism, and sacrifice in Vietnam. I even voted for him: one of my first votes as an Independent was my vote for McCain versus the extreme right-winger JD Hayworth back when republicans had open primaries in Arizona.
I'm no longer registered as independent because: who am I kidding? I registered as a democrat right after the Bernie Sanders primary fiasco. And I'm glad I did, because during this year's democratic primary, I had questions about the candidates positions regarding progressive issues like affordable health care; public option, social security expansion, etc. Thankfully, I received an email from boldprogressives.org urging me to vote for David Garcia which as a registered democrat I was able to do, and Garcia actually won. There were also encouraging news from Florida where progressive mayor Andrew Gillum won as well.
The november election is almost here, & the next couple of months will be a difficult political fight to endure & to watch. Because, even if we don't want to accept it, we all know the John McCain style of politics no longer wins elections. Nevertheless, like McCain going into communities and making his case directly to each constituent, progressive candidates' direct engagement with the people & an explanation of what's at stake, will always be an effective & righteous way to win.
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