This is my first diary; in fact, it is my first time posting anything on Daily Kos, although I have been a regular reader since early 2007. I am Canadian, living in Toronto, ON, but have been obsessed with U.S. politics since I was a teenager in the early 1980’s. I’ve not felt it proper to comment on this site until now, as I’m merely an interested observer. Aside from that, I didn’t feel it was my right to judge the choices made by the American voting public.
So, why this diary? The election of Donald Trump to the presidency was a changeable moment for me, as it was for so many of you. I’ve joined protests against his policies (yes, we’ve had them here, too), from the first Woman’s March to multiple climate protests. The climate emergency is why I feel it necessary to jump in and offer some thoughts on the Democratic primary. Because nothing, absolutely nothing, is more important than tackling the existential threat of climate change. What the US decides to do, or not do, to address this challenge absolutely affects Canada, as well as the rest of the world.
Trump’s policies are already having a deleterious effect on the environment; from loosened restrictions on air, water and soil pollution, his gutting of the EPA, to his decision to abandon the Paris Accord, he’s left the world less able to seek effective solutions to the ongoing crisis. In Canada, we have our own problems with leadership on this front. Prime Minister Trudeau, unfortunately, has been a profound disappointment. Our so-called “climate champion” spent taxpayer billions on a pipeline for transporting the dirtiest oil on Earth, while ignoring Indigenous land rights in the process. Hopefully, our upcoming Federal Election will light a fire under whichever Party is successful in forming the next government. Where there’s life, there’s hope, right? However, if Trump is re-elected next year, nothing we Canadians do will make any difference. It will literally be game-over for humanity.
Which is why, watching the Democratic Debate last evening, I was so concerned. I’ve read multiple diaries here discussing the event and how certain candidates were “weakening” the front-runner, Elizabeth Warren, by pointing out that her Medicare-for-All stance might be difficult for the broader electorate to support, leading to another win for the worst President in history.
As far as I’m concerned, either of my dogs would do a better job as President than Trump. Whichever candidate becomes the choice of Democratic primary voters would be a dramatic improvement. But, as we learned in 2016, your country is deeply ideologically divided. Fox News and the like have done an excellent job of disseminating propaganda. As a result, a substantial percentage of voters cannot be dissuaded from voting Republican, no matter what Trump and his enablers do to destroy the Republic. If the Democrats double-down on a mandatory policy which has already been described as socialism, even communism, it could be disastrous for their election prospects.
I would urge fellow progressives to heed the warnings of candidates like Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar. (I am extremely impressed with Mayor Pete, although I hope Elizabeth Warren is ultimately successful; I find her truly inspiring.) Like Obama, they understand that making the perfect the enemy of the good is extraordinarily self-defeating. Both Buttigieg and Klobuchar helped expose the weakness in Warren’s defense of Medicare-for-All. If she cannot be honest about the way in which it will need to be funded, she will have major problems in the general election campaign. If Democrats noticed her hedging, so did Republicans.
As a Canadian, I can testify to the fact that our Universal Health Care program is a life saver. We certainly pay higher taxes in order to fund it and I would absolutely choose it over the current American system. That said, our program has significant problems. Patients often experience long wait times for treatment and so-called “hallway healthcare” in hospitals is at a crisis point. Should Warren win, despite the tsumani of negative propaganda sure to be aimed her way, forcing the entire US population into Medicare-for-All within a four-year period would be extremely destabilizing and would, I predict, result in a second term defeat. Why not start with Medicare-for All-who-want-it? If successful, it could be expanded over time.
Same thing with the push to make gun buy-backs mandatory, as Beto O’Rourke suggested. The Second Amendment-loving nuts in your country would go absolutely crazy, if this policy were written into law. Why not start with a voluntary buy-back? Again, if successful, a more forceful policy could be considered during a second term. The next President will need a full 8 years to address all the problems the Republicans and Trump have created.
This is not to say that the most progressive candidate should not win. As noted, I hope that Warren will be the nominee. But the focus of the ultimate victor will have to be on the climate crisis, above all else. If it is not addressed with the urgency it deserves, none of the other issues will matter. It won’t matter if there’s an automatic weapon in every hand when floods, fire, hurricanes, lack of food, land wars etcetera take you out. It won’t matter if every American has access, on paper, to a certain type of healthcare, if civilization itself is on the brink of total collapse. The arguments about costs and deficits, jobs and automation will be to no avail if all the world economies fail. If Warren chooses to die on this particular hill and loses, it will be of no benefit to anyone, least of all those Americans who are desperate for affordable, accessible healthcare and a livable planet.
When I vote in our Federal election next week, it will not be for the candidate I like the most. Once again, I’ll be voting strategically, so that the Conservatives who have pledged to repeal our carbon tax do not take power. One day, hopefully, I’ll have the chance to pick “the perfect”. In the meantime, I’m aiming for “the good.”
In closing, I hope I’ve given the champions of the progressive movement here something to think about. When Buttigieg and Klobuchar suggest seizing the moment to champion what can realistically be passed, they are not being defeatist; they are being pragmatic. It’s not worth taking the chance of losing the most important, and consequential, election in US history. The choice Americans make next year will have profound, and determinative, consequences for the whole world. This Canadian thanks you for reading and for your time. Wishing you all the very best of luck!