{"id":8383,"date":"2022-11-28T10:00:10","date_gmt":"2022-11-28T15:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tempestmag.org\/v01_2020\/staging\/?p=8383"},"modified":"2022-12-01T14:24:35","modified_gmt":"2022-12-01T19:24:35","slug":"polarization-and-paralysis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/2022\/11\/polarization-and-paralysis\/","title":{"rendered":"Polarization and paralysis"},"content":{"rendered":"

A<\/span>cross the United States there was an audible sigh of relief as the threatened \u201cRed Wave\u201d in the midterm elections petered out into a \u201cRed Trickle.\u201d The Republicans secured only a narrow majority in the House, while the Democrats won an equally thin majority of at least one (and possibly a second) seat in the Senate. Republicans retained control of the lion\u2019s share<\/a> of state legislatures, even as the Democrats added four that were previously held by the GOP).<\/p>\n

Most of the Democrats that won were centrists<\/a>, not \u201cprogressives<\/a>,\u201d and certainly not \u201cdemocratic socialists.\u201d However, the outcome of referenda on abortion rights, increased minimum wages, union rights, and marijuana legalization demonstrate that there is significant support for policies that benefit working-class and oppressed people.<\/p>\n

After all the votes were counted, the election essentially ended in a draw, splitting the government right down the middle and denying both parties any mandate. The Republicans, despite their less than stellar performance, remain determined to roll back every progressive reform of the last century, including Social Security pensions and Medicare.<\/p>\n

The Democrats offer no alternative, all but abandoning even milquetoast proposals that would address the country\u2019s multiplying social crises. With the elected government paralyzed by division between the two parties, the legislative path for passing even the most minor reform is closed.<\/p>\n

As a result, the unelected parts of the U.S. state\u2014the Supreme Court, Federal Reserve, and executive bureaucracy\u2014will assume a greater role in formulating and implementing policy. Faced with this situation, the socialist Left, workers, and the oppressed must turn to extra-parliamentary struggle to advance our demands.<\/p>\n

The Democrats: A sitting duck<\/h4>\n

How did the GOP lose an election that only a few months ago they seemed destined to win by significant margins? Not only does the party in power traditionally lose Congressional seats in the midterms, but the economic conjuncture offered the Republicans an ideal opportunity to garner clear majorities in both the Senate and the House.<\/p>\n

World capitalism, since 2008, has been mired in what Michael Roberts calls a long-term depression<\/a>, oscillating between sharp recessions and weak recoveries, and is now stuck in \u201cstagflation.\u201d The low rate of profitability has discouraged investment in the new plant and equipment needed to increase supply. But low interest rates and government stimulus has driven up demand, leading to inflation and a series of speculative bubbles in everything from stocks to housing.<\/p>\n

The combination has now produced a stagnant economy and inflation not seen since the 1970s, with annual consumer prices skyrocketing by nearly 8 percent. Wages, despite some gains, continue to lag behind inflation, producing a sharp drop in workers\u2019 standards of living<\/a> in the past two years. With people struggling to afford everything from groceries to gas and housing, it is not surprising that more than three quarters of voters<\/a> rated the economy \u201cnot so good\u201d or \u201cpoor,\u201d and nearly half said their household\u2019s financial situation has deteriorated since the election of President Biden.<\/p>\n

\"Graph
U.S. monthly inflation rate from January 2020 to October 2022. Data<\/a> per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Biden administration has failed to enact policies to redress this crisis in working-class people\u2019s lives. His \u201cBuild Back Better\u201d plan, praised by some on the Left as \u201cThe New New Deal<\/a>,\u201d was in fact a form of \u201cImperialist Keynesianism<\/a>.\u201d It did contain proposals for minimal expansion of publicly funded health care and education (\u201cfree community college\u201d), but these were incorporated into the bill\u2019s main goal of refurbishing U.S. society, especially its industry and military, to compete against its rising strategic rival, China.<\/p>\n

The Democrats\u2019 right wing, personified by Senators Joe Manchin and Kristen Sinema, scuttled most of Biden\u2019s mild welfare and climate provisions (with the partial and contradictory exception of student loan relief<\/a>). In the end, the administration was only able to secure a traditional \u201chard\u201d infrastructure plan that will provide relatively few jobs but will improve the economic and political position of the U.S. vis-\u00e0-vis China. To this he added the Inflation Reduction Act, which, despite the hype<\/a>, falls far short of the systemic change needed to address the climate emergency.<\/p>\n

As a result, the Democrats at the start of this year expected a drubbing in the midterms. With Biden\u2019s approval ratings hovering in the low 40s<\/a>, the Democratic mainstream and so-called progressives<\/a> took their lead from New York City Mayor Eric Adams, preparing a campaign focused on \u201claw and order.\u201d And the only \u201cjob program\u201d Biden seemed to champion at the time was increased funding for the police<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Republicans squander historic opportunity<\/h4>\n

The stars were aligned for the GOP to score a record midterm victory, sweeping the House and Senate and substantially increasing their dominance in state governments. But Trump\u2019s Republicans blew it for two reasons: the Supreme Court\u2019s overturning of Roe v. Wade, which opened the possibility of a wave of state abortion bans, and Trump\u2019s threat to democracy<\/a> represented by the \u201cBig Lie\u201d that he defeated Biden in the 2020 elections.<\/p>\n

Abortion rights was perhaps the biggest factor that sunk the Republicans. Nearly two-thirds of those polled<\/a> opposed the Trump-packed court\u2019s decision in Dobbs. Even \u201cRed States\u201d were ready to vote for abortion rights against the GOP, as Kansas proved earlier this year when sixty percent of voters struck down a ballot measure that would have enabled the legislature to impose a ban. And in the midterms, more than one-fourth of voters<\/a> indicated that abortion was the key issue deciding their vote. Those voted Democratic by a margin of 3 to 1.<\/p>\n

The second biggest factor was popular support for democracy. Trump\u2019s \u201cBig Lie\u201d cost the Republicans votes in swing districts in 2022, with his hand-chosen \u201celection deniers\u201d losing around 5 percent<\/a> of the vote compared with two years earlier. Every single candidate he backed in races for secretary of state<\/a> in the hope of rigging future elections went down to defeat.<\/p>\n

The Democrats pivoted to take advantage of widespread disgust with Trump and his \u201cMAGA\u201d Republicans. They didn\u2019t run on their underwhelming record or offer any new proposals. Most positioned themselves as moderates, and the \u201cprogressives\u201d dropped almost any mention of the Green New Deal, Medicare for All, and defunding the police. Instead, they focused on the promise to defend abortion, democracy, Social Security, and Medicare against attacks by the MAGA candidates.<\/p>\n