Election reflection

Sam Smith - I realize that, unlike many progressives, I view politics as form of poker rather than as a religion. I'm looking for the best hand, not the best faith. Because my political roots come from places like Philadelphia and Boston, the notion that elections are a moral contest seems weird to me. After all, I remember pols like Lyndon Johnson who got more good legislation through in less time than almost anyone in my lifespan yet you wouldn't want him near your daughter nor could you defend much of what he said and did before he became president,

In the end, especially at the national level, it is a game of chance. You pick the right cards at the right time and it works. And what creates the odds? In no small part, all the good things done previously by movements and local action.

Moral activism is far more successful as  a local or non-political act than a national political one. As I noted in my book Shadows of Hope:

In 1992 alone, the 100 largest localities pursued an estimated 1700 environmental crime prosecutions, more than twice the number of such cases brought by the federal government between 1983 and 1991.

Another example has been the drive against smoking. While the tobacco lobby ties up Washington, 750 cities and communities have passed indoor smoking laws. And then there is the Brady bill [for gun control]. By the time the federal government got around to acting on it, half the states had passed similar measures.

So powerful is the potential for decentralized action that pressure groups sometimes demand that federal or state laws prevent lower levels of government imposing their own restrictions. In one case, the North Carolina legislature passed anti-smoking legislation that, under tobacco industry pressure, preempted local action on the matter. The bill, however, had a six-month delay before it took effect; during this interim some 30 communities passed their own laws.

The more recent history of local started drives for marijuana rights is another example.  Our national elections reflect the work we have already done, but they rarely exceed these efforts.

Thus, I can support most of Bernie Sanders's proposals but still recognize that he may not be the guy to achieve them.  It is far slower and harder than many evangelical progressives would have you believe. Sanders speaks well to, and shares the anger of, his flock but he's not an opinion changer. Change ultimately needs the support not just of those who figured it all out early, but those who had to be finally convinced.

I am not deluded by Biden, but this poker player couldn't find anyone else with as much chance of changing the odds. If I turn out wrong, I was a bad bettor, but given the status of our society, nobody can guarantee what is going to happen these days.