Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer suggested that President Biden should talk about abortion more so people know he is a president who is “fighting” for the right to an abortion.
Asked by CBS News “Face the Nation” anchor Margaret Brennan if Biden, who is of Catholic faith, needs to talk about abortion more, Whitmer said, “I think it would be good if he did.”
“I know that one tenet of his belief system is that women and only women at — with their families and — and health care professionals are the ones who know what decision is right for them,” said Whitmer, co-chair for Biden’s reelection campaign. “And that he is fighting and going to continue to fight to make sure that that is squarely the ability … [of] an American woman to make that decision.”
Brennan then asked if Biden needs to be the messenger on that more, to which Whitmer said, “I don’t think it would hurt.”
I would dispute your claim about there being a “circular firing squad.” The firing definitely comes from a very specific direction. Politicians like Joe Biden run on progressive ideas (cancelling student loans, legalizing marijuana, healthcare reform, etc) and then all but drop those promises once they get into office. This is the real “backstabbing” in my opinion. These democratic politicians take massive donations from corporations, Israel, billionaires, etc. Who is going to get the most representation from these politicians? The voters or the donors? Four years later, liberals wonder why progressives aren’t willing to jump in and vote for their guy again.
It’s like a cycle. We get a blue wave thanks to young, minority, and progressive voter turnout, then those same voters become completely disillusioned after four years. Why? Personally I think it’s because liberal (especially white middle class) voters subscribe to “vote blue no matter who,” and it’s been going on since well before Trump. They see the success of right wing candidates with total voter unity and think they can do the same thing with their superior numbers. However, these liberal voters get too invested with can we do this when they should be thinking about should we do this.
I personally think this mentality has given Democratic politicians a license to ignore their voters, because they essentially have a monopoly on votes from anyone who is not a crazy fascist. This in turn leads to the same repeated stalled progress and disillusionment. As long as Dems don’t piss off their base too much, they can maintain this position forever while also providing a ton of value to their donors.
All of this has led me to believe that ranked choice voting may be the best thing we could do to turn our country around, because it would give third party candidates an actual shot and force Democrats (and maybe Republicans) to actually compete for votes because voters would feel more freedom to vote their conscience without pissing their vote away. If there are any initiatives in your state to put ranked choice on the ballot, please get involved.