U.S. Midterm Elections
Alarming Civil War Scenario Openly on Display
The U.S. midterm elections are an
open display of the civil war raging in the United States.
The use of the word midterm indicates that the elections take place at the mid-point of the president's term in office. This reflects the centrality of the presidency in the U.S.-style democracy and explains why the 2022 midterm elections have become a vicious fight between Donald Trump and Joe Biden and their respective camps.
On November 8, the entire 435 member House of Representatives is up for election, as are one third of the 100 member Senate and Governors in 36 states, including Florida, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and California. Even though many seats are up for election, at the federal level it is likely that only about 25 are competitive and the rest will be won by incumbents. State and local elections of various kinds also take place at the same time.
Both
Biden and Trump and their respective camps are presenting the
elections
as crucial "to save the country." Trump is putting forward his
Make
America Great Again (MAGA) appeal and Biden's campaign slogan is
to
"save the soul" of the U.S. and "preserve democracy." "Democracy
is on
the ballot,"
Biden repeated over and over in a November 2 speech. It is
necessary to
vote to "preserve democracy," he keeps saying, meaning voting
for those
who back and support Biden against Trump.
The public for their part increasingly see the failure of government at all levels to meet the urgent needs of the people, for health care, housing, education, equality, peace and justice. There is growing recognition and anger with existing government institutions, including elections, Congress and the courts. All have shown themselves to be dysfunctional and incapable of resolving problems.
Both Biden- and Trump-backed forces want to divert the people's anger from taking the path of resistance and demands for a new direction for the country, a pro-social anti-war direction. Everything is focussed on getting the people to line up on one side or the other of the Biden/Trump divide. People's role is to choose sides and candidates who are part of one camp or the other. It is a civil war scenario from which a large number of U.S. voters stay away. Together with the large numbers of people who are blocked from voting because of the racist U.S. laws, this makes up a large section of the U.S. population which is seeking a way forward which favours them.
This article was published in
Volume 52 Number 44 - November 8, 2022
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmld2022/Articles/D520441.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca