Lesser-Evilism

But the right way to think about one's vote for president is to think about the presidency not as a person, but as a thing—a huge, sprawling, complex, cumbrous, many-tentacled thing. The executive branch is a corporation. Or, if it makes you feel better, a huge nonprofit. It's thousands of people doing thousands of things: big things, like setting Middle East policy, and small things, like making sure a few painters in central West Virginia are getting a fair wage for federal contract work.

And on this score, the differences between the two major parties are vaster than vast. This maybe didn't used to be so, back when there were actual moderate Republicans. But now? With the Republican Party controlled by the radical right, a Republican presidency doesn't mean merely that you're going to have to see that distasteful reactionary with the cracker-ish accent on your TV screen for the next few years. It means that thousands of people are going to be making many thousands of deeply reactionary decisions, across all federal agencies and departments. This stuff doesn't make the front pages. It rarely makes the news at all. But it goes on, and it affects all of us every day: decisions about civil-rights and environmental enforcement, about the protection of public lands, about the ethical questions raised in scientific research, about the safety of consumer products (and now financial instruments, thanks to Elizabeth Warren), about which polluting or swindling corporations to investigate and with how much zeal… You get the picture.

Indeed.

And while I'm not crazy about Clinton, there is absolutely zero chance I'll vote for the Republican. Not only because, as the linked article explains, the Presidency is more than just the person in the Oval office: it's about the huge executive branch and all of the powers it wields. It's also about the power of nominating judges and foreign policy and all that stuff. But it's also about being able to stop what will probably remain a majority Republican Congress from turning its innumerable ridiculous notions into law.

And Clinton, like Obama, isn't the perfect progressive pony-bringer. But the simple fact that she will likely say "um, no" to the lunatic GOP Congress is more than enough to recommend her. Lacking majorities in the House or Senate, the President becomes the world's most important goal keeper.

4 thoughts on “Lesser-Evilism

  1. Rob Caldecott

    Is Clinton a dead cert for the Democratic nomination then? Are they any other potential candidates?

    What about this Frank Underwood guy I keep hearing about? He even has his own documentary on Netflix. :-)

    1. cleek Post author

      nobody seems to want to run against Clinton, so far. i guess if she screws up badly in the next few months, someone else could step in. but so far, it could be a pretty dull Dem primary.

      Frank… i bet he could beat her. hell, i’d vote for Kevin Spacey.

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