(US) Elections, In Times of A Pandemic
The US electoral system requires that candidates spend at least 18 months, if not more, constantly traveling, doing rallies, speeches, interviews. Involves physical co-presence of literally, eventually, millions upon millions of voters. Party organizations also get activated, on all levels, local to national, involving policy agenda meetings, discussions, town halls, university discussion sessions, sit-ins, protest marches, etc.
All that has now been made physically impossible by the pandemic.
The election process also requires a particular institutional commitment, capital concentration and content orientation on part of the commercial media organizations. Because of the need to cover the pandemic, there is hardly space for a "normal" political discussion (biased, thwarted, puerile and low-information as it "normally" is).
All the top candidates of both parties are in the more endangered age groups. Almost all of them are men (twice likelier than women to have severe complications). Men also have a life expectancy that is, on average, 7-8 years shorter than women. We are actually looking at candidates with a severely high likelihood of developing serious health problems because of the COVID2019 pandemic in the next eight months, over and beyond the generic problem of exhaustion, stress and implications for their cardio-vascular systems. I'm not even going to talk about the fact that the relative sanity of the Supreme Court depends on the health status of an 87 year old Justice.
Is there a Left-progressive answer to these challenges? (Rest assured; the coalition of the extreme Right and the neonazi element, currently in power, will figure out a way to use the institutions to thwart, distort, and in every unimaginable way manipulate, the system to further their cause.)
All that has now been made physically impossible by the pandemic.
The election process also requires a particular institutional commitment, capital concentration and content orientation on part of the commercial media organizations. Because of the need to cover the pandemic, there is hardly space for a "normal" political discussion (biased, thwarted, puerile and low-information as it "normally" is).
All the top candidates of both parties are in the more endangered age groups. Almost all of them are men (twice likelier than women to have severe complications). Men also have a life expectancy that is, on average, 7-8 years shorter than women. We are actually looking at candidates with a severely high likelihood of developing serious health problems because of the COVID2019 pandemic in the next eight months, over and beyond the generic problem of exhaustion, stress and implications for their cardio-vascular systems. I'm not even going to talk about the fact that the relative sanity of the Supreme Court depends on the health status of an 87 year old Justice.
Is there a Left-progressive answer to these challenges? (Rest assured; the coalition of the extreme Right and the neonazi element, currently in power, will figure out a way to use the institutions to thwart, distort, and in every unimaginable way manipulate, the system to further their cause.)
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