A lonely Marianne Williamson 2020 yardsign. (Not mine)
I’m sorry for the lack of newsletters lately but I have decided to transition this Substack into a more sporadic essay format. I hope I can continue to provide interesting analysis on the Biden administration. I am working on a very exciting politics related project that will be revealed sometime in the Spring.
With very little fanfare, longshot Presidential candidate Marianne Williamson dropped out of the Democratic Presidential race. Williamson failed to receive more than 4% of the vote in the three state primaries she ran in (New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada). In Nevada, she was beaten by an option for “None of These Candidates”. Dean Phillips, backed by billionaire Bill Ackman, is now the only notable primary challenger to Biden.
Williamson ran a flawed campaign that was filled with accusations of a toxic workplace. Her campaign failed to make any significant traction and failed to get any significant endorsements from progressives. Yet, despite her flaws, Williamson was the only thing close to a progressive that had any chance to make national news in a Presidential race against Biden. Williamson was ignored by the mainstream media and laughed at on social media. If used right, Williamson could have been a way to express serious displease with the Biden Administration, especially after its criminal handling of the war in Gaza. The Democratic Socialists of America were able to tap into this and have seen a significant increase in dues-paying members. Williamson could not.
Progressives are at a very unfortunate crossroads. We have little power in the Democratic Party, which has largely ignored our cries. Our desire to run grassroots campaigns means we can’t compete with billionaire donors. It seems that the third-party progressives running for President are also very likely to fail to gain anything close to mainstream support.
Organizations like the Democratic Socialists of America and progressives with power like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, must join us at these crossroads. The Democratic Party does not deserve its blank check of support mainstream progressives are giving it. A grassroots movement for a better America is not possible until the progressives in power join the people in demanding significant change.
Me in April, 2023: