Switching Candidates Doesn’t Matter. What We Need Is A Cleantech-Led Abandonment of the Politics of Fear.

July 19, 20246 months ago Jennifer Sensiba 0 Comments

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If you’re a regular reader, you’ve probably noticed me spending some time on politics, policy, and theories on how we can move forward on what appears to be an intractable problem. If you’re sick of this topic, I feel you! Politics has become so nasty, so divisive, and even violent at times. There’s so much negativity and even hatred in it now. Gone are the days when political rivals would meet up for golf or coffee, and now we’re in the days when people are trying to put each other in prison (deserved or not).

As this ugly election year drags on and gets uglier, we’re at a point where there are constant rumors that Joe Biden is going to drop out of the race. By the time this is published, that may have happened, and we could be on the way to seeing the Democratic Party try to find another candidate who can beat Trump in November. Or, we could see Biden (yet again) refuse to stand aside.

Everyone has their favorite replacement for Biden. Kamala Harris is a big name, as she’s VP. Everyone else in a governor’s seat, in the Senate, and in the cabinet has been mentioned as an alternative. Arguments over who can poll well, who can energize the party, and who can nail Trump to the floor in debates have all come up, and many of these arguments have merit.

But, the more I think about this, the more I realize that one big thing will not change, no matter who serves as the new face of the Democratic Party: the negativity. While each candidate can articulate arguments about how things have been good when they were in office, and lay out a vision for the future, that doesn’t come up much. As usual in today’s politics, they’re only trying to lay out why they’re less bad than the other guy.

This “lesser of two evils” situation has been going on for decades, and has led us all down the road to the evil of two lessers, with the candidate quality declining more with each presidential election. Even as recently as 2009 and 2012, we saw Barack Obama campaign on “Hope and Change,” but that feels like an alternate universe now.

Switching out the face of the Democratic Party without toning down the negativity in favor of a grand vision for a better future would leave most voters feeling like politics is still not worth engaging in. About the only benefit to switching a face out would be that a new person might be able to run on “reform” and improvement (something an incumbent can’t do).

What We Need: A Stagnation-Breaking Vision For The Future

To break out from the negativity, either Biden or a new candidate needs to start getting people to think very positively. Yes, Trump is a guy who could become a big damned problem if he gets into office again, but laying out a vision for the future that’s even better than today would throw the guy into even sharper contrast.

However, today’s political alignments and competitions get in the way of a grand future. We’re too busy worrying about things like socialism vs. capitalism, tradition vs. progress, and other ancient struggles. Instead of realizing that it’s the 21st century and trying to look forward to the 22nd and 23rd centuries, we’re instead stuck in the 18th and 19th centuries with the same old song on repeat.

It’s time to propose some radical but palatable new policies and goals for society that catch traditionalists and reactionaries flat-footed while actually inspiring people to join the effort instead of hesitantly casting a vote while holding their noses.

Clean Technology Can Be A Key Part Of A Grand Vision For A Better Life

One thing the Republican Party has going for it is that looking to the past can make people feel comfortable. Telling people that they don’t have to adjust to anything new makes people feel more at home. Most people have been okay fueling up the cars every week or two, going to stable corporate jobs, and having kids who don’t dare switch genders on them. Trump is smart to promise people that the world won’t change on his watch, because that means most people will be in their comfort zone.

Sadly, the clean technology counterargument is the old THE END IS NIGH argument. Climate change is not only coming, but it’s already here, and it’s causing lots of problems. To solve it and prevent extreme destruction, people need to depart their comfort zone, learn to fuel their vehicle a different way, and shell out money for a solar panel loan every month instead of just paying the electric bill. This argument asks busy people to do something, while Trump’s argument is that doomsday is not coming, and that you can just do what you’re already comfortable doing.

Instead of casting this as an effort to avoid doomsday, Democrats (whoever the face is) need to instead promise a better experience, much like Tesla did for most of the 2010s. Instead of selling a tough solution to doomsday, cars that were more fun, cheaper to operate, and could be fueled at home were promised, and people eventually wanted them!

Instead of selling medicine, we should be selling delicious coffee and energy drinks! People should be given a vision for a world with better cars, more stable electric grids, freedom from power outages, lower costs, and more personal control over their lives. The same can be applied to everything from e-bikes to improved electric public transit and high-speed rail.

Other Ways To Break Stagnation

This idea of selling people on the benefits of an amazing future instead of selling people on avoiding something terrible can be applied across politics to so many more things.

Instead of appealing to jealousy with “eat the rich,” why not try to sell people on the many proven benefits from universal basic income? Instead of trying to sell people on taking their guns away, why not focus on making the world a place where nobody feels the need to pick up a weapon and kill innocent people to get attention (via things like UBI, access to healthcare, and cheaper housing). Instead of selling people on “15 minute cities” that make people feel like they’d be trapped in urban hell, instead sell people on “The city of the future, where you can go ANYWHERE, and FAST.”

At the end of the day, trying to get Americans to take their medicine will not work. Trying to get people to join an ice cream party could work a LOT better.

Featured image from Pixabay.