That Commie Kamala and Other Weirdness

It was just a few weeks before the Democratic National Convention when I was sitting outside my regular coffee shop here in San Pedro when some right-winger barged out of the door and looked right at me calling me a “fucking Democrat.” I didn’t respond but thought about it for a long moment reflecting on all the times over the last 45 years I’ve been called a communist or socialist. Most of these people don’t even know the difference between the two and use them interchangeably. As I was sitting there drinking my double espresso I thought well this is something new I’ve been elevated to just being a democrat and that’s now a bad word?

Later, after a star-studded lineup at the DNC and some of the most inspiring speeches I’ve heard in a decade,  the MAGA world has now decided after several attempts to call Kamala Harris derogatory names that she’s now a “Commie.” I suppose this is the latest desperate mudslinging attempt because it rhymes and Trump is losing ground in the national polls by almost 5 percentage points. 

The three northern swing states Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin are edging blue and the sunbelt states Nevada, Arizona, and even Georgia are nearly tied. The goal as you may or may not know is 270 electoral votes to win but to really bury Trump and the MAGA Republicans the three southern states would put her over 300, which would be a decisive blow and might even bring with Harris a majority in both houses of Congress.

In a commentary by an AAN-affiliated paper (RLNews is a member of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia), Bruce Van Wyngarden,  of the Memphis Flyer wrote:

Think of the two major American political parties: When it comes to a cult of personality, one that features posters of Dear Leader, flags, religious iconography, clothes, and even tattoos, which party comes to mind? Which party has come out in support of banning books? Which party wants to give public tax dollars to private schools? Which party openly demonizes LGBTQ Americans and people of color? Which party wants to centralize power and give it to an authoritarian who will “be a dictator on day one”? Which party wants to control the healthcare decisions of the country’s females? Which party literally rejected democracy in 2020?

I don’t think anyone has said it better that calling  Kamala Harris a communist is a complete absurdity, it’s delusionally panicked would be more accurate. And frankly, Trump and his followers would be hard-pressed to define what communist economics is or is not. China for instance is actually a communist country with a one-party rule that has been quite successful beating American capitalism at its own game. And the rise of  Red China was mostly promoted by Republicans opening up “free trade” and shipping American manufacturing overseas.

The one thing we know about the one who would be a dictator on day one is that he’s obsessed with ratings, crowd size, and being in the center of the  media spotlight. Harris’ crowds have been surging, her poll ratings surpasses Joe Biden’s and she has been snatching headlines with every move, leaving Trump fuming and pouting as national polls give Harris a 4-point lead.

When I was growing up in the 1960s the term Left wing commie still had some appeal to the John Birch Society and the young Republicans, especially during the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War protests. And there were some actual American Communists in those movements as well as closeted gays, feminists, and all sorts of what was then termed “radicals.” But then everything left of center politically was considered extreme. Even former ILWU President and later Port of LA Harbor Commissioner, Dave Arian thought of himself as a Marxist or Maoist in those days.

In the years since, America has educated itself and affordable health care, women’s right to reproductive services, and gay people coming out of the closet have all changed the landscape of cultural acceptability and politics. Even the Democratic party, as evidenced by the recent DNC has diversified dramatically in contrast to the majority white older RNC delegates. Kamala Harris’ campaign has embraced the future of American diversity, and in doing so, has taken back what it means to be an American patriot, the flag, and the ideal of freedom from the Republican party. 

Trump and his allies are living in a past that no longer exists and I believe that the virus of hate that he has inspired will be vaccinated by hope, freedom of choice, and a liberation from arcane ideologies and the trickle-down economics of the past.

After all, this is one of those moments in our history where progressive change is actually possible and whatever you want to call Kamala Harris she’s the one to prosecute that change.