Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJohn Harwood: How Cancer Changed My Perspective On The Threat to Democracy
America has a lot to lose. As Ive learned, you dont always have as much time as you think.
I didnt need cancer to appreciate the grave threat to democracy America now faces. But the diagnosis did change my perspective.
The Republican Partys slide into extremism gradually and then suddenly, in the words of an Ernest Hemingway character has been threaded throughout my four decades of political reporting for the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNBC, and CNN. The partys increasing reliance on plutocrats for money and blue-collar whites for votes produced an incoherent coalition that, by the era of Donald Trump, left a single imperative: power at any cost.
That was a fact of life when Joe Bidens administration began in the shadow of the Jan. 6 insurrection. But it largely remained in the background as the new president grappled with the COVID pandemic, economic recovery, and foreign policy challenges.
From the start, Biden declared that America was engaged in a global struggle pitting democratic systems against autocratic ones. In his second year, Biden delivered a major speech warning of the threat to democracy at home. In his third, I interviewed him on that subject. The political world mostly yawned.
A few weeks after the interview, however, something dramatic happened to me.
https://zeteo.com/p/how-cancer-changed-my-perspective
I didnt need cancer to appreciate the grave threat to democracy America now faces. But the diagnosis did change my perspective.
The Republican Partys slide into extremism gradually and then suddenly, in the words of an Ernest Hemingway character has been threaded throughout my four decades of political reporting for the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNBC, and CNN. The partys increasing reliance on plutocrats for money and blue-collar whites for votes produced an incoherent coalition that, by the era of Donald Trump, left a single imperative: power at any cost.
That was a fact of life when Joe Bidens administration began in the shadow of the Jan. 6 insurrection. But it largely remained in the background as the new president grappled with the COVID pandemic, economic recovery, and foreign policy challenges.
From the start, Biden declared that America was engaged in a global struggle pitting democratic systems against autocratic ones. In his second year, Biden delivered a major speech warning of the threat to democracy at home. In his third, I interviewed him on that subject. The political world mostly yawned.
A few weeks after the interview, however, something dramatic happened to me.
https://zeteo.com/p/how-cancer-changed-my-perspective
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
2 replies, 478 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (13)
ReplyReply to this post
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
John Harwood: How Cancer Changed My Perspective On The Threat to Democracy (Original Post)
demmiblue
Apr 23
OP
*So, the miracle of modern medicine has allowed me to launch this newsletter at a critical moment. Nearly 250 years after it began, the American experiment in self-government may not have much time left. Voters face a presidential choice that could determine the durability of our democratic system.
Incumbent Joe Biden fits squarely within our familiar presidential paradigm.
Ideologically center-left and temperamentally moderate, he governs in service of the entire country however anyone judges his policy choices. He works with political adversaries as well as allies to seek consensus on shared priorities.'>>>
Cha
(297,705 posts)2. TY John Harwood!