Despite the eloquence of Mr. Biden’s message it
certainly did not and never will resonate with Trump’s base (so smitten with the
mythic Trump that they collectively fail to realize the damage he has and will
continue to reign down on their lives and their futures) and while one would
hope that independents would grasp onto the life preserving message offered by
Mr. Biden, the likelihood of their doing so is not so clear. While Trump’s
governance and his message is clearly based upon dividing the nation and giving
license to unleashing the very worst of human nature, the Republican message is
more nuanced, continuing to target the grievances of so-called, “Middle America”
that brought Trump far more votes in 2016 from the middle of the country, in
particular, than anyone could have imagined could be cast for such damaged and
dangerous human being. While those targeted may have legitimate grievance,
particularly this year with so much familial and economic hardship impacting so
many, including those considered to be favoring a continuation of the Trump
presidency, the GOP seeks to convince the undecided electorate that, at least
for “White America”, the Democratic message of inclusiveness is itself actually
a message of division and exclusion, seizing upon concern heard throughout
conservative media that by embracing the Black Lives Matter movement, the
Democratic party has actually become anti-white. The Republicans will pull from
Biden’s speech his eloquent plea for racial justice and seek to convince those
they target that those passages and the notion itself is proof positive that a
BIden presidency will be so focused upon social and racial justice that “White
America” will be at risk of being left behind; that the policies to be enacted
by a Biden administration will be pursued at the expense of “white” interests
and that, in truth, there is no room in the large, Democratic “house” for “White
America”. They will point to Biden’s selection of Kamala Harris as his running
mate and argue that with Biden’s advanced age, there is a real chance that Ms
Harris will become President during Biden’s four year term and that if that
comes to pass she will pursue with even greater vigor policies that favor
minorities the expense of white interests.
It is a dangerous strategy to say the
least. The last four months of protests triggered in the immediate sense by the
murder of George Floyd but truly a continuation of the struggle for equality
that has been ever-present for more than the past one hundred and sixty years.
The impact of those protests has been immediate, evidenced not only by the
millions of people who have taken to the streets but by the response of
corporate America to those protests. While many would argue that the response of
corporations to the BLM movement is driven by greed (which is certainly is) it
nevertheless should not be lost on anyone that so-called “Corporate America”
made a choice to not remain silent; that when it spoke through its marketing
message it was entirely on the side of social justice. Moreover, again at the
risk of giving corporations too much credit, it is also worth noting that
campaign contributions by corporations and their management to the presidential
candidates favors Mr. Biden, driven, in large part, by their determination that
their best interests lie in acknowledging and embracing Mr. Biden’s plea for
social justice for it is that message which most clearly reflects the will of
the people.
The challenge faced by the Democrats over the next two months will
be to continue to speak to those people who may view the call for social and
racial justice as either anti-white or exclusive of “white interests” that their
interests are best served when everyone has an equal chance for happiness and
security; that the chant of Black Lives Matter does not mean that White lives
don’t matter despite what they might hear from Fox News, OANN or Breitbart. The
task will regrettably not be an easy one. The stakes of failure are unimaginably
high for a furtherance of a Trump administration, unleashed by a re-election
will without question be the end of the American experiment if the last four
years are any measure. One can only hope that despite the efforts of the right
and its puppet media the voters either do not accept the dystopic product they
are trying to sell or simply have had enough of the daily chaos and that their
longing for a moment’s silence wins out.
