Politics as the Art of the Possible

Please read the article below about House Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, who was the rare Democrat who kept her seat in a conservative, rural district (Washougal, WA in fact) during the recent election. The one thing that is glaringly obvious about her is that she and her concerns are hyper-local. The article makes it clear that she is absolutely dedicated to the welfare of the place where she lives, and all else be damned. This has to be a big part of why she was able to hold her place in the tide and win re-election. Can we draw any insights from this?

In any case, since political situations are never perfect anyway (even at the best of times), it’s important to stay realistic and focus on what seems possible. Gluesenkamp Perez, the 36-year-old mother of a toddler and owner of an auto shop, says “Democratic condescension has to go.” “There’s not one weird trick that’s going to fix the Democratic Party… It is going to take parents of young kids, people in rural communities, people in the trades running for office and being taken seriously.”

So what is politics for? Is it only for the acquisition and wielding of power? Of course it can be that, and for many that is its raison d’etre. But what should politics be for? This, clearly, depends on who you are. For example, it seems that Marie Gluesenkamp Perez has a very different conception of the purpose of politics. Let’s discuss these questions.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/08/us/politics/marie-gluesenkamp-perez-interview.html

And to make the parallel point explicit:
Democrats and the Case of Mistaken Identity Politics
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/09/opinion/democrats-identity-politics.html

If you'd like to see a more in-depth demographic analysis of the Democratic party’s current problems:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/13/opinion/democrats-republicans-class-realignment.html

*the New York Times can be accessed online through any of the county library websites (free)

~Michael