The Potential Dark Liberation After a Flawless Campaign

Oh no, I’m writing again.

I guess this was inevitable, as I looked back and realized I had written about the 2012, 2016, AND especially the 2020 elections, and then even made up a scenario for the 2024 elections shortly after Biden pulled off his historic win (hint: it’s me dreaming of an election cycle without the electoral college and with ranked-choice voting). I guess as much as I don’t want to admit it, I have been invested in American politics significantly longer than I had previously assumed.

For this election in particular, I wanted to write an additional elongated side-note after tossing all my support for the coconut pilled candidate. In case you didn’t read that, you can find my article <here>.

Kamala Harris, has run about as flawless a campaign as you can possibly wish for given the circumstances. If she loses, it will not be her fault in the slightest, for she has given a gargantuan effort that nobody should deny. If she loses, there are certain places to lay the blame, but there shall be no spotlight on her or her team.

But biggest of all, if she loses, I’ll be disappointed and depressed, but I’ll also realize something else, something darker but almost liberating.

More on that last part later.

Kamala Harris all the way up to July 2024 was not even expected to run, she was not aware there was even a smidge of a chance to replace Biden. Even after Joe Biden shockingly dropped out, there were many rumors and storylines (driven primarily by AOC’s now-infamous Instagram livestream from Puerto Rico the weekend before Biden’s white flag) that the big Democratic donors wanted Kamala Harris off the ticket as well and open the primaries to everyone within a very small window. Even if Biden was no longer in the running, a Kamala campaign was not an automatic next step. I honestly think the donors secretly wanted Gavin Newsom.

It required an absolutely intense grassroots fundraising campaign so that everyone saw that she deserved her proper shot since she is the acting vice president (and remember, Biden initially ran as a one-term president). They had to defy the big donors and send a message loud and clear, no open primaries, she’s the next candidate up, end of discussion. Then in the first 24 hours post-Biden, 81 million dollars was raised. So, the Kamala Harris campaign instantly swung for the fences once the fundraising records started falling: created over 2,000 events spread across all the swing states on the opening days.

After her official announcement, after the money from first-time donors and longtime Democrats started cumulating, the Harris campaign sped up and intensified their efforts. They collected $200 million in a week, had strong ratings and reception during the Democratic National Convention, raised $47 million after the first and only debate, hit a BILLION dollars by September, and it became clear as day that this wasn’t just another pseudo-Biden campaign, the manpower and funding was a loud message that nobody should dare get in the way. Even Bernie Sanders, who had claimed he would run for the presidency only if Biden wasn’t running, instantly started campaigning for Kamala Harris. Almost the entire progressive caucus backed Kamala and so now all that was left was create a proper campaign with severely limited time and make efforts to retain the Biden voters and gain new voters who had jumped off the DNC wagon and remain on the fence for who to choose.

Kamala also wasn’t going to alienate any group nor any state. Everyone is fair play to join the coalition.

Kamala never had her “Basket of Deplorables” controversy, she has downplayed the historical implications of being the first woman president (which was heavy-handed material by Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Elizabeth Warren in 2020), was willing to interview on Fox News to take on the conservative media, bullied Trump on the debate and was open to more of them, refused to complain about the unfair treatment she had been getting throughout this race (she had to be perfect, while Trump could literally do whatever he wanted), took dozens of trips to swing states to constantly hammer out her message, has kept the tone mostly light and cheerful instead of angry, has kept the VP very much involved (more on him later), and most importantly was very diverse in where to deliver her messages. Podcasts, barbershops, churches, conservative media, mainstream media, you name it she was there for an interview. She even reached the more uncomfortable corners, as she also reached out to the uncommitted voters in Michigan and in Illinois before the Democratic National Convention.

She picked the perfect vice president with Tim Walz, a social progressive that carries the swagger of a midwestern conservative. She even invited him to tag along for some of the initial interviews with CNN as a sign of solidarity and displaying that he wasn’t picked just to check a few boxes in the background, but actually because she believed in his ability to deliver the unity message they had been presenting from the very beginning. Side-Note, this was especially noteworthy considering how hidden from the spotlight she was during the Biden years, which was way way different from how Obama treated Biden. Tim Walz also aesthetically is a good representation of the older voter base that has mostly fallen into the MAGA cult; he looks like the lovable grandfather or uncle who doesn’t fall into the bigotry trap, he looks like the family member we wished had never fallen to the dark side.

Him and Kamala don’t attack conservatives or the MAGAs, they only directly attack Trump and his richest, loudest supporters while delivering a refreshing tone that shifts back to American positivity while also promoting ways to improve it. Even smarter, they toned it down slightly when we had the back-to-back major hurricanes punishing the South. Their list of endorsements ranges so wide on the political spectrum it nearly makes me uncomfortable. But Kamala Harris promised to be a president for all, which means she wanted and sought after the approval of billionaires, Old-School Republicans, former MAGAs that supported Nikki Haley, celebrities, entrepreneurs, progressives, capitalists, and influential voices within social media.               and Liz Chaney.

The Kamala Harris campaign had taken no state for granted, no voter for granted, even though I wish she had visited Florida a few times for there’s a lot of progressives and independents here. But she had only 100 days, she didn’t have years of campaigns and travel to make her case for the presidency.

Her only slight missteps can be traced to the fact that she’s still the vice president and cannot really contradict the decisions made by the Biden Administration, especially on foreign policy, especially in the middle of intense conflict. Of course the Israel/Gaza situation has been an absolute disaster, and this will likely ruin Joe Biden’s legacy for the rest of his life, as it should. There will be a conversation someday about how the history of Christianity, Catholicism, Judism, and their complicated, deadly relationship with the other religions has caused generational and global harm as well as subpar leadership, but its not going to happen here----just know Netanyahu is a war criminal and should be buried under the prison, and Biden is guilty for not doing more to prevent the escalating violence happening in the Middle East. And I’ll bet every last dollar that Kamala would have approached the conflict completely different from Biden.

So with that, Kamala Harris has to find a way to take credit for Biden’s domestic accomplishments while also distancing herself from Biden’s disastrous decisions to support Israel as the war crimes and World War 3 desires continue to escalate. It is such a tricky tightrope, and honestly the decision to keep Joe Biden on a low profile while she begs for a huge voter turnout is a result of said ongoing controversies. Do I wish she would speak more about Gaza? Absolutely, and she knows she’s in for a major fight if she wins beginning in 2025 when the prospect for a ceasefire rises again (Because the Israeli government cowardly refuses to engage in a conversation until the U.S. election season is over).

Do I also wish she wouldn’t steer so far to the right politically with the immigration policy? Absolutely, but Kamala Harris is aware that she has to campaign with a more conservative edge on some topics because the news media (especially on the far-right) has absolutely fumbled (or outright exaggerated) some of these topics for years; which means Kamala doesn’t have enough time to convince people to mentally adjust. She only had 100 days to show who she is to the world, while after a victory, she would have significantly more time to actually fix the problems associated with immigration-----which doesn’t include the bigoted idea of 20 million deportations promised by MAGA and Project 2025.

We really cannot complain about her effort, about her energy, and her consistency. She has become the perfect counter to the MAGA, her energy and positivity has completely cut through the bitterness that permeates among the Trump fandom. Those folks aren’t happy, they’re constantly looking to fight, and therefore the rallies have lost the spark it used to have---while on the other side the Kamala Harris rallies have become essentially rock/pop concerts full of artists and celebrities showcasing their love towards a future without Trump, without the extreme conservatism always being an obstacle towards progress.

I didn’t like Hillary’s campaign in 2016, nor did I really like Joe Biden’s 2020 run even though that one had better moments and stronger supporters. On top of that, both of those campaigns were a result of Bernie Sanders getting screwed over while seeing a majority of his policies and ideas move over to the main policy package the Democratic nominees ended up presenting. Ugh.

But this 2024 campaign? It’s an A, almost an A+ campaign. Very few notes of criticism.

So why did I mention the “dark but almost liberating” part?

Because if Kamala Harris loses, its not because she didn’t do enough, but it’s because the United States clearly isn’t ready to grow up and evolve into the country it can become.

Kamala Harris ran on progress and total unity among all Americans, and presented it thoroughly, clearly being the better candidate between her and Trump. A rejection of her and her message tells me there are still too many Americans who prefer conflict, division, and extreme individualism and extreme capitalism without remorse. 

Backwards progression within an entire nation can and has historically happened. Go research what kind of country Iran and Afghanistan used to be in the 1960s and 1970s before the extremism took over. Cambodia had a regime that eradicated 20% of its entire population while trying to exterminate every single piece of history and culture within its borders. Venezuela was the biggest economy in Latin America once upon a time, before a combination of Iraq War shenanigans and Maduro’s terrible reign drove 30% of its population to move elsewhere. Germany lost everything after World War 2, and it took them decades before returning to proper form.

Maybe its United States’ turn to continue morally slipping away, despite the strong economy. Maybe the entire levee has to break before it gets replaced by a much stronger system.

I have spent a decade fighting this political plague that originated from the Tea Party Movement which transformed into Trump’s Birthism nonsense, which ultimately molded itself into MAGA. I have battled people online, offline, family, friends, former friends, random adversaries about this dangerous cult, the dangerous thoughts that emerge from that movement. I have fought tooth and nail for the rights of immigrants especially, as Latin America and the Western Hemisphere continues trying to improve from the awful decisions made by the United States towards them within the last century.

I had been suspended from Twitter, from Facebook, from Instagram while taking on these fools, while trying to hammer out the evidence that Trump isn’t and never will be the solution to your pain, your anger, your problems. And to be honest, I’m tired. So, so tired. I’ve sacrificed so much of my time and my energy trying to pull people away from this sphere of anger that does significantly more harm than good.

Even when Trump won and ran the country, these folks were still angry, were still combative. These folks are never going to be satisfied remaining under his thumb, and this decade-long cult of negativity has separated couples, family members, co-workers, friends, and of course also ended up separating innocent families at the border just to satisfy the craving for torment.

The cruelty is the point, these folks are painful to engage with, they don’t care about you, they don’t care about their neighbors or fellow strangers. They want you to be just as upset and discontent as they are. And also, most of the loudest fans are already financially-successful, they already have their homes, their guaranteed jobs, their families, their space, their accumulated wealth. These aren’t dirt poor folks rising up to fight the government, it wasn’t poor people raiding the Capitol. These are people who have been blessed, but have become enraged whenever blessings are given towards those they consider unworthy.

So after four years of Trump in the White House, followed by four years of bitterness, with a global pandemic kickstarted by shoddy Chinese and Trump politicians having an economic and cultural pissing contest in between, you want more of the same?

Even after all this?

Even after the lawsuits, getting caught taking money from charities, after him having to pay someone he sexually abused? After raiding the Capitol, refusing to accept the results, and then leaving the White House with mountains of important paperwork and refusing to participate in the transfer of power? At this point, if Trump wins, there’s nothing more I can do or say.

I have given my heart and soul to this fight for a better United States, one that respects our neighbors domestic and over the borders. I have seen what a leader like Trump can do to a country, I am the grandson of a political prisoner, I was born in a country that needed generations of healing after they had their own Trump back in the early 20th century, a bigoted narcissistic monster that terrorized the Dominican Republic for many years.

A loss this dramatic would be depressingly liberating, because it’s the final piece of evidence I need to accept that the United States just might be a lost cause under the current political and cultural circumstances, maybe it needs another few generations to finally grow the hell up. Maybe its time to move, maybe its time to seek more mental stability in another country that has actually figured its crap out.

The U.S. not understanding the threat back in 2016 led to chaos, violence, the rise of white supremacy, and ultimately a pandemic that cost me my job, my apartment, my savings, my freedom, my religious spirit, and years of my life wasted battling a disease of hate and an illness with inconsistent consequences depending on the person at the receiving end of it.

And if Kamala Harris does win, it doesn’t mean MAGA is completely done, it doesn’t mean Trump totally disappears. But it does mean that he is essentially powerless as the law continues chasing him and he’ll be over 82 years old before the next opportunity to run for the presidency again——and by then the Republican Party will have all but pushed him out in favor of a younger politician with similar mindset. The battle to preserve America will persist, but at least the king of the swamp will finally lose his throne, making the fight easier to handle, and it will give people in the cult their strongest opportunity yet to finally ditch this constant political rage.

I honestly don’t see a scenario where Donald Trump actually wins this election unless there’s massive cheating and violence from the cult, which fortunately for all of us would require more control of Washington D.C. which he currently does not possess. But like I said, if this inevitable black hole of hate wins the presidency again, then I will surrender the fight, I will silently succumb to the darkness that will indeed follow a second Trump presidency.

I can no longer attempt to save something that doesn’t collectively want actual salvation.

That’s the liberation I don’t ever want to experience, one that results in me giving up on a moral battle. Honestly, if he ends up with 70-something million votes, what else could I have done to prevent such an insistence to continue the chaos? All I can do is shrug, try to survive, and watch the country continue falling apart.

See you all on the other side. As always, Free Palestine, Fuck MAGA, and may we find the better future that we all—well, most of us, deserve.