We’ve already shared five things Democrats can do to put the November 2024 election on lock. But here are four more action items that can help seal the deal – pledges and plans to share with the masses to get them fired up and ready to vote.
#1: Environmental Justice
Make it a big part of the presidential platform to hold polluters accountable. There are enough laws on the books already to radically transform our environmental realities. The problem is, there’s too much money in not enforcing those laws. The result: the environment is getting whipped.
So, like John Witherspoon said in “Boomerang,” “Reverse it.” In other words, “whip” those environmental lawbreakers so that there is more profit in doing right.
Also, move to raise the FDA standards to meet international standards. Foods and additives that are illegal in other countries have no business being legal here. See, polluters are not just those corporations trashing our air, water, and earth; they’re also those corporations polluting our bodies with toxins. Our bodies are part of the environment.
#2: Restore Women’s Autonomy Over Their Own Bodies
The fact that this action is even needed really says something about where America is right now. I just read something on FB posted by Rev. Benjamin Cremer that speaks to this problem of a country willing to subordinate women to Handmaid’s Tale status: “A Christianity rooted in patriarchy will always define women first and foremost by their relationship to men. A Christianity rooted in the gospel of Jesus will always see women first and foremost as fellow human beings created in God’s image.”
I would go a step further and say, a country or community or individuals who think one faith system, out of the thousands the Creator revealed to humans on this planet has a monopoly on “morality,” and only the most white nationalist, racist, misogynistic, bastardized version of that one faith system at that, should hold sway over women’s God-given agency (via the old white men making those decisions), is playing God, and doing a really bad and blasphemous job at it.
#3: Universal Healthcare / Economic Justice
There’s a fundamental shift happening globally, with people refusing to accept inhumane treatment. This is happening at the same time that capitalistic forces are doubling down on putting profits over people. Conflict is inevitable. And those who want to be on the side of “good” must be on the side of the people. One such issue that speaks to this is radically expanding healthcare access.
The profit motive in healthcare screws the masses and supplements the hyper-wealthy. But there are more middle-class, working poor and poor voters than there are hyper-wealthy ones. Making healthcare accessible to those who need it most is a winning strategy.
And yes, I know the hyper-wealthy buy elected officials and Supreme Court Justices to overrule the will of the masses. But I’ve always been taught, and seen multiple instances that prove the words “The people united will never be defeated” to be true.
And it can especially be so by recognizing the interconnectedness between healthcare access and economic justice. Fighting for better healthcare includes having a society that pays people a fair wage and champions workers’ rights to organize. It envisions a world without insurance being tied to employment. Such a world means businesses have even less of an excuse to buffalo their employees. And the future POTUS can incentivize companies to set up co-ops or employee-owned companies so everyone’s sharing in the wealth.
#4: Target the real terrorists
Black folk and so many others outside the MAGA cone of insane criminality want the real terrorists in this country to be targeted and the real criminals put behind bars. That means moving to end all Cop Cities nationally, and going after the groups even FBI data says are the number one perpetrators of domestic terrorism – white nationalists. But they aren’t just in groups like the Proud Boys. They have infiltrated law enforcement and the military. Remove them now. They’re also members of the most conservative think tanks. If anyone needs to be on a watch list, it’s them. And they are the Dark Money gazillionaires whose bought and paid for politicians and SCOTUS justices have blocked all the changes and laws the vast majority of folk in this land want. That’s eco-terrorism… as in economic terrorism. And it’s just as dangerous.
