With the news that Bernie Sanders dropped out of the race, we now find ourselves with the two candidates, one of whom will be the next President of the United States. Joe Biden and….him. I remember how I felt after the 2016 election, and I felt compelled to write the letter below. To be clear, I wasn’t a firm Bernie supporter, and this is not to say I’m against Joe Biden, but Sanders was a candidate that I respected greatly, and who would’ve made a fine candidate in his right. But more than one candidate, I seek to see a unified Democratic party, that throws off its history with corruption and election manipulation. So I penned the following letter:
An open letter to Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee:
Charlotte Bronte once said: Life is so constructed that the event does not, cannot, will not, match the expectation. It occurs to me that I’ve often felt that sentiment applies to politics, especially lately.
I find that Bronte’s quote speaks to the fact that for as long as there has been politics, there has existed a utopic dynamic that those who elect, seek from those who are looking to be elected. More often than not that utopic vision……that expectation, as Bronte would call it…..cannot match the reality of the choices available. Because there is often is no candidate that crosses every “T” or dots every “i” for all of us. And we are disappointed. Because we feel we are forced to reconcile the gut-wrenching question of which of our beliefs…..which of our dreams…..which of our hopes and yes, even which of our ethics, do we compromise for the “greater good.”
I, being far more cynical than most, reconciled to myself the nature of choosing between the greater of two evils in elections a long time ago. But even when expected, disappointment still has its sting. Even with Presidents like your old boss, there were moments where I felt there was something lacking. And for me, he was one of the greatest presidents we’ve seen since FDR. FDR, who reminds me a lot of another progressive, one who has been leading a revolution within the Democratic Party. Who exposed and called out corruption within the party….corruption and manipulation that reared its ugly head during the 2016 primary which more than likely affected the outcome of the election. And it seems the party has learned little of those lessons, because some of the same corruption, and manipulation occurred this time around as well.
There is little doubt that the DNC has serious corruption issues, and has manipulated the election towards more centrist, establishment candidates, such as yourself. Granted, I don’t consider those candidates bad people (certainly not akin to who we have now), but it calls into question whether the true will of the democratic masses were reflected in the primary results. Perhaps the majority did speak, but because of the other mitigating factors and in some ways gross manipulation of the results, we might never know. But I fear that the manipulation was covering up the true will of the people.
But this is not a time to look backwards. This is a time for the Democratic Party to unite. And that in itself is the point of this letter. In 2016, the party failed to unite, and they lost the election as a result. Mr. Biden, you cannot afford to make the same mistakes, or the American people will have to endure 4 more years of this President. You are not the perfect candidate. People do have some serious issues about your past voting record including the Iraq war, that you cannot easily explain away and nor should you try. But ultimately, while the past matters significantly less than what you will do for America’s future. You need to convince the electorate that you have learned from your mistakes, and that you are wiser and stronger than before and that you are ready to lead everyone, not just those who agree and love you, but those who perhaps don’t and maybe never will.
You need to embrace Senator Sanders in the ways that Mrs. Clinton could not in 2016, because Mr. Sanders’ ideas are legitimate, they are viable, and the movement he has created represents real people….people who have hopes and dreams of seeing business as usual change in Washington, who want to see someone truly champion the middle and lower class, and a group of people who if they are embraced, might just be the difference in this election. And you’ll restore democracy to the Democratic party (after all, its right in the name).
You cannot ignore the corruption; you must call it out, even if the corruption benefits you. Be transparent, be open and be clear. Right now, nothing really stands between you and the nomination, so you need to stand for something more than your opponent. Because your opponent has no problem with corruption, especially since it usually benefits him and he will not champion anyone but his own interests. The stakes have never been higher. Bush may have had his incompetent moments, Romney may have had conflicting interests, heck, even McCain (whom I regard as one of the last great conservative lawmakers) had shortcomings at times, but both of them still represented a core conservative party that has since been blinded and/or silenced by this charlatan who now presides. And remember if you win, you will be the President of the entire United States, not just those who agree with you. So why not start now by uniting the party, so that you can then take that success and unite the country if you win?
The country is tired of partisan politics. The country is tired of bickering and things not getting done because of pettiness. The country is tired of being polarized and having a leader that divides them instead of unites them. Mr. Biden, you have a chance to change all of that, which is an honor and a privilege and something that doesn’t come every day for every person. So I implore you. Change the narrative.
The goal before you is a steep hill, but as you keep saying in your campaign, you’ve often taken hard roads to get where you are. So you should know what that is like and have an idea where to start. You won’t win back every Bernie Sanders supporter, or Warren, or Buttigieg or any of the others in the crowded field, out there, but you have to try anyway. You have to show your ultimate empathy….your ultimate understanding, to those who might not return it, or return it in a volatile way. It’s not fair, because you might already believe you’ve done a great deal to make us all believe. But can you really afford to leave anyone behind? Other administrations have left people behind…..some of them in loads, and one of them leaves more behind every day.
Sir, I’m well acquainted with this type of task. I’m a professional musician. We strive for a lifetime to create beautiful music, something that we are always pursuing because there’s always more things that can be done for the music, and more people that need to hear it. We persist, even though the goal is almost certainly one we will never achieve, but its the journey…its the act…its the vocation that makes it all worth it. So, I believe, shall be your journey to become President of the United States. By being with all its people and not resting until it is so.
If you do all of that, and more, I’ll be proud to cast my vote in the name of democracy in November.
Sincerely,
Daniel A. Brownell