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What are we grateful for?
I’m writing you early this week because Thanksgiving weekend is one of the few weekends I try to take off to rest and recovery from the business of The Cameron Journal. Thanksgiving is always a time to think about what we are grateful for this year. Given the results of the election it can be hard to think of that but I want everyone to lay that aside and think about all the other parts of our lives that are not affected by politics. That is the stuff that will keep us buoyed in the coming months and years as the next phase unfolds.
This year I’m thankful for all my wonderful new subscribers and all the people who have discovered The Cameron Journal. This year, I have more reach than I ever have before and more people are choosing to get their news and information from The Cameron Journal than ever before. I am also grateful for my Long Covid clearing up and starting to feel like myself for the first time in almost 2 years. Long Covid is such a journey and I will write more about that length in future, but I am grateful for that this year.
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This week I’ve been following a few stories, especially geopolitics (which I wrote about last week) but this week, the Kamala Harris campaign has come out of its cocoon and has started doing the rounds on podcasts and elsewhere. Vice President Kamala Harris released a video encouraging supporters to remember they still have power and not to give it away. Her staff has been going around complaining about everything from “the political environment” to voters themselves. This has earned them much rancor on social media from Bernie Sander supporters lamenting his lack of elecotral success to people saying that the Democrats need to move farther left and not right-ward.
In my opinion, it was a combination of factors at play. I think not going on Joe Rogan was a mistake and not understanding the new media environment was as bad as Nixon doing poorly in television in 1960. I don’t think democrats can podcast their way out of this repudiation (see my monologue in this week’s Newshour) but I do think that everyone in politics needs to understand that the action is not happening on TV or radio. It’s happening here, online. It is folks like me that control the narrative these days.
As far as what positions to take, I am fearful of populism wherever it goes. Left-wing populism can lead to Peronism (Argentina) which can be just as dangerous as Right-wing populism. Populism is not the answer. Creating a country where people can thrive and those thriving people create a great society is the answer. That is the heart of what I call Individual Collectivism.
I think the greater story here is that Harris was thrown in the deep end of the pool because of Biden’s intractability of not leaving the race last year. President-Elect Trump had a 4 year head start. In this way, much like Biden in 2020, Trump was a known quantity. This matches which waht I said in July about not switching candidates and winning. I feared that the DNC had lost the election and it turned out I was right.
One of the things I’ve heard from people is that they really didn’t get a chance to get to know her at all. It appears she thinks this as well because Harris has teased a run for California governor in 2026 and possibly another Presidential run in 2028. I think a run for California governor could be an excellent idea but I’m unsure about that 2028 Presidential run.
In other news, Israel has agreed to a cease-fire with Lebanon that started early Wednesday morning. Israel had been fighting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and it had not been going very well. It looks like the Biden administration has at least managed to end that front of the war. The other big story this week on that front was the International Criminal Court arrest Warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister (see the Newshour for more!) and Canada saying that it would actively seek to make an arrest.
Speaking of Canada and Mexico, harsh words were exchanged this week between both countries and the United States as President-Elect Trump announced 25% tariffs on both nations if they don’t do more to control illegal immigration. Mexico did agree to do more on that front after the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, issued a 2 page letter on the tariffs and threatened tariffs of their own. Canada was non-plussed on the matter and warned of cost increases to common goods ranging from timber and oil to car parts. Mexico is the biggest trading partner with the US and much of the gas in the Midwest comes from Canada as well. These tariffs would be devastating to business and it would be devastating for the American consumer.
However, it appears that Mr. Trump is playing hardball on immigration at least. Combining that with sparring with Mexico over mass deportations and it appears that Mr. Trump is going to take on everyone. And don’t forget his new plan for 10% across the board tariffs on everything coming from China. My recommendation is to stock up anything expensive now and get your car repaired. It’s going to be a long four years.
Using trade as a bargaining chip for new policy isn’t a new tactic, but it is a major departure from the free trade and free market attitudes that have dominated American trade policy from 1945-2016. It also flies in the face of what we usually see from GOP. But this is Trump’s party now. Mr. Trump used tariffs as a tool last time and they were successful enough that the Biden administration didn’t get rid of any of them to protect union jobs and American industry. This is a preview of what life will be like at 12:01 pm on January 20, 2025. Get ready now.
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