2020 Vision: A New Song for a New Year

Among Democrats there is a lot of scrambling around to see what to do next. I think the most important thing to do is to prepare working class voters who voted for Trump to understand that his policies are going to hurt them. But this will be difficult because Trump will try to shift the blame to others.

For example, not many people know that once the Republicans repeal Obamacare, which will happen in a couple of weeks, (even if they delay “replacing” until after the 2018 mid-term elections), the funding to pay for Obamacare may also be repealed. This will result in a huge tax cut that will go solely to those making more than $200,000 per year. With funding cut off, Obamacare will be crippled and its steady demise will be blamed on Obama, not Trump. Also, Medicare will likely be altered to make it more of a private insurance plan and Medicaid will be turned over to the states– so the redder the state, the deeper the cuts. Proposed tax cuts will result in larger deficits and provide justification for drastic cuts in social programs like food stamps. The people who will be hurt most will be the working class, the poor, and young people.

In order to reach folks in states that went for Trump, Democrats will have to try to explain what is going to happen before it happens. They must lay the groundwork for Trump voters to see very clearly in 2020 (with 20-20 Vision) that they have been betrayed by Trump. They need to go to the polls four years from now 2020 to vote against the man they pinned their hopes on. This is no easy task.

I wrote this song with all of the above in mind. I wrote the first three lines on a piece of paper and played it for my daughter, Rachael, who was in LA for the holidays. I finished it up last week and recorded it on my cell phone. It’s rough and unfinished, but I hope it sets a new tone for a difficult New Year.

2020 Vision
Lyrics by Darryl Holter:

Well we walked into the voting booth / Four long years ago
And we never used to vote that much / But this time we had to go
And we pulled the lever for someone new / Who promised to help us win
The jobs we lost and the broken dreams / And make us great again

We watched the Leader’s airplane land / We listened to him speak
About good-paying jobs and health care for all / And our social security
Then he was gone and we were here / But at least we had some hope
For a better life, for you and I, if he could win the vote

CHORUS: And we wanted to have a future / And we wanted to believe
That someone, somewhere would hear our voice / And bring us some relief
But it didn’t turn the way we planned / And it’s time for another decision
And now we’re watching closely / With 2020 vision

Well we learned to hate Obamacare / They told us it was wrong
They said we all would be better off / If they repealed it and it was gone
So they cut off all the funding and gave a huge tax break to the rich
“It’s all Obama’s fault,” they said, “And you’ll have to live with it.”

Those of us who are old enough / To qualify for Medicare
Were happy enough with what we had / We felt that it was fair
Then they told us they were changing it / To a private insurance plan
That put our health into the hands of the laws of supply and demand

CHORUS:

Then they went after Medicaid / for the poorest of the poor
They said, “Why don’t we just let every state / Decide what it wants to do?”
So the redder the state, the deeper the cuts / Until the number of uninsured grew
And the poorest of poor tried to find car / In the hospital’s emergency room

Well the Leader’s plane never lands here no more / I guess he’s busy making deals
And the jobs that we lost never came back / And we’re still spinning wheels
And it makes me god damned angry / That I was played for a fool
Believing someone who promised the moon / But used me like a throw-away tool

CHORUS: And we wanted to have a future / And we wanted to believe
That someone, somewhere would hear our voice / And bring us some relief
But it didn’t turn the way we planned / And it’s time for another decision
And now we’re watching closely / With 2020 vision