Immediately after the news broke that President Joe Biden would pardon thousands of people with federal offenses of simple marijuana possession, my Instagram feed was full of accolades from progressive organizers and activists. Sam Weinberg from Path to Progress had told me just days ago that Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi needed to come out in support of marijuana descheduling (in addition to a myriad of other policies) if they really want to excite their base.
“But, the stakes are very high for younger voters now. Biden has expended a lot of political capital on policies for younger people. Will they reward that by showing up to vote in the midterms?,” she asked.
“If they do, and we win, every politician in American will see that delivering for younger voters is a viable electoral strategy. If they don’t, every politician in America will learn the opposite lesson. It’s not worth it to fight for these policies,” Wu said in a text.
Oh, what a good point!
“But, the stakes are very high for younger voters now. Biden has expended a lot of political capital on policies for younger people. Will they reward that by showing up to vote in the midterms?,” she asked.
“If they do, and we win, every politician in American will see that delivering for younger voters is a viable electoral strategy. If they don’t, every politician in America will learn the opposite lesson. It’s not worth it to fight for these policies,” Wu said in a text.