illustration by Kate Nuelle
You’ve probably been asked to “go vote,” but let’s make something clear: people keep dropping three important words from that call to action. What we really mean to say is “go vote for Joe Biden.” You see, I’m not going to sit here and pretend that it doesn’t matter who you vote for because that’s just a bunch of malarkey. Whether or not you vote and who you vote for in this election does matter.
After 2016, I hoped that we would all learn our lesson and realize that the “lesser of two evils” principle encouraging you to sit out the election or vote for a third party is the electoral equivalent of pissing on your own leg and telling yourself it’s raining. It’s literal nonsense, and the people who perpetrate it need to stop it. Don’t let anyone tell you that your vote doesn’t matter, least of all a white leftist, because your vote does matter, and if you’re a person of color, a child of an immigrant, or a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, then your vote is your shield and best defense.
There is a real choice on the ballot and it’s not between Democrat and Republican. It is between life and death. Since Trump took office, there have been 46 immigrants who’ve died in ICE custody, 14,000+ known victims of hate crimes, 220,000+ deaths due to COVID-19, and literally countless deaths due to police brutality, which continues to go unreported by Trump’s Justice Department despite them legally needing to do so. In this election, Joe Biden leads a coalition that represents the diversity and strength of America. His message has a lot to offer this country and everyone in it, from progressives on the left to conservatives fed up with Trump on the right, so if you still need some convincing, hear me out.
The Progressive Case
Whether you supported Bernie or Warren in the primaries, the goals of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party will be best achieved under a Biden presidency. The Overton window in this country is fast moving on issues from health care reform to racial, economic, and environmental justice, and Joe knows it. He is running on the most progressive platform of any major-party nominee in modern history. On criminal justice, Joe wants to abolish cash bail and mandatory minimum sentencing and create a national roster of abusive cops. On education, Joe wants to triple the Pell grant and make college free for families earning less than $125k. On immigration, Joe supports a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants without linking it to tougher border enforcement. On climate change, Joe wants all new buildings carbon neutral by 2030 and to end the use of fossil fuels electricity by 2035. None of these things will be possible with four more years of Trump, so a vote for Joe Biden is a vote for a more progressive nation.
The Conservative Case
Nearly 350 prominent lifelong Republicans like John Kasich, Michael Steele, Cindy McCain, Colin Powel, and Jeff Flake all stand with Joe because they see the irrevocable harm that a second term Trump administration will continue to do to our constitution and our national security. Trump has raised our taxes, expanded our government, burdened us, and future generations with more debt, and undermined our alliances. He has raised tariffs, a tax on consumers, and overseen one of the largest increases in government spending in recent memory. Under him, our national debt has reached $27 trillion and rising, increasing about $7 trillion. So if you value responsible government and true conservative values in character, then you should vote for Joe Biden, the only competent leader in the race who supports free trade and our constitution.
So if you’re a progressive leftist or a conservative still deciding whether or not to vote in this election or on who to vote for, then ask yourself this: are Bernie Sanders and AOC all mistaken to support Biden, and are Mark Sanford, Jim Mattis, and William McRaven wrong or any less conservative for opposing Trump? Do the right thing and vote for Joe.
cooper cooke • Oct 24, 2020 at 5:04 pm
This article is so intellectually dishonest and condescending. It genuinely seems like you either haven’t talked to actual leftists, you don’t care about what any of us have to say, or you’re less knowledgable about electoral politics and Biden’s record than you let on. You talk about the decision being “between life and death” rather than Democrat vs Republican. Have you not considered that both parties are capable of incredible evils, including taking life? Do you not remember how the Obama administration brushed aside Black Lives Matter (which started in 2013!!!!!!), largely ignored and disrespected Flint, Michigan, and killed upwards of 1,000 civilians (including US citizens!!!!) with drone strikes?? You talk about the deaths occurring in ICE detention centers, but where is your acknowledgment that Biden was part of an administration that *also* locked kids in cages? That deported approximately 3 million people? What about the economic sanctions that Biden and Obama supported for countries in Central and South America? While it may seem to be a choice between life and death to you, millions of people around the world, including in the US, will die regardless of who is in office. More importantly, they will die *because* of who is in office.
I am not here in your comments to tell people not to vote. If that’s what you want to do, go! vote! It’s not my decision to make for other people and I don’t try to. That said, what I *am* here to do is force you to reconcile with your candidates past and what this past implies for his future. There’s been a lot of talk about getting behind Biden and then pushing him left when he gets in office. That discourse started at the end of the DNC primary and since then Kamala has tweeted out that, despite stating he would several times, Biden would *not* ban fracking. Further, Biden has pledged to *increase* police funding and to veto M4A if it ever gets to his desk. Regardless of your personal position on any of these topics, why do you think I should vote for someone who has been proven to be just as and arguably more dangerous than Trump, especially given that he is clearly resistant to being pushed anywhere but to the right?
For you to be ignorant of Biden’s record is one thing, but to ignore it is dangerous. It is violent, especially when you’re arguing that voting for this man is the “shield and best defense” for marginalized communities.