What’s going on y’all? Welcome back to The Big Picture blog. It’s been a few weeks since the Democratic National Convention, and the joke of a Republican National Convention wrapped up towards the end of last week. Did you catch either of the two?
If not, you didn’t miss much. While both parties laid out their visions for America, Republicans presented less of a “vision” and more of a blind support for Tr*mp. In all seriousness, both parties traditionally vote on an official platform for the party, but this year Republicans removed any doubt that they have abandoned all but one principle: loyalty to Tr*mp.
The Democratic Convention had its faults too—plenty of them. For one, it seems like instead of reaching out to the voters who feel ignored the most by the party (young progressives for example), the party made the case that Joe Biden is the best pick because he’s likeable, or because he considers the views of people on all sides of the political spectrum. His ability to be “open-minded” is not bad, per se, but when you need the votes of millions of young Black people, or other POC, one would think the Deomocratic party would reassure Black voters that it has their interest in mind, not the interests of Republicans who voted for Tr*mp in 2016.
This leads me to the topic of today’s post. If neither candidate truly represents how you feel, they don’t necessarily support all the policies you do, or they just aren’t good people, then why should you vote at all?
Since 2016, my timeline has been overwhelmed by this debate, and as we get closer to Election Day I’m sure it will only become a bigger topic. Although, at times, I find myself agreeing with people from both perspectives, I think I finally have an answer that at the very least explains my own rationale for believing that voting in November, for Joe Biden, is still better than not voting at all.
Oddly enough, my reasoning doesn’t center on policy much, if at all. After all, Biden’s support for the policies that will move America in the right direction—policies such as Medicare for all, an end to the War on Black … oop, I mean, Drugs, a Marshall Plan for the communities forsaken by industrialization, student loan forgiveness—should be described as weak as Tr*mp’s grip on reality. In other words, Biden is out of touch with the direction that a significant fraction of his base—including young voters—want to take this country. Take a look at the other side, and you find that Tr*mp doesn’t support any of those things either. So voting for a candidate based on their policy proposals is almost a nonstarter in this election. I say almost because I do think Biden’s platform includes some productive proposals; such as strengthening gun control, investing in clean energy infrastructure, and campaign finance reform among a few others.
So, why vote?
I firmly believe this election presents a crossroads for our country. Four more years of Tr*mp would take us to a place of no return. I think about the Judiciary, where the President appoints federal judges to benches across the country, where they will serve for the rest of their lives.
Yes, judges have lifetime tenures. In his first four years, Trump has been able to appoint and confirm around 200 judges (2 being Supreme Court Justices), who will absolutely still be on the bench decades from now, long after Trump is gone. These Judges/Justices are usually very conservative, could easily jeopardize women’s abortion rights, voting rights, and civil rights in the future. For example, Judge Kenneth Lee of the California 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has a history of having extremely conservative views like supporting felon disenfranchisement (losing the right to vote); and he’ll most likely sit on the Court for at least a couple decades.
Equally concerning is Tr*mp’s not-so-subtle and consistent slide towards authoritarianism. He openly praises dictators. He “jokes” about not leaving office if he loses and his flagrant attack on the USPS before an election should be concerning to everybody. If Tr*mp gets four more years, I have a strong feeling that a “fair” election in 2024 may not be a thing, if there is an election at all.
My last reason has nothing to do with Biden or Trump. Yes, this is a Presidential election and that race gets all the attention, but there are dozens of offices on the ballot. Most of these other races are for local and statewide positions, which affect you much more directly than the Federal government does. Here in North Carolina, our Governor, Roy Cooper, is running against his Lieutenant Governor, Dan Forrest— a Trump sycophant and wannabe. The control of the State Senate, if not both Chambers in the General Assembly could also flip to Democrats after this year. There is so much on the line that doesn’t involve Trump and Biden. We cannot allow that one race to stop our participation.
Like many of you, I’m not excited or motivated to vote for Biden, but I’m less excited for the prospects of what another four years of Tr*mp would look like. Those two simple, but far reaching reasons are why I personally feel like voting in November is the right thing to do. For many of my subscribers, this will only be our second Presidential election, and it will also be the second time we feel like we’re forced to choose between “the lesser of two evils”. It’s wrong, and I completely understand how/why people get discouraged to vote—but please, Vote!
I’m really interested in carrying on this conversation with y’all, so please comment below, or use the links below to my social media accounts to chat with me on there. If you’ve made it this far, thank you so much for reading, and, like always, keep looking for the Big Picture.
The Big Picture 