[Note from Annie: I feel the post below, written by my fellow blogger Infidel753, is so thoughtful and persuasive that I’m featuring it here. Infidel’s highly informative, provocative, and often entertaining blog may be accessed at infidel753.blogspot.com.]
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This November, one of two things will happen. Either Biden will be elected president, or Trump will be re-elected. Many people fervently believe there should be some third option. There isn’t. It’s going to be one of those two.
This post is addressed to those who, for whatever reason, don’t like Biden. Maybe you consider him too centrist or too old or too old-fashioned or “Republican-lite” or whatever. Maybe you think the Tara Reade accusation has credibility (though there are good reasons to believe otherwise). Maybe you think the process by which millions of rank-and-file Democrats chose the nominee (from among a remarkably large and varied group of candidates) was tainted in some way. Maybe you hold that your vote has to be earned and Biden hasn’t done this or that thing that qualifies him as having done so.
None of that is a good enough reason to let Trump be re-elected.
None of that is a good enough reason to let him saddle the whole country with a 7-2 majority of reactionaries and theocrats on the Supreme Court for decades to come.
None of that is a good enough reason to risk four more years of migrant family separation and kids in cages, or of rhetoric which blatantly scapegoats Latinos, Muslims, and whatever other minority makes a convenient target.
None of that is a good enough reason to leave this vicious and hateful man in a position where he could block laws to help the unemployed and the uninsured, laws to end gerrymandering and vote suppression, laws to protect gay equality and the right to abortion nationally, that a Democratic House and Senate might pass.
None of that is a good enough reason to tolerate four more years of the massive and flagrant banana-republic corruption we’ve seen.
None of that is a good enough reason to risk four more years of budget-wrecking giant tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, and efforts to sabotage Social Security, the Postal Service, and the Devil knows what else.
None of that is a good enough reason to facilitate four more years of bungling the response to covid-19 (yes, it will still be around long after January 2021).
None of that is a good enough reason to accept four more years of posturing brats like Kushner, malignancies like Barr, and the rest of Trump’s crew of grifting toadies, keeping their hands on various levers of power.
None of that is a good enough reason to submit to four more years of undermining the separation of church and state.
None of that is a good enough reason to allow four more years of trashing our country’s relationships with other democracies, and enabling and legitimizing murderous gangster regimes around the planet.
None of that is a good enough reason to risk four more years of the federal government actively sabotaging all efforts to fight climate change.
Perhaps you want to vote third party to “send a message” of some sort. But look at history. Nobody knows or cares what “message” Nader voters in 2000 or Stein voters in 2016 thought they were sending. What mattered was who became president. Do you think you’ll be punishing Biden or the DNC by withholding your vote? They won’t suffer if Trump is re-elected. It’s the kids in cages, the unemployed and uninsured, the gay people and minorities, the countless additional people who will lose their lives or health to covid-19 — they’re the ones who will suffer.
Or maybe you think your vote isn’t needed because Biden’s victory is inevitable or you don’t live in a swing state. Yes, Hillary’s victory was also “inevitable” in 2016, and look how that worked out. And even if you live in a safe state for one candidate or the other, the popular vote matters, psychologically even if not legally. If Trump loses, the wingnut noise machine will immediately go into overdrive attacking the legitimacy of the result. The bigger the popular-vote margin, the less effective their sabotage will be upon the mass public mind. The bigger the popular-vote margin, the more clearly our country will be seen by the rest of the world to repudiate the contemptible cruelty and madness of the last four years.
And it’s not only the presidency. We need to win it, yes, but we need to hold the House and win the Senate as well. Leaving any one of those three under the Republicans’ control would enable them to block almost all progress on expanding health coverage, protecting the right to vote, restoring abortion rights, saving the climate, or anything else. And again, in the real world, the only way to end Republican control of those institutions is to achieve Democratic control. There’s no third option.
It’s not only about Biden or the Democratic party. It’s about saving the country.
Posted by Infidel753 May 5, 2020
annieasksyou... 
Agree. The Dems must control the House and Senate as well.
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For sure. We won’t get far with Moscow Mitch at the helm.
Are you ok? I was worried about you when you didn’t respond to my comment that I’d linked to “How to Vote,” and as you’re a student of history, I thought you’d find Michael McFaul’s observations interesting.
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I am fine, thanks for asking. I have far too many blogs I follow. Not to mention the local Facebook pages (Trump country). So, I tend to miss things once in awhile. I am constantly deleting stuff and sometimes I delete comments, etc. by mistake. But I always enjoy your posts.
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I understand. Glad you’re ok.
I put my McFaul post on Twitter bc he’s receiving a lot of heat for his warnings about Russia and I wanted to support him. It’s getting a good deal of positive attention. I hope you’ll read it when you get a chance.
I always enjoy your posts too. I see there’s a new one I haven’t read yet. Today’s assignment!
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I follow Infidel as well and his posts are very good. Thoughtful, smart and often quite funny. This is an excellent one.
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I hope I’m right about how persuasive it is! We need every vote possible.
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I agree totally with Infidel’s post, although I like Joe Biden now, and have always liked him, in his own right, and not just as the anti-Trump.
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As I’ve written, I now think Biden has just the right leadership qualities we sorely need for our fractured nation. I’m very comfortable with the Biden-Harris ticket. Unfortunately, I know from being on Twitter that there are plenty of people who can benefit from considering Infidel’s points—if only they’re open to doing so. There’s a Libertarian Party candidate who will be on the ballot in most states, and there are still cranky Bernie Bros who aren’t paying attention to Bernie. So this post is for them.
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Now, doesn’t that just say it! Thanks for the rundown of very good reasons. Excellent.
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Think it will change minds? I sure hope so!
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Saving the country is correct. There’s no way to overstate how horrible Trump is.
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Here’s hoping his blatant disrespect for the military and those who’ve sacrificed—which has been evident for years—will finally show enough people his depravity to result in a Democratic landslide.
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Reblogged this on Filosofa's Word and commented:
Blogger friend Annie posted this post earlier this month (where has September gone???) and it is an excellent and timely reminder for those who may still be sitting on the fence about the November election. Please take a few minutes to read. Thank you, Annie & Infidel!
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Thanks for reposting this. Biden is not perfect, but there is no such thing. He is a decent and empathetic man who will try to bring us together. As General James Mattis said, Trump does not even try to unite us. Keith
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Quite so, Keith. And Biden believes in being guided by science—a trait that we should never have thought would be in doubt—but we have paid an enormous price due to its absence in the man who currently, tragically, occupies the Oval Office.
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Annie, plus Biden will rebuild the precipitous decline in trust of America and its president per the recent Pew survey. We are less trusted because the president is untrustworthy. Keith
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Hi Annie, thx for sharing this compelling post. Sadly, there’s a fundamental reason why over 100 million Americans don’t bother to vote every single election. Our political system favors the rich and connected, does nothing for the poor and middle class.
Ask yourself, why does Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia, Netherlands and most of the world have free universal health care, living wage, free or lost cost education, cheap prescription drugs, better overall quality of life… yet the United States is the richest country in the world by far but can’t afford to care for it’s citizens?
Joe Biden most likely will win this upcoming election, but he’s old guard for the establishment, nothing will essentially change, his administration’s policies cater to corporate interests and will align with Republicans very well. Joe Biden is not the solution but a continuation of the problem, granted he’s better than Trump but not by much. In reality there’s really no choice in a duopoly 2-party system, just the illusion of left vs right. When both parties actively encourage partisanship and in-fighting, we all lose. It’s divide and conquer, that’s why the upper echelon of society – the 1% always win and everyone else is poorer. The system is rigged in their favor and both parties want to keep it that way!
Watch this video and you’ll understand why our political system has failed us:
God help us all.
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I haven’t watched the video yet, but I hear you. I remain hopeful that the horrors of this year—which have so clearly demonstrated the gross inequities and grievous problems in our society—will enable Biden to get through a much more progressive agenda than he might have previously. He’s a decent and compassionate man who really wants to make a difference, so I’m thinking FDR-like programs. And he does see revitalizing unions as a way to address economic deprivation. To me, that’s a plus. He’s never tried to enrich himself either. He’ll be a breath of fresh air after trump—but only if people appreciate how terrible it will be if trump is re-elected.
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I did not watch the video and I have to agree that Biden does represent the “old guard” of the Democrat Party. I guess I relate to him because we have very similar backgrounds. Working class. No silver spoons. Respect rights of others.
So, what is the “old guard”? Well under the old guard unions were strong and wages were decent. I’ll take that.
Under the old guard the government passed Civil Rights laws, Voting rights laws. Environmental protection laws. Fair tax laws.
Under the old guard the wealthiest people paid their fair share. The differences in wages between a CEO and guy on the factory floor was about 20 to 1. Today it is about 2,000 to 1.
When I hear the mantra that the “system fails” what I think is that is an easy way out. Under the old guard the system had been moving toward more inclusion and better social policies. It was the “new guard” of Reaganism that subverted the system and has been undermining democracy for 40 years.
This has not been a failure of the “system” but rather an undermining of it. So, let’s get back to the “old guard” days. When the nation was put ahead of individual greed. When the laws were made for the greater good. The best contrast I can think of goes back to 1981.
President Carter of the “old guard” had put solar panels on the White House as a symbol of the need to lesson our dependence on oil and to research new energy sources. Reagan had them torn out.
President Carter and the “old guard” supported workers rights. One of Reagan’s first acts as president was to destroy the air traffic controllers union.
I’ll take the “old guard” any day.
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But I see Biden, at age 77, as the Old Guard who understands these times require bigger fixes. His willingness to move up his climate change goals is a prime example. I think he’s capable of stability plus innovation—and that is just what we need right now.
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