Let me be clear right up front: Yes I voted for the Green Party candidate in the 2016 presidential election. But this year, I’m all in for the Biden-Harris ticket and the Democrats all the way down the ballot! I’d like to briefly explain what shaped my decision in 2016, and more importantly, why I am convinced that this year it is absolutely critical for everyone to do everything possible to support the candidate who has the best possible chance of defeating Trump.
So why did I make that choice back in 2016? I had several reasons. I am a voter in what was looking to be a reliably Red state that year, so my vote was not likely to influence the Electoral College outcome (it didn’t). I was distinctly unimpressed by Hilary Clinton’s candidacy—she always seemed to be carefully calibrating her messaging to what would poll well with voters rather than leading from the basis of firmly-held principles. To the limited extent that Clinton held to policy positions, her positions were significantly to my right. I was also unhappy with the reality that all too many leaders within the Democratic Party were (and still are) beholden to corporate/elite interests rather than seriously committed to actually helping all of the American people. As a Bernie supporter, I was (and still am) stung by the way that the Democratic establishment and primary voters dismissed his campaign(s). Despite all of this, I had long passed the point where I would consider any Republican candidate, and I knew that Trump was an abysmal standard-bearer for that party. I felt it was important to vote, to support down-ticket candidates, and it was also an opportunity to register a protest against the political establishment. But that is all in the past—so much has changed since then.
I expected that Clinton was going to win but was not tremendously shocked when she ended up defeated in the Electoral College. Within days of the election, news reports surfaced about Russian interference and possible Trump campaign coordination with this foreign meddling. At that point, I held out faint hope that the Electors in the Electoral College would perform their duties as outlined by Alexander Hamilton in the Federalist Papers, number 68, and either select a different candidate or throw the decision to the House of Representatives. But sadly, the time for this sort of early-American interpretation of Constitutional procedures has long-passed. The Electoral College has become hopelessly politicied.
The Electoral College solution was always a long-shot, but from December 2016 onward, I was convinced that Trump would be impeached and either resign or be removed by the vote of the Senate. I naively assumed that at least some of the Republican senators would place devotion to their country above party loyalty. I’m not going to waste time recounting the litany of callous incompetence and malignant corruption committed by the administration over the last four years. Despite Trump’s obvious flaws and failings, the GOP has managed to push through an incredibly regressive agenda ranging from the massive, fiscally-irresponsible tax-cut for the wealthy and corporations to packing every level of the federal judiciary system with right-wing ideologues. It is an equal waste to do more than briefly mention how the administration and its GOP allies have thwarted ever effort to provide reasonable oversight and restrain corruption—from the Mueller investigation, through the impeachment trial, and including ongoing disregard and obstruction of Congressional subpoenas along with multiple firings of federal agency inspectors general.
This brings us to the crux of why this election is so vitally important—and so different from every previous election in living memory. Trump—along with his enablers and supporters in the GOP—have demonstrated their utter contempt for our constitutional system and the rule of law. This is not merely an issue for the halls of government and courtrooms. We are seeing this play out in the streets of America. The plot to kidnap Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer is only the most recent in a long list of right-wing extremist acts that Trump has enabled and encouraged by his refusal to strongly condemn violence when it is his supporters who are perpetrating it. At the same time that far right extremists are committing lawless violence around the country, agents of the federal government from the Attorney General on down to unidentified enforcement officers (or contractors) are actively trampling on the civil liberties of journalists, protesters, and other citizens. It seems like these activities have been lifted out of some of the darkest chapters of American history to plague us today. And they are layered onto the continued (and growing) efforts of the GOP to suppress and discourage lawful voting.
In my study of US history, I am aware of only one previous instance where a major faction within one political party was so fearful of the consequences of their electoral defeat that they were willing to disregard the rule of law and rip the country apart in order to get their way. This took place in 1860 when the southern Democrats were so afraid of the threat posed by Abraham Lincoln’s election. Lincoln did not campaign on immediately ending slavery; instead he wanted to keep it from expanding and find ways to gradually eliminate it. For the last several months, it has seemed like we have been teetering on a similar precipice. However, during the last week or so we are seeing encouraging signs: the Biden-Harris ticket is climbing in the polls, early voting turnout is very high, and a handful of prominent Republicans including Cindy McCain and the supporters of the Lincoln Project are actively working to defeat Trump.
Despite these positive indications, I remain convinced that Trump and his hard-core supporters are prepared to use every means at their disposal to try to cling to power. There is no doubt that Biden will win the popular vote and his chances for victory look good in the Electoral College. But if the election is at all close, state-governments that are controlled by Republicans may well yield to the temptation to suppress the counting of absentee ballots, otherwise manipulate the process, or simply choose a slate of Electors that is contrary to the result of the popular vote in their state. If any aspect of the election ends up litigated in the courts, Trump and the McConnell-led Senate have assured themselves of receiving a favorable hearing by packing the courts with their partisan judges. And we’ve already seen far too many examples of Trump inciting his followers to use intimidation and violence to try to get their way. The fact that he refuses to commit to peaceably step aside in the event of his potential defeat only continues to fuel potential violence.
Narrowly defeating Trump on Election Day will not be sufficient to ensure that he leaves office in January. Our best hope of eliminating this threat to our constitutional system of government is an absolutely massive turnout of voters across the country who vote for Democrats up and down the ballot. If we can make this the media narrative on election night, we will have a chance of restoring a sense of stability, and it will give us the chance to continue fighting to realize the aspiration of forming “a more perfect union”—a union that genuinely provides both liberty AND JUSTICE for ALL.
There are three weeks left. Do not allow yourself to wake up on Wednesday, November fourth with the feeling that you didn’t do everything possible to preserve the American experiment in democratic government.
- If you plan on voting by mail, and haven’t done so yet, drop everything and make sure your ballot goes in the mail today!
- If you intend to drop off your ballot, make sure you know the location of a LEGITIMATE drop off site, and get it done!
- If you intend to vote in-person, either early or on Election Day, be prepared for long lines, and plan on how you can do that safely.
- Reach out to those you know—friends, family, neighbors, and do what you can to encourage them to get out and vote to save America from the Trump menace. You never know who you might persuade!
- If you have the means, send donations to Democratic candidates.
- Support campaign(s) by volunteering.
- Remember, you can make a difference, but the time to act is NOW!