Thread by @peterdaou

THREAD — "VOTE YOUR CONSCIENCE"

What does that phrase really mean?

It means you're an adult with the capacity to exercise an informed judgment and make an ethical, carefully considered choice for president. It means you value your vote and understand the stakes in the election.

"VOTE YOUR CONSCIENCE"

To vote your conscience is to analyze complex factors, to weigh the outcomes, to be guided by your moral compass, to assess the impact of your choice on others, and to be true to your values and principles.

EVERY vote should be a vote of conscience.

"VOTE YOUR CONSCIENCE"

For leftists, progressives, and millions of non-voters who find the extremist GOP abhorrent and the Democratic Party complicit in perpetuating a corrupt, immoral, oppressive system, 2020 is hardly the easy choice it's made out to be.

"VOTE YOUR CONSCIENCE"

Yes, Trump and his thugs are monsters and MUST be defeated. But he is a creature of the system. Bush, a war criminal, was exonerated and embraced by Dems. For decades, every election is framed as an "existential threat," even while Dems coddle that threat.

"VOTE YOUR CONSCIENCE"

As I wrote recently, for nearly 4 years, Dem leaders have enabled, accommodated, and empowered Trump. Funded his worst policies, including mass surveillance, Wall St. bailout, and border torture. Now, come election time: "VOTE BLUE OR THE WORLD WILL END!!"

"VOTE YOUR CONSCIENCE"

So when the left looks at Biden and Trump, they don't see good vs. evil, they see a continuation of a "good cop bad cop" routine between the two major parties that perpetuates widespread oppression and obscene inequality. And they are loathe to play along.

"VOTE YOUR CONSCIENCE"

That said, many will choose to vote for Biden, having arrived at the conclusion that it is the best of bad choices, and that the consequences of not voting for Biden are unacceptable to them. And I respect their decision either way.