It is official: my parents, registered republicans who voted for Donald Trump in 2016, cast their ballots for @JoeBiden! To say that I am full of joy would be an understatement.
Asked what kind of government was created after the 1787 Constitutional Convention, Ben Franklin famously exclaimed: “A republic, if you can keep it.” For the second time in our nation’s history, there is a real chance that we may lose it.
Indeed, the upcoming election will be the most consequential one in our lifetime. The republic – an experiment in self-government that our founders initiated 233 years ago – is at stake. So too is the very soul of our nation.
I contend that a voter’s policy preferences should not be relevant right now. That is because a vote for Donald Trump affirms the dishonesty, corruption, lawlessness, racism, misogyny, bigotry, hate, laziness, vanity, and incompetence that pervades the administration.
Above all, Trump’s rejection of science and facts has resulted in the worst crisis response in our nation’s history. That alone should disqualify him from consideration for our nation's highest office.
About 220K Americans (and counting) have lost their lives to a lethal virus – one that Trump repeatedly downplayed, not because of well-reasoned judgment after consulting with experts, but rather because his political instincts concluded it was the best course for his reelection.
To be sure, it is a shocking figure, but 220K constitutes more deaths than casualties in the following wars combined: Afghanistan, Iraq, Gulf, Vietnam, World War I, Mexican, 1812 (British), and Revolutionary.
Trump should further be disqualified from consideration from office because he is a fascist, and I do not use that term lightly.
He inexcusably rejects all of the tenets which underpin our republic, including that (i) no one is above the law, (ii) there are three separate, but equal, branches of government, and (iii) citizens have a sacred right to elect their leaders via a fair and free election.
Our country also deserves to hear the truth no matter how painful it may be. Trump, however, has told over 20,000 lies while in office, many of which have ruined lives and businesses.
His dishonesty is corroding the ability of Congress to work together, as well as our relationships across the world. But the gravest risk is the impact it will have on our country going forward. If you hear enough lies, the truth may become unrecognizable.
In a similar vein, Trump's attacks on the press are patently inappropriate. Our founders preserved the right to a free press in the First Amendment because they were well aware it is vital to a healthy democracy.
Yet Trump attacks the press and calls it the enemy of the people because he prefers to hide under the cover of darkness - to cloak his corruption, lawlessness, and ineptitude. His tactics are no different than those used by Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Putin, Erdogan and others.
Trump's personnel decisions are likewise right out of the fascist playbook. He values loyalty over competence. That is why the DOJ, State, USPS, DNI, Treasury, Education and other departments are overflowing with cronies and sycophants.
The strategy has been effective. Barr defrauded the country with his characterization of the Mueller report. Pompeo helped cover-up key evidence in the Ukraine impeachment trial. Meanwhile, DeJoy inexplicably cut USPS resources and is actively trying to undermine the election.
At bottom, Trump has taken a blow torch to the constitution while claiming to love his country. Nothing could be further from the truth though. He simply is a demagogue who craves unbounded power.
On country, on a different note, has been on a long and tortured journey to live up to the Declaration of Independence's promise that all men and women are created equal - born with certain unalienable rights, namely life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Unfortunately, we are nowhere close to fulfilling the foregoing promise. Our country therefore needs leaders who will do everything in their power to carry it forward.
Trump, however, has categorically failed on this score, referring to White Nationalists as "very fine people," authorizing peaceful protestors demanding equality to be tear gassed, and blowing a dog whistle to racists every chance he gets.
If Trump is reelected, human lives will continue not to be equal in the administration's eyes - black men will continue to be needlessly murdered, LGBTQ rights will further erode, and women will lose their right to control decisions concerning their own bodies.
Trump is running on the same message as before: to "make America great again." That is profoundly absurd. Putting all the evil things he did to the side, the Trump administration's sole legislative accomplishment was passing a tax cut for corporations.
It must be underscored that the GOP held the Senate, House of Representatives, and the Executive Branch from 2017 to 2019. Trump thus was unencumbered and free to carry out whatever agenda he wanted. And he did virtually nothing.
The only people who benefited from the Trump administration have been the wealthy, racists, and cronies. Objectively, there is no reason to reelect a POTUS who was floundering around his entire presidency and solely focused on self-enrichment as well as the preservation of power.
Trump cannot even articulate his agenda for a second-term. That of course is because he has none whatsoever. His only plan is to avoid the avalanche of indictments heading his way, while finding other ways to enrich himself and his family.
Spending under the Trump administration has been a disaster too, which is surprising because the GOP used to tout small government and fiscal conservatism as its hallmarks.
But Trump was willing to bankrupt the U.S. to prop up the economy. The Fed bought trillions of dollars in corporate bonds to artificially push the stock market higher. It thus is a mere mirage. Worse, taxpayers will have to deal with inflation and a higher deficit in the future.
Perhaps the most repugnant thing of all, Trump plans to destroy Social Security, Medicare and the ACA's preexisting condition protections. He yet again would deliver a "win" to the super-wealthy, while fundamentally harming millions of Americans.
Much like COVID-19, the environmental crisis that the world faces is not a "hoax." In fact, it poses an existential threat to our future on this planet.
Trump, however, inexplicably walked away from the Paris climate accord, which represented our best chance to sidestep disaster. He did so to deliver another "win" to corporate executives who cared more about short term profits than your children's and grandchildren's future.
Under the Trump administration, we are less safe. Our allies, among others, France, Great Britain and Germany, do not trust us. And he has fundamentally undermined NATO - to Putin's delight - an organization created in the wake of WWII to protect its members, including Americans.
On the topic of national security, North Korea now poses a greater threat than ever before after Trump's laughable strategy of flattery categorically blew up in his face.
Moreover, our American soldiers are now targeted by mercenaries who are being paid Russian bounties to kill them because Trump - a traitor - refuses to do anything about it.
And the puzzling favors Trump continues to dole out to Putin do not end there: he inexplicably pulled out of the Open Skies Treaty, invited Putin to a G7 conference (even though Russia was kicked out for its annexation of Crimea), and leaked classified intel to Russian agents.
In the end, the 2016 presidential candidate who was caught on camera saying he could grab women by their genitals, mocked the disabled, stole from a children's cancer charity, and colluded with Russia to steal an election has conducted himself as expected.
Referring to women as "nasty," "vindictive," "horrible" and as "monsters" has definitely been on brand. Perhaps referring to soldiers who sacrificed their lives for our country as "losers" and "suckers" sunk to an unimaginable level.
In any event, our country cannot afford another four years of dishonesty, lawlessness, corruption, incompetence, divisiveness, hate, racism, misogyny, bigotry, and everything else that Trump represents. He is one of the worst presidents in our republics history.
Vote for @JoeBiden. He is a decent man. Indeed, he will be a good faith steward who will respect his oath to defend the constitution. And he will work tirelessly for the American people regardless of their political affiliation, gender, race, religion, or sexual preference.
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