It's getting tricky.
Some of you have already voted. Bravo! But that does mean it's too late to convince some of you to vote one way or another.
But...politicking does go on. So, therefore, I must continue my windmill tilting.
I know that the likelihood of converting a Trumpeteer at this point is very limited. Nevertheless, I don't know if I can live with myself if I stop trying.
I will use this blog post as an anchor and add to it every day that I can until the election.
Monday, October 12th early voting began in Georgia. My time to persuade my Trump leaning friends is running out. I urge you, my conservative friends, to not make this mistake. I pray that you do not turn your back on this country and what it can achieve. Do not make a mistake that will haunt you for the rest of your life. Do not vote in a way that will puzzle and mystify future generations. How could Grandpa have done that? What was Grandma thinking? Did she/he not care about the future of this country? Please, I'm on my hands and knees. Do not once again leave this great land in the hands of Donald J Trump. Please value your country over partisanship.
A vote for Trump is a vote affirming that you think climate change/global warming is a hoax. I don't think that will go well. It is the gravest threat to mankind and civilization of our lifetime. Of all the mistakes you make in voting for Trump, this may be the greatest, causing the longest term damage. It's another thing you will have to answer for to your children and grandchildren.
A vote for Trump is a vote for continued consolidation of wealth and power for the Top 1/10 of 1%. The last tax cut he endorsed blew a multi-trillion-dollar hole in the debt, and those who pretend to be deficit hawks could care less. He's not interested in you. He wants to pay less in federal taxes than a teacher. Did he cheat to achieve that low taxation? Yes, but he also drove mac trucks through the gigantic loopholes spun for him and his buddies. If you want to keep covering their debt, then be my guest- maintain Trump and bankrupt the future for you and your children and grandchildren.
A vote for Trump is a vote for racism. Now this one causes the most sqallering. "But Tom! How dare you accuse me of racism? I'm not racist!" Well, maybe not. But Trump is irrefutably racist, and some of you have decided that is not a dealbreaker. In the past, some politicians have used subtle language, dog whistles, to signal their racism. Trump does not - he uses a bullhorn. The fact that some of you can't hear it, or worse - pretend you can't - does not mean that your children and grandchildren won't pick up on it and ask, "Why, Grandma? Grandpa? How did you not hear what that awful man was saying AND doing?"
A vote for Trump is a vote against health care. It is a vote that will result in the loss of coverage of MILLIONS, both through unaffordability and through the return of pre-existing conditions. Trump is behind a case coming before the Supreme Court in November that will effectively end Obamacare, and THERE IS NO PLAN TO REPLACE IT. When your child turns 19 and is booted off your family plan, and they have no job or means to cover themselves when your asthmatic young adult son or daughter find themselves left out by pre-existing conditions when a plan REJECTS YOU because you had COVID-19, are you going to be able to explain it to your questioning child and/or grandchild?
A vote for Trump is a vote for authoritarian fascism. More squallering? I know. That's not a thing you want to see. But that doesn't make it not true. It's clear that Trump WANTS to be an authoritarian, but he has been somewhat slowed by institutional barriers. These, however, are being slowly worn down, including adding more and more to a compliant judiciary. Don't take my word for it. Look for yourself, and look to the many former military leaders, and Republican leaders, and Christian leaders, who have spoken out against Trump and his chipping away at democracy. If we give him another four years, he may very well succeed. And your children and grandchildren may not be able to ask you why you gave up on a Democratic Republic - they may no longer have the right to speak out.
A vote for Trump is not just a vote for domestic authoritarianism; it is a vote to side with dictators worldwide. Trump's foreign policy, such as it is, more often sides with dictators (communist, fascist, anything in between - makes no difference to Trump) than he does with more democratic countries and our traditional allies. Whether it's beautiful love letters to Kim Jong-Un, siding with Russia over our own intelligence services, praising Chinese President Xi for China's response to Covid-19 (until Trump saw an advantage to xenophobically condemning the "Chinese virus), letting Turkey's Erdogan invade the Syrian border and kill our Kurdish allies, and countless other examples. Trump always views foreign policy in the same way - what's in it for ME, not what's in it for America. His policy is not America First; it's ME FIRST. How you explain, allowing and encouraging the rise of dictatorships around the world to your children and grandchildren is beyond me.
A vote for Trump is NOT a vote against abortion. What would a 6 to 3 far-right supermajority at the Supreme Court do? Overturn Roe V Wade? What will that do? Return it to the states. Do you think all states will eliminate it? Hardly. So, women will just have to travel to where they can get them. They will get Plan B, legally or otherwise. Abortions have been declining the last few decades, including under Democratic administrations (the steepest decline coming under Obama). Because the way to reduce abortions is through love and support, not through criminalization. Education, better access to birth control, supporting young mothers and families, equal opportunities for women, adoption services - these are the ways to reduce abortion in America. And what have you traded to accomplish virtually NOTHING to reduce abortion? A Supreme Court that will rule for the wealthy and corporations, attack voting rights, reverse LGBTQ civil rights progress, gut environmental protections, destroy health care, cripple unions - this is just a tip of the iceberg. And when your children and grandchildren ask you how you allowed the rights and hopes of everyday citizens to be chipped away to nothing, all in order to criminalize women and their doctors, how will you answer?
I could go on and on. There is nothing positive to say about Trump and what he has done to this country. The damage will take years if not decades to recover from. The last point I will make is that a vote for Trump is a vote against bipartisanship. Like Joe Biden or not. he is committed to being President of all Americans, not just those who voted for him. He will include Republicans (or try to include them) in his governing decisions. He is committed to compromise and moving forward together. From my own perspective, I don't know if that is very practical - we have a lot of important things to do that I'm going to be very unhappy about if Republicans (or Conservative/Corporate Democrats, for that matter) roadblock them. I'm skeptical that Republicans can be worked with. But THAT'S ME. That's not Joe Biden. So, if bipartisanship is important to you then Joe Biden is your candidate.
I'm going to close up shop here. Election Day is near, and as I write this, over 70 million people have already voted. So, some of you I have lost a chance to influence.
Hopefully, prayerfully, enough of you have come over that this election will be decisive and clear.
Biden/Harris 2020
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