Joe Biden Did What Real Leaders Do
He Chose What was Best for All of Us
Yesterday morning, I decided I would publish something about this presidential election today. Since the debate last month, I have gotten text messages daily, asking if I will still vote for Joe Biden. “Are you still with us?” I responded to none of them. I just wanted it to stop.
Then yesterday afternoon happened.
If anyone from the Democratic National Committee or any other political advocacy group is reading this, you have no need to ask me about Kamala Harris. Here is exactly where I stand, from the top of the ballot to the bottom.
If Donald Trump was running against (another) steaming wet pile of shit, I would vote for that steaming wet pile of shit.
If he was running against a months old, dry, and brittle pile of shit, I would vote for that pile of shit. If Donald Trump was running against Satan himself, I would consider voting for Satan, and not vote for President at all in 2024, before ever voting for Donald Trump, even if he was not, a twice impeached adjudicated rapist, convicted of 34 felonies, out on bond in multiple jurisdictions, who has already once attempted to steal this country from the American people. Strip all that away and he is still an asshole. And, having survived an attempt on his life makes him no better.
I was raised to believe it irresponsible to vote a straight ticket. So, I voted for Barack Obama because he inspired me. The only Clinton I ever voted for was Hillary - not because I liked her, but because the alternative was Donald Trump. I voted for George W. Bush (only the first time), because I thought he was slightly more honest than Al Gore. I voted for Ross Perot twice. Whatever the race, I have always voted for the person I thought to be the best candidate, no matter what the party affiliation.
But that all changed in the wake of January 6, 2021. When I watched the Republican-led Senate acquit Donald Trump for the second time, while admitting he was guilty, that was it for me. They knew he did it, they just didn’t want to convict him. Driven by selfish cowardice, they feared political backlash more than they cared about this country. To me, there is no longer any such thing as the Republican party, and never again will I vote for anyone affiliated with it.
Last year, the mayor of my town in central Indiana ran for re-election. I know he’s a good guy. We have mutual friends. I think he’s doing a good job. I’m proud to call him my mayor. I even sent him a t-shirt a few months back. But I did not vote for him.
Our mayor ran unopposed. But there was an R next to his name on the ballot. And, after everything he has done to undermine our democracy, if you can’t find it in yourself to unhitch your wagon from a party with no platform aside from whatever Donald wants, you will never get my vote. I would rather not vote at all.
This is how I have voted for years now, but I have done so with even more conviction since January 6.
No matter what the race, all the way down the ballot, if the only choice is a Republican, I don’t vote.
If it’s a Republican running against a Democrat for dog catcher, anything, I vote Democrat. In primaries, if I can choose a woman over a man, I will. If it’s two women, and one is a woman of color, the woman of color has my vote. I will vote for a young person over an old person. I will vote for a gay person over a straight person, a trans person over a cis person.
Look where all these old, straight, white men have gotten us. I’ve had enough of it.
I feel much more hopeful than I did yesterday. Vice-President Harris will make a fantastic President.
I can see people getting excited about her candidacy and turning out to vote. Anyone out there still saying a woman shouldn’t be President; that we need a man because a man can be tough, get in the ring with Kamala Harris. I pray Donald Trump is dumb enough to get on the debate stage with her. She will comport herself with dignity and character, and in response, that charlatan will self-destruct as we all watch. Please, God, let it be.
The only reason Donald Trump will even have a chance, the only reason he had a chance in 2016, is because Republicans have gerrymandered the districts everywhere they possibly could since the Reagan administration. They have enabled themselves, the real minority, to continue wielding power.
One last thing. If you can’t see what a great President Joe Biden has been, you either drank the Kool-Aid® a long time ago, or you’re not paying attention. And, yesterday, he cemented his legacy by doing something Donald Trump has shown himself to be incapable of doing. He put his money where his mouth is. Joe Biden did what only the greatest of leaders do.
He put the rest of us first.
As Donald Trump continues to show us what it looks like for a man to be selfish, and petty, and vengeful, and ugly, and without even the least bit of sincerity, Joe Biden is showing us what it means to be a good man.
Now more than ever, I am proud to call him my President.