Illustration: Tess Brzycki
It’s become a political cliché to call every presidential election the most important election of our lifetime. But what else can you call an election in the midst of the worst multiple crises in American history totally mishandled by a clueless amateur president who has made every crisis worse?
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Americans are losing their lives, tens of millions of jobs have been destroyed, and our daily lives have been transformed by concerns for our safety and economic futures. It didn’t have to be this way with competent national leadership.
Protecting Public Health
No, Donald Trump didn’t create the deadly, international coronavirus pandemic. But, for months, he dismissed expert warnings, claiming the virus would disappear magically in warm weather. We now know from journalist Bob Woodward that Trump knew how deadly and wildly contagious coronavirus was. He deliberately lied to the American people. Millions foolishly believed him and failed to protect themselves, resulting in tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths. Trump never developed any national strategy to combat the virus so he could blame governors when it raged out of control. And, of course, without adequate national testing or protective equipment, it did spiral out of control. The University of Washington’s scientific health model predicts a likely U.S. death toll that might exceed 400,000 by year’s end, ranging between 288,000 and 620,000.
Killing Americans Destroyed Our Economy
Trump irresponsibly sacrificed American lives trying to artificially boost the economy before Election Day. That did just the opposite, permanently killing more jobs and small businesses, as well as more Americans. Republican governors rushed to reopen businesses, spreading death and economic devastation far and wide. Joe Biden correctly links economic recovery to controlling the pandemic. Trump equates economic success with a rising stock market benefitting the wealthy. Biden ties it directly to creating more jobs for working Americans. Voters know which matters most to their families.
|
|
An Opportunity for Racial Progress in American Policing
Cellphone cameras provide undeniable evidence of unnecessary police violence against black and brown Americans, which a majority of our citizens find unacceptable. Biden welcomes that growing support for racial equality in American policing. Trump continues to inflame racism as he always has. Trump denounces Black Lives Matter protests as rioting and looting destroying U.S cities. Those demonstrations are overwhelmingly peaceful. A Princeton University study examined 7,750 BLM protests since Minneapolis police murdered George Floyd and documented that 93% occurred without any violence or property damage.
Preserving the Constitution Under the U.S. Supreme Court
Right-wing extremists seem to care more about the U.S. Supreme Court while voting than ordinary Americans do. Right now, every decent American should be concerned about that. If Trump wins another term and appoints as many as three more justices, the Constitution and lawful government are toast. He’ll appoint the most corrupt lawyers he can find, in the proud tradition of Attorney General William Barr, to shut down all his rape investigations, exonerate all his criminal associates and continue looting the U.S. treasury for his family’s benefit.
The Russia Thing Still Matters
Mitt Romney seems to be the only Republican Senator who cares that Vladimir Putin helped elect Trump and appears to control him. Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson happily spreads fraudulent, pro-Trump propaganda created by Russian intelligence agents. Trump is afraid to offend Putin by telling him not to pay bounties for the killing of American troops. Trump thinks U.S. soldiers killed by Russians are a bunch of “losers” anyway. If Biden is elected, the U.S. will resume its leadership of world democracies opposing their most dangerous international adversary.
The Lies, the Stupidity and the Stone Cold Crazy
Trump set a new world record in early July by telling his 20,000th presidential lie, as documented by The Washington Post. Presidents often exaggerate accomplishments, but never before had one lied constantly throughout their term. But only Trump’s lie downplaying coronavirus was more dangerous than his incredibly stupid suggestion that government should study injecting household disinfectants into human beings to kill the disease. Poison hotlines still receive calls about Trump supporters drinking bleach. Don’t even ask about Trump’s embrace of stark, raving, mad conspiracies. No one should bother thinking about QAnon and whether the mysterious “Q” is helping Trump expose high-ranking Democrats participating in Satanic, cannibalistic, pedophile, sex-trafficking rings that murder children and drink their blood.
Life and Death Issues That Really Matter
Our own children are telling us what really matters in this election. They can’t believe adults continue to allow civilians easy access to military weapons to massacre them in their schools. The kids also think it’s important to stop the rapidly growing climate crisis from destroying all human life on the planet. To resume dealing with the issues that matter, it’s important that we elect Biden, an intelligent, rational political leader who cares about protecting America. Both parties used to nominate such those kind of decent mainstream candidates before Republicans decided to go in a different direction.
Joel McNally was a critic and columnist for the Milwaukee Journal for 27 years. He has written the weekly Taking Liberties column for the Shepherd Express since 1996.
To read more Taking Liberties columns by Joel McNally, click here.
