As someone from a swing state (A state that can either quote-unquote “swing” in either political direction during elections), ignoring the elections, especially presidential ones, has never been an option for me. Presidential candidates fixate on my state and it’s usually one of the first stops on their campaign trail. The election has always been right in my face and, for the first years of my life, I didn’t really mind.
The first election I can properly remember is Obama’s second election, where he ran against Mitt Romney. My family had their preference at first but either way, we felt it wasn’t the end of the world if the candidate we voted for came up short. But then the 2016 and 2020 elections happened, and U.S. politics changed forever.
No longer are the elections Republican v. Democrat it’s dictatorship v. mediocrity.
Both sides of the U.S. political field, for lack of a better word, suck. The Democrats have shifted further and further away from the left and toward the centre. And it’s starting to look like they may never find their way back. Most of our government leaders, on both sides, are past their prime.
This causes major issues when it comes to policies that affect the U.S. more in the future than the present because, let’s be honest, most of the people signing these bills won’t be alive to see their long-term consequences.
But no matter my grief with the Democratic party, and trust me there’s a lot of grief, a Republican victory this November will mean the start of the end of U.S. democracy.
Former President Donald Trump has said on multiple occasions that U.S. citizens should “get out and vote, just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what? It’ll be fixed, it’ll be fine, you won’t have to vote anymore my beautiful Christians.”
This election isn’t just about policy decisions but protecting our democracy. If Americans make the wrong choice this November it will be the end of not just our democracy but our freedom.
Project 2025
One of the biggest policy concerns this election season is the notorious ‘Project 2025’. While Trump personally denies any involvement with the 900-page policy he is mentioned about 300 times throughout, and over 140 people involved in the Trump administration had a hand in drafting the document.
So, it’s hard for any sane person to believe that the Trump administration had nothing to do with the project and won’t push to put it in place if Trump wins this November.
At its core, Project 2025 exists to restore family, specifically the nuclear family, to the center of American life, defend the nation’s “sovereignty and borders”, secure the ‘God-given’ right to live freely, and “dismantle the administrative state”.
That’s a lot of buzzwords to say they hope to dismantle reproductive rights, enact even more anti-immigration policies, break down the walls between church and state, and get rid of most if not all the bureaucracies that don’t immediately benefit them including but not limited to the EPA and NWS.
While Trump himself has no clear abortion policy he self-identifies as ‘pro-life’ and JD Vance, his vice president nominee, is very openly anti-abortion.
Also, it doesn’t hurt to reiterate that no matter just how bad his policy decisions are, and that’s to say they’re pretty bad, Donald J. Trump is also a convicted criminal. In fact, he’s a 34-time convicted criminal on charges of election fraud. He’s also been found liable for sexual assault; he is also set to face trial for his role in the January 6th insurrection.
Despite his status as a convicted criminal because there’s no prior precedent preventing a president from being a convicted criminal, probably because no one ever thought this would happen, he is still eligible to hold office. And boy do his cult followers want him to, as Trump is currently sitting at 46 per cent to Harris’ 49 per cent. Not a comforting difference.
First Female President?
Joe Biden stepping down and handing the nomination over to Harris was probably the best choice the democratic party has made since the start of the election.
Between his shoddy performance during the first debate and the overall worry about his ability to serve four more years as President. U.S. voters, especially the 18-24 demographic, weren’t feeling real keen on voting for Biden on November 5th. Many decided to vote undecided during the primaries to get their distaste across.
Their choice seemed to work as in July, Biden officially dropped out of the race and endorsed Kamala Harris, his Vice President, as his nominee replacement. This was the best choice the democratic party could’ve made this election season as the general American public was tired of having their only two options be old white men, both of whom are about 20 older than the average age of retirement.
Harris has since announced her own VP candidate Tim Walz, who has been deemed ‘America’s Dad’ alongside Harris’ own ‘Brat’ status. While these nicknames and memes are amusing it’s important to remember that these are politicians who exist outside of our parasocial relationships.
As Biden’s VP, it’s safe to assume that all of Harris’ policy stances align with Biden’s, so while the nomination has changed a lot of the criticism that followed Biden, and his policies, has not. Especially the criticism around the U.S.’s involvement in funding Israel’s attack on Gaza.
While Harris has come out publicly in favor of a ceasefire and a two-state solution stating that the U.S. must ensure Palestinians “can exercise their right to freedom, dignity, and self-determination,” she has at the same time condemned pro-Palestinian protestors.
However, her national security adviser, Phillip Gordon, stated that her support for Israel is “ironclad”. So, it’s hard for the American public to actually believe her words are anything more than rhetoric meant to win voters.
The uncertainty doesn’t just end with her policy on Gaza but also carries over to her immigration and gun policies. Both Harris and Walz have admitted publicly that they are gun owners but support a ban on assault weapons and overall stricter red flag laws meant to prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands.
However, this is also hard to buy into as she is not the first presidential nominee to promise such things and fall short. With the prevalence of gun violence in the U.S. a complete ban is what most of the public hopes for, not a partial one.
Her immigration policies also follow Biden’s policies which in fact borrow Trump’s own policies, this reflects her failings to deliver on her word that she wants to demolish ICE.
Nov 5th: Democracy’s Last Stand?
Whatever issue I may have with Harris’ policies or lack thereof, it’s safe to say that Trump is the overall worse choice. While Harris will most likely fail on her promises on key issues such as Gaza and gun bans, Trump will not enact any of those policies and make the situation worse.
So American voters have a choice: mediocrity or dictatorship.
There are too many problems in America to solve in one Presidency but we can at least hope it doesn’t get any worse. And under a second Trump administration, it absolutely will.
So, if you’re an American citizen eligible to vote this November I beg you, please do for it may be your last chance.
Featured Image Credit: Rosemary Ketchum via Pexels
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