The Case for Joe Biden
Hold your nose and vote for Joe?
W.J. Astore
The case for Joe Biden can be summed up quickly: He's not Donald Trump.
Frankly, for a lot of people, that's enough. Biden suggests a return to normalcy, a hint at bipartisanship, Supreme Court selections that won't be carbon copies of Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, and policies that, for example, accept the reality of climate change and seek solutions to immigration that don't enable racism or prioritize walls.
But it's not enough for me. Biden is a deeply flawed candidate, and his policies (such as they are) haven't stoked my interest and earned my vote.
Yet friends tell me I must vote for Biden, since a vote for any other candidate represents a vote for Trump.
That's what a friend told me on Facebook: That I had to put aside my ideals, hold my nose, and vote for Joe, since Trump constitutes an existential threat. Trump's been a disaster; indeed, I argued against him, vociferously, as in this piece from March of 2016. But that doesn't mean I want to vote for "the lesser of two evils."
Here's what I said to my friend on Facebook; I've only included my statements, with minor additions for context:
Very frustrating because the fix for Biden has been in since the beginning. And Joe Biden is a horrible candidate. Can't vote for him or Trump.
I understand the sentiment [of voting for Biden]. But I want to vote for someone, not against someone else. It's quite possible Biden will be unable to serve due to mental decay/dementia. So my response to the DNC is: How dare you give me Biden as a candidate! How dare you tell me to hold my nose and vote for yet another corrupt politician who's clearly in decline! How dare you fix the process against progressive ideas! You have not earned my vote.
I respect your choice [for Biden]. But your logic [that a vote for anyone other than Biden is a vote for Trump] is wrong. I write frequently against Trump, and try to persuade others of the dangers he represents. So, I won't vote for him. Period. I will vote for someone else, but I refuse to allow the corrupt DNC to dictate that my only choice is to vote for a senile corporate tool named Biden.
It's shameful that the DNC has conspired to give us such a weak candidate to go against Trump. If Biden loses, it's the fault of the DNC, not those voters who found him unattractive. In politics, you have to be able to earn votes. Nominating a candidate who is so deeply flawed is just plain stupid and cynical. Luckily, I live in a state where my vote really doesn't matter, i.e. Mass. is not a "battleground" state.
A year ago, I guessed the dream ticket of the DNC would be Biden/Harris. It may be that one prediction that I get right. It's an uninspiring ticket that's designed to suppress progressive changes. You have to accept a grim reality: the DNC exists, not to win elections, but to suppress progressive change and candidates like Bernie and Warren. In the eyes of the DNC, they have already won, even if Biden loses in November.
What say you, readers? Should we vote blue no matter who?