“Those unsatisfied with Biden- digging a deep hole”; Charleston Gazette; 12-15-23

Those unsatisfied with Biden- digging a deep hole 

“I will do anything I can to help my country, and you’re saying, ‘Does that mean you would consider it (running for President in 2024 as an independent)?’ Absolutely.” -Senator Manchin  

Polling is looking increasingly bleak for President Biden. Virtually every swing state seems to be trending more and more for Trump, often due to loss of -a. moderates and b. younger, more liberal voters.  

There’s a frequently stated philosophical position on various social media sites- “Trump and Biden are both tools of the corporate elite controlling this nation. Therefore, I’m writing in XYZ (Manchin Bernie, West, RFK) or not voting at all.” This belief is especially strong among Gen Z, with many saying that they will not vote because they don’t like either candidate.  

These social media activists almost never back up their emotional views with facts. Instead, they call both men racists, polluters, war mongers and misogynists. People like this do a great disservice to political discourse and our nation. There’s a clear difference in the positions of these two men on numerous issues and young progressives must understand them. 

And Biden, old or not, represents policies supported by moderates. On healthcare Biden supports the ACA (Obamacare). He also advocates lowering the age for Medicare to 60 rather than 65. As he recently reiterated, Trump wants to do away with the ACA (substituting his non-existent, imaginary reform plan) – which would permit insurance companies to return to the bad old days of excluding you from insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions. If Trump succeeds, he will force tens of millions to lose medical insurance.   

Let’s look at climate change and pollution. Biden believes in the Green New Deal proposals rolled out by progressives, although he does not always agree to implement them due to expense. And he knows that climate change is manmade and is causing an existential environmental crisis. He wants reasonable actions that won’t cause economic harm, while still lessening the health threat to our grandchildren.   

Trump thinks that there’s no climate change problem at all. He wants to open public lands to drilling (“day one”), bring back coal, and do away with all those pesky environmental regulations keeping pollutants out of the air and water. Are his views and Trump’s the same? Only a fool would believe that fallacy.   

Biden has a long history of public service. Sometimes he has made mistakes. But he has had a long record of supporting civil rights and women’s equality, leading him to choose a black woman as his running mate.  

Trump has done the opposite for the last 50 years, embracing white supremacy and misogyny. His racist views and actions go back to the 1970s when the Trump organization was sued for discrimination in housing practices, lost/settled and then got sued again for not following the terms of the settlement.  

Trump also took out a full-page newspaper ad pushing for the maximum punishment for five black young men accused of raping a woman in Central Park. Even after DNA evidence conclusively proved that they had not done it, Trump never admitted he was at fault.  

And there are the numerous racist things he has said and done since- stating Obama was Kenyan and not a citizen, calling Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals, accepting the endorsement of racists like David Duke and conspiracy nuts like Qanun, and failing to understand the difference between the white supremacists in Charlottesville versus the good people protesting against them.  

Further, Trump views women as property and playthings. He has been married three times and had affairs during each marriage. He has been accused of sexual misconduct by over 20 women. His position on abortion- “there has to be some form of punishment.” To emphasize his commitment, he nominated jurists with strong anti-choice views who overturned Roe v Wade, supported by most Americans of both parties.  

These two men are the exact opposites of one another. If you believe in throwing people off health insurance, rolling back environmental regulations, regressing on civil rights and so on, Trump is your man. If not, then Biden is the only feasible choice and must be supported by young progressives and moderates.