I have tried to keep my conscious political biases out of my blogs and will do so again in the future. However, I believe the American presidential election of 2020 is about something bigger than Mr. Biden or America’s Democratic Party. This appeal to vote for Joe Biden is an appeal for American democracy itself. Toward the end of the blog I address those who will vote for President Trump. My major message to them is I will choose not to heap upon your shoulders all of offenses I see in Mr. Trump.

Election 2020: A Personal Appeal

These comments were prompted by an opinion piece by George Will in the July 29th Washington Post. Will titled his piece, “Biden’s election will end national nightmare 2.0.” Will is one of many conservatives, Republicans and former Republicans never or not-again Trumpers.

Elections for national offices in modern democracies are all about building a national coalition of voters. I believe the coalition that is massing toward a Biden victory in November includes the following groups.

1. Republican never-Trumpers (George Will ++++)
2. Republican not-Trump-again-after-COVID or George Floyd or a combination of things.
3. Republican-leaning-Independents, in either category 1 or 2.
4. Progressive Democrats who are still angry about Sander’s defeat & very skeptical of Biden.
5. Liberal Democrats who liked Warren & are skeptical of Biden.
6. Moderate Democrats like me who wanted Pete and are comfortable with Biden and relieved it is Biden, to be honest.
7. Democrat-leaning-independent, in categories 4, 5, or 6.

The above coalition may not be a governing coalition. It may only be an election coalition. What do I mean? I am a liberal to moderate Democrat and have significant disagreements with my progressive Democrat friends about Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, and defunding the police. However, there is much common ground among all the categories of the Democrats on the general idea of using the power and resources of the federal government to reduce poverty, racial inequalities, and the ravages of global warming. Democratic members of Congress backed by some combination of groups 4 – 6 will find governing-coalition-building difficult but not impossible.

The Republicans who vote for Mr. Biden identify with the Republican Party for reasons that will make it difficult for them to support many of the policies a President Biden will favor. To expect otherwise is to not understand and respect those reasons. Republicans want a smaller domestic national government, fewer regulations, and lower taxes. Many will oppose the judicial ideology of Biden nominees to America’s highest court, especially on abortion and religious liberty issues.

A President Biden and a Democratic controlled House and Senate (if these should come to pass) will need to be politically prudent in considering the policy preferences of the members of their election coalition and the impact of these preferences on the other side of the political aisle. Losers and how they are treated are just as important as the winners in a democratic society where winners today could easily become losers tomorrow.

I have studied and taught politics for most of my adult life. I am comfortable with the positive role politics plays in modern democracies. When politics is working properly, a society is able to work out its conflicts in a peaceful fashion. Losers today can be winners tomorrow. Consensus is only necessary on the democratic rules of the game. It is not necessary on most of the policy issues that divide Americans. In fact, to expect consensus is to expect agreement on worldview and that is an anti-democratic proposition. The key always is to manage a society’s disagreements and the central management tool are agreed upon democratic rules of the game.

The groups listed above disagree on many issues but generally agree on the democratic rules of the game. Indeed, it is the breaking of those rules by President Trump that primarily accounts for the never-Trump phenomenon among so many Republicans.

What is at stake in the presidential election of 2020 are those democratic rules. With another four years of President Trump, those rules might be gone forever. Without those rules, the American democracy is lost.

To my friends who plan to vote for President Trump

I do not consider you the enemy and I hope you think the same of me. I know many of you will vote for him despite his personal and governing flaws. You do not want to risk the policies and Supreme Court nominees a President Biden will present to the country. I have never believed politics or even friendship requires agreement. And I respect your political choices and assume you come to those with the best of intentions.

This is a difficult time in America. So many people are angry; so many feel their voices are not heard. At the same time, more voices are heard, expect to be heard, even demand to be heard, than ever before. Many question ‘whose country’ this really is. You have your questions, I have mine.

If you and I end up on opposite sides this fall, let’s choose to treat each other more kindly than we have in the past.

I know of no other way forward.