YOU KNOW WHAT REALLY BOTHERS ME ABOUT THIS ELECTION?

There are many things, but here are my top three: (1) Republican Never-Trumpers voting third party; (2) Mainstream media normalizing Trump; (3) Evangelicals trading their Bibles for Trumpism. The first in this three-part series follows.

Wasting Votes on Third Party Candidates

Third-party voters traditionally split two ways: those who genuinely support and vote for third party candidates; and voters fed up with both major party candidates who are indifferent enough about the election outcome that they’re okay with throwing their votes away as a protest. Recently, a third type arrived on the scene. These are conservative pro-Republicans who believe Trump is patently unfit for office, who do not want him to get elected, and yet they can’t bring themselves to vote for the only candidate who can keep him out of office because she doesn’t inhabit their side of the political, gender, ethnic or religion spectrum.

This election cycle all three types have one good reason NOT to vote third party because something existentially critical is on the ballot: democracy. In every election since 1789, including those in 2016 and 2020, the question of whether or not Madisonian democracy will survive another four years has never been a part of the discussion in any public square. Until now. After losing the 2020 election, and after all his failed attempts at a coup d’etat, Donald Trump is back on the ballot, determined, in his words, to “terminate the Constitution” and “to be a dictator on day one” (of his next term in office). Simply put, democracy IS on the ballot.

By now, it should be evident to third-party voters, Independents and Never-Trumpers that Donald Trump wants to be an autocrat. He never uses the word, but it’s clear from his statements that autocracy is his goal. Trump learned many valuable lessons from his earlier administration that would increase his chances of becoming a true autocrat this time around, if given another chance. Yet, his threat to democracy never registers at the top of any polling. This is truly alarming because without a government of and by We the People, other issues important to voters may become irrelevant if an autocrat is in charge. Democracy is on the ballot.

To voters thinking about voting third party who still want a government of and by We the People, don’t waste your vote on Jill Stein, Chase Oliver, Cornell West or your spouse. You might believe you’re doing the right thing according to your conscience, when, in reality, all you’re doing is increasing the chances of your least favorite candidate returning to the White House. Democracy is on the ballot.

Liz Cheney doesn’t have a conscience problem voting for a Democrat – probably for the first time in her life. While in the House of Representatives, she voted with the conservatives 95% of the time. As co-chair of the January 6th Commission, she is one of America’s most well-informed voters and most intimately aware of what’s at stake in this election, and she isn’t wasting her vote on a third-party candidate. Obviously, she’d prefer not to have a left-of-center President in the White House, but keeping Donald Trump out of the White House means more to her. She’s voting for Kamala Harris to save democracy, and nothing else. Democracy is on the ballot.

Ms. Cheney isn’t alone. Go to the Wikipedia page entitled “List of Republicans who oppose the Donald Trump 2024 presidential campaign” where you will find a very long list of current and former Republican officials, including but not limited to his former Vice Presidents, half of his former Cabinet and cabinet-level officials, members of Congress, governors, and other high-level officials in Trump’s White House, who are either endorsing Harris or have declared they will not vote for Trump. If anyone can find on Wikipedia a similar list of prominent Democrats opposing Kamala Harris or endorsing Trump, let me know. I couldn’t find one. That should say a lot. That says democracy is on the ballot.

Flash back to the 2020 election. If 11,780 Georgia Democrats had changed their minds and voted for Jill Stein instead of Joe Biden, Trump would have won Georgia’s 16 electoral votes. If Democrats had done the same in, say, Michigan and Wisconsin, where Biden won by razor-thin margins, Trump would have been re-elected. And come this November, if Trump wins, it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine that in 2028 we might be looking at a truly rigged election with Donald Trump on the ballot seeking a third term; or worse, there would be no election at all. Too extreme? Listen to his words. Democracy is on the ballot.

This is no ordinary Presidential election between candidates from the two major political parties. It’s much more than a race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. It’s also a choice between following the ideals of King George III or those of George Washington.

Remember what former Georgia Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan, a Republican, shouted out at the Democratic Convention: “If you vote for Kamala Harris this November, you’re not a Democrat. You’re a patriot.”

Democracy, indeed, is on the ballot.

Postscript

Donald Trump is a threat to two great democracies: ours and Ukraine’s. More than one democracy is on the ballot.