Op-Ed by Daniel Rose
On November 5, 2024, we voters in the world’s most dynamic, productive, and creative democratic society will choose the political leadership that will determine the nature of our government in the years ahead.
Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for President, is a smart, tough-minded, pragmatist with a long and fruitful career in public service. Unlike so many political figures today, she is not a fervent ideologue; rather, she seeks steady, incremental, progress on key issues influencing the quality of our daily life.
Her coherent worldview focuses on the challenges of improving public education, healthcare, rational gun control, public safety and other vital issues. Open voter access to the ballot box and appropriate national security controls are also major concerns, along with her support for legal immigration reflecting the best interests of American society. She is ardently in favor of a woman’s individual right to determine her own reproductive practices, and strongly condemns the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. Her choice of a vice-presidential running mate has drawn cheers.
The Harris selection for a ticket-mate – widely-admired Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota and Chair of the Democratic Governors’ Association – was first elected to US Congress in 2006, defeating the six-term Republican incumbent; and he was re-elected five times before being elected Governor in 2018.
The contrasts between Tim Walz, a former high school social studies teacher and football coach, and JD Vance, his Republican competitor, are striking. Walz – who owns no stocks or bonds and whose pension is his only financial asset – favors higher taxes on the rich and greater appropriate benefits for the poor and middle classes. Vance, a multi-millionaire venture capitalist, favors lower taxes on the rich and reduced benefits for the poor and middle classes.
Donald Trump, her Republican adversary, is well-known to the American public, as is his widely scorned choice of running mate, JD Vance. Harris believes that their appalling campaign statements and historical track records will speak for themselves. So too will their tacit support of the autocratic and highly unpopular Project 2025 initiative, with the goal of reshaping the U.S. federal government; in part, by consolidating extraordinary power in the hands of the President, rather than the legislative or judicial branches as set forth in the Constitution.
As Donald Trump himself said in a speech on July 26, 2024, to The Believers’ Summit, “Christians, get out and vote. Just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore. In four years, you don’t have to vote again. We’ll have it fixed so good, you’re not going to have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians.”
The long list of prominent Republicans who openly and actively oppose Trump’s 2024 campaign, including over a dozen cabinet-level members of his own previous administration, and senior current members.of the Republican party, is unparalleled. “An egomaniacal, vindictive hypocrite” is the description they commonly apply to him.
The contrast with the overwhelming support for Kamala Harris from Democrats of all persuasions is notable. President Joe Biden, Former President Barack and Michelle Obama, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and the full Democratic establishment are pledged to do everything possible to elect Harris and Walz and to help bolster her Congressional support.
Kamala Harris is a tough, bright, half-Black, half-South Asian woman married to a Jewish man. She hopes to fairly and responsibly increase the taxes paid by our richest, and to expand benefits for our poorest, our disabled, and our destitute elderly. She wants to reward appropriately our most productive and creative and to encourage and inspire of the middle class who constitute the heart of America.
On January 20, 2025, our next Presidential team will take the oath of office, and we should all hope to be able to cheer our incoming Chief Executives — Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. As the old saying goes, “Out of our mouths and into God’s ear!”
Editor’s Note: Dear reader, we want to hear from you! Please sound off in the comments section below on what you want to see in a president leading us into the future.