#Vote for our Future

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Dr. Seuss knew what was up.

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

October 29, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Oct 30, 2024

Republican presidential nominee former president Donald Trump offered Americans his closing argument in the 2024 presidential race on Sunday, October 27, at Madison Square Garden. At a rally that evoked a Nazi rally at the old Madison Square Garden on February 20, 1939, Trump’s warm-up acts set the terms of Trump’s final pitch to voters by calling Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean” and railing against “f*cking illegals.” They called Vice President Kamala Harris “the Antichrist” and “the devil,” and called former secretary of state Hillary Clinton “a sick son of a b*tch.” When Trump took the stage about two hours late, he echoed the warm-up acts, and then reiterated that he believes fellow Americans are “the enemy within.”  

The racism and fascism Trump’s MAGA Republicans displayed at Madison Square Garden is usually expressed within their media bubble, where it passes for normal conversation. The backlash against it among people in the real world appears to have shocked the Trump campaign so much that the candidate is running away from his own closing argument. 

On Monday, Trump felt obliged to tell an audience in Georgia, “I’m not a Nazi.” The Trump campaign has made it a point never to apologize and never to explain, but on Monday it broke that rule, trying to distance itself from performer Tony Hinchcliffe’s comments about Puerto Rico. 

This morning, Trump announced he would hold a press conference at Mar-a-Lago. He showed up more than an hour late for the assembled press, then began the event by undermining faith in the election, claiming the campaign is going “very well; there are some bad spots in Pennsylvania where some serious things have been caught or are in the process of being caught,” although it was unclear what he meant. 

He went on to deliver such a litany of lies that CNN cited them as a reason to cut away from the speech. Trump chose not to acknowledge the offensiveness of the Madison Square Garden event, saying ““The love in that room, it was breathtaking—and you could have filled it many many times with the people that were unable to get in.” 

Tonight, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris offered her own closing argument to the American voters. Once again taking her campaign directly to Trump, she held a rally at the Ellipse near the White House, where Trump spoke to his supporters on January 6, 2021, before sending them off to the U.S. Capitol to stop the counting of the electoral votes that would make Joe Biden president. 

More than 75,000 attendees in the Ellipse and standing on the Mall near the Washington Monument waved flags and held up signs with “USA” printed on them as Harris spoke in front of a backdrop of the White House, on a stage with a line of American flags. 

“One week from today, you will have the chance to make a decision that directly impacts your life, the life of your family, and the future of this country we love,” she said. “[I]t will probably be the most important vote you ever cast. And this election is more just than a choice between two parties and two different candidates. It is a choice about whether we have a country rooted in freedom for every American or ruled by chaos and division.” 

Harris outlined Trump’s attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and noted that he is “unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance, and out for unchecked power.” She continued: “Donald Trump has spent a decade trying to keep the American people divided and afraid of each other. That is who he is. But America, I am here tonight to say: that is not who we are.” She called for Americans “to turn the page on the drama and the conflict, the fear and division.”

The vice president described herself as “someone who has spent most of my career outside of Washington, D.C.,” a former prosecutor who cares that all people are treated fairly and that those who “use their wealth or power to take advantage of other people” are held to account. 

She promised to “work every day to build consensus and reach compromise to get things done…. [to] work with everyone—Democrats, Republicans, and Independents—to help Americans who are working hard and still struggling to get ahead.” She vowed to lower costs by delivering tax cuts to working people and the middle class, ban price gouging on groceries, lower the cost of prescription drugs, provide down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers, and build millions of new homes. 

She promised to fight for a child tax credit and to lower the cost of child care, as well as allowing Medicare to cover the cost of home aides for seniors.

She promised to “fight to restore what Donald Trump and his hand-selected Supreme Court Justices took away from the women of America.” “[W]hen Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom nationwide,” she said, “as President of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law.”

She promised to “work with Democrats and Republicans to sign into law the border security bill that Donald Trump killed.” She promised to “remove those who arrive here unlawfully, prosecute the cartels, and give border patrol the support they so desperately need. At the same time,” she said, “we must acknowledge we are a nation of immigrants.” She vowed to “work with Congress to pass immigration reform, including an earned path to citizenship for hardworking immigrants like farmworkers and our Dreamers.”

“As Commander in Chief,” she said, “I will make sure America has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world.… I will strengthen—not surrender—America’s global leadership,” and stand with America’s allies because “our alliances keep American people safe and make America stronger and more secure.” 

While Trump offers “more chaos, more division, and policies that help those at the very top and hurt everyone else,” Harris said, “I offer a different path. And I ask for your vote. And here is my pledge to you: I pledge to seek common ground and commonsense solutions to make your life better…. I pledge to listen: To experts, to those who will be impacted by the decisions I make, and to people who disagree with me…. I pledge…to approach my work with the joy and optimism that comes from making a difference in people’s lives. And I pledge to be a president for all Americans. And to always put country above party and self.”

“I love our country with all my heart,” she said, “And I believe in its promise. Because I’ve lived it…. And I see the promise of America in all of you…. I see it in the young people who are voting for the first time who are determined to live free from gun violence and to protect our planet, and to shape the world they inherit.

“I see it in the women who refuse to accept a future without reproductive freedom, and the men who support them. I see it in Republicans who have never voted for a Democrat before but have put the Constitution of the United States over party. I’ve seen it in Americans, different in many respects, but united in our pursuit of freedom, our belief in fairness and decency, and our faith in a better future.” 

“Nearly 250 years ago, America was born when we wrested freedom from a petty tyrant. Across the generations, Americans have preserved that freedom, expanded it, and in so doing, proved to the world that a government of, by, and for the people is strong and can endure. And those who came before us—the patriots at Normandy and Selma, Seneca Falls and Stonewall, on farmlands and factory floors—they did not struggle, sacrifice, and lay down their lives only to see us cede our fundamental freedoms…only to see us submit to the will of another petty tyrant. 

“These United States of America: we are not a vessel for the schemes of wannabe dictators. The United States of America is the greatest idea humanity ever devised: a nation big enough to encompass all our dreams, strong enough to withstand any fracture or fissure between us, and fearless enough to imagine a future of possibilities. 

“So, America, let us reach for that future. Let us fight for this beautiful country we love. And in seven days, we have the power—each of you has the power—to turn the page and start writing the next chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told.

“I thank you all,” she said. “God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.”

In Las Vegas, Nevada, today, the Harris campaign placed a giant political advertisement on the Sphere, the music and entertainment venue owned by the same family that owns Madison Square Garden. The globe showed stars and stripes, pictures of Vice President Harris, the words “Harris-Walz,” “November 5,” “Vote for Freedom,” “Vote for Opportunity, “Vote for our Future,” “Vote for Kamala,” “Vote for a New Way Forward.” “Vote for Reproductive Freedom,” “When We Fight, We Win,” and “When We Vote, We Win.” 

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[grrlscientist]

something that white control-freak men forgot: women are angry AND WE VOTE in greater numbers than they do, especially when our lives, choices & futures are on the line

[slyandthefamilybook]

why do you guys talk like you think not voting means no one gets elected

[liquidtoast]

“Overwhelm the vote”. That’s the best I’ve heard.

Election Day is important.

Vote. Call out sick to vote. Use a PTO day. Work extra hours to make up the money ahead of time.

Vote.

If you don’t vote, you can’t complain. You did not even try to make change, you just hoped other people would do it for you.

There are services to help make that happen. Vote.

Also check your registration status often. Make sure you can just show up and vote.

[nobeerreviews]

Every time you spend money you’re casting a vote for the kind of world you want.

-- Anna Lappe

(Milan)

[atlas7seo]

Sometimes I feel like people failed US History and this recent election and talks about tariffs really do prove that. I mean did literally everyone collectively forget about the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act and those major repercussions? Btw that act happened in 1930. There's a reason President Hoover's name was used to refer to Shanty Towns in the Great Depression. Or the fact that almost all tariff acts within the last 80 or so years have either been expanding negotiation for world trade or deliberately decreasing tariffs. And the one time in 2002 where steel had tariffs placed on it, it was repealed in under a year because the cost greatly outweighed any benefits.

Does anyone remember the last time Trump tried to make tariffs in 2018? How many people credit it to be one of the largest tax increases in US history!?

Are people really that stupid? Like it's literally a REQUIRED part of our general education. Why do you think it is!? So people can actually make smart decisions.

[lilac-set]

Reminder: even if trump wins, we’ll be ok. The presidency isnt the only political position that matters, he wont be a dictator, the president doesnt have the power to remove every other part of government that keeps the president’s power in check. Also politics isnt the only thing that matters. Even if we lose some rights (which he cant singlehandedly do) we still have community, we still have activism, we’ll always be ok. We survived one trump presidency, we can survive another. We survived before gay marriage or transitioning were legal, if we have to survive that again we will. Please, no matter what happens, promise to stay alive. Youre valuable, youre important, and youre going to be ok. Its better to be overprepared than underprepared. Im not asking you to lose hope (im doing the opposite of that), im asking you to practice coping ahead, get all your coping skills ready, determine now to stay alive, because i dont want any of you to make any rash decisions later in case we get bad news and emotions are high. Make a safety plan if you need to. Make sure you’re gonna be ok

[bobcatmoran]

Just because I wanna get it down before I forget, stuff from working as an election judge yesterday:

167 new voters registered, in a precinct that had ~2900 registered voters when the polls opened.

Lots and lots of kiddos who came to the polls with their parents and got "Future Voter" stickers, which they were almost always pumped about, though a few asked for the same "I Voted" sticker that their parents got.

A few hostile voters upon being told that their precinct had changed since they last voted, but they all took the directions to their actual new voting spot and left without more than being like, "This is BS, I voted here last time, how dare you."

Only one actual freakout that I saw, from a voter who, when he put his ballot in the tally machine, was told that he'd overvoted (voted for more candidates than allowed) in at least one race. He was given the standard option of choosing to have his ballot count for all races except what he'd overvoted for or to have his ballot returned, have that ballot spoiled, and get a new one to fill out, hopefully correctly. He decided to get his ballot returned and then yell at the ballot judges, at which point I, who was on the greeter/troubleshooting position, nudged the Head Judge to use his deescalation training. It worked, thankfully.

A woman a couple decades older than me who came in and said she'd never voted before. I congratulated her for coming in once I got her registered.

Another woman who asked which parties Trump and Harris belonged to, because she "wanted to make sure [she] was voting for the right one." (the answer was that their parties were listed next to them on the ballot)

1000 voters reached by 3:30. An overall turnout, including the 1/3ish of the registered voters who'd voted abesentee, of about 84%.

Having to join an election judge of the opposite party in emptying out the ballot bin of the voting machine mid-afternoon (with a sign posted to explain what we were doing — fortunately the machine design let folks continue submitting ballots while we scooped them out) because it was in danger of filling up since it's only built to handle about 1000 ballots. We filled one of our two cardboard ballot boxes to the brim and then sealed and signed it, per procedure.

The owner of the donut shop across the street dropping off a couple boxes of unsold pastries for the election judges once the store closed for the day

High drama with both the DFL and GOP poll challengers, the former having a LOT of questions to the point where our Head Judge was like, "I have other things I have to do, why do you not know this," and the GOP challenger being grumpy at being moved to a plae where he couldn't see what we were all entering on the tablets we were using to sign in/register ballots.

Later on in the day, both the DFL and GOP poll challengers expressing thanks that our precinct was run like a well-oiled machine with friendly and helpful election judges, and they didn't have to deal with any drama

Almost a dozen new voters being registered by the — as far as I know — uniquely Minnesotan procedure where a registered voter in the precinct can vouch for a new voter, signing a form where they basically say, "Yes, I swear this person is legally able to vote and lives at this location in the precinct, and I know this personally."

Recording the write-ins and running into two separate ballots where they filled in "Mickey Mouse" and "Donald Duck" for pretty much every judicial race

The family who came in with their kids in school uniforms with a private religious school's logo embroidered on their uniforms, and complained while waiting in line that this precinct had a voting location located at this particular church while the affiliated church for their children's school was not a voting location.

Voting locations here are based on wherever is willing to offer a polling place with no cost to the city. There are some municipal voting locations (the library, civic center, fire stations), but they're not enough for all the precincts, and since schools are in session on Election Day locally and don't want a bunch of strangers around the kids while churches are generally not used on Tuesdays, a *lot* of voting locations are at churches that volunteer for it.

In other words, this couple's complaints about not having a voting location at their church is entirely the fault of their church board.

Big shout-out to my fellow Election Judges, regardless of party — I know 1/2 of them were not from my party, but aside from one gal who had some questions that I side-eyed, but still did her job, and another I was assigned to do something because we're registered from different parties, I had NO idea which party any of them were registered for, because we all genuinely worked to ensure everyone who came in could cast a ballot if they legally could and worked with them to find as many possible solutions that we could. Lots of, "can this person vouch for you?" "Do you have any of these documents? Can you show me one on your phone, that's perfectly ok, it just needs to have your name and current address!"

So glad that our briefing about where the fire extinguishers were located was never used.

[ozonecologne]

.

[eugenedebs1920]

In the continuing quest for authoritarian rule Trump has called for revoking the licenses of ABC, because they fact checked him at the debate. He’s said he would revoke both NBC and MSNBC’s licenses as well. He’s hurled threats at The NY Times grumbling about what he’ll do to them if elected. Same with the Washington Post. He’s called for CBS to lose their license and just yesterday filed a lawsuit against them for $10 billion (which is frivolous intimidation suit and will not amount to anything but a sanction against Trump & his lawyers) because 60 mins edited the Harris interview to fit the allotted time frame.

Does anyone notice who’s not on that list? His propaganda machines in OAN, NewsMax and the trusty wing of his campaign, Fox News.

Friends! This is how democracy dies. When tyrants silence any opposition to them. Where truth is whatever the great leader says it is. Where state sponsored press is the only information available.

This is how it is in Russia, North Korea, Iran and Saudi Arabia. This is what America has in store with a Trump reelection.

In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, retired Admiral William McRaven, former commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, the man who directed the assault which killed Osama Bin Laden in 2011 said when talking about shortcomings and “foibles” other presidents possessed, “none of them violated every principle of good leadership like Donald Trump does. Mr. Trump has no self control, lashes out at immigrants, religious groups, military heroes. He lies with recklessness abandon.” Adm. McRaven continued “These are the things a disturbed 15 year old boy would do, not the Commander in Chief, who holds the nuclear codes. Not the leader of the free world.”

What is this? The tenth? Twentieth high ranking military official who has warned of the consequences of Trump and another Trump presidency?

It’s time to ask yourself. Do I want this guy dictating my future? Do I want to leave it to chance and not vote? Am I prepared to raise a family under totalitarian rule?

We have the power to decide these things. We just have to make our decision clear, and vote for Kamala Harris.

[lil-tumbles]

I need to say some stuff about the election. Voting is a choice. But it's not only a choice - it's a privilege. A privilege that may be taken from us if trump wins. Everyone should be free to vote for who they want to vote for, but this election isn't like other elections - more is at stake now than has ever been during my lifetime, and probably during yours, too. Millions of people across the world are depending on you to make the right decision, not just for yourself, but for them. I'm sorry if what I'm about to say would mean sacrificing your morals, I'm sorry that everything is so broken that this is the position we're in, but: it doesn't matter what you think. I don't care if you don't like Kamala. I don't care if you hate her pro-Israel nonsense. Vote anyway. Vote for her anyway. If you are a one-issue voter and this makes you not want to vote? You may never get the chance again. Kamala wants a ceasefire; trump wants to wipe every Palestinian from the face of the earth. Kamala won't strip away your rights; trump has done nothing but take things away from us. If you are gay and you want to keep the right to adopt, to marry, to work with protection from discrimination in the workplace, to get somewhere to live without being turned away because you're gay? Vote Kamala. If you wan tot get married to someone who's a different race than you? Vote Kamala. Because Trump is trying to take all of this away from us.

A vote for third party is a vote for trump. I know we all want to be able to vote for who we actually agree with, actually want running the country, and in a perfect world you'd be able to without risking so much, but this is not a perfect world. This is not an ordinary election. If Harris loses by one vote and I didn't vote, I would spend the next four years blaming myself for every loss, every death, every new genocide. And it might not only be four years - not if trump gets his way. He wants to rule forever. Don't let him. Vote Harris.

[grrlscientist]

who are you voting for in this historic, incredibly important election?

[antebunny]

i am going to outlive him. do you understand that? i will outlive this wannabe dictator with soup for brains by so many decades and i will outlive a significant percentage of his supporters too. i will survive his second presidency. however many people he kills, i probably won’t be one of them. however much he destroys american democracy, i’ll be there on the other side far longer than that decrepit, grave-dancing miserable orange flesh bag of a human being. to all the people out there saying “please live” that was never in question. that is a threat and a promise and a realization said with slowly-dawning horror.

i do not believe there exists a Heaven or Hell. i believe that when you die, that is the end, and all the consequences we can experience for how we lived our lives must be carried out right here on Earth. yet i will be the one suffering the fallout of his actions while he will leave it all behind within the decade. a supreme court in an ultra conservative chokehold that has already overturned roe v wade and will come for obergefell v hodges next. the brain worm guy in charge of public health. people who despise education in charge of keeping us ignorant. an infatuation with authoritarianism that’ll turn us against all our real allies and gaza into a smoking crater. total immunity for the guy who wants revenge on half the country. and AMERICA VOTED FOR IT.

if anything i’ve been radicalized further left precisely because i know i will still be here for decades, maybe even a century to come. i will have to deal with all the damage they have wrought on my future. i will have to deal with them as fellow citizens. but i already know that i will not, in all my life, forgive the americans who voted for him in 2024. that is tens of millions of americans, over half the country. that was their choice and yet i am led to believe that they must all be either evil, stupid or crazy. one of those three things must be true for them to have voted the way they did. misinformation? please. we’re all dealing with misinfo and have been for years. am i supposed to treat you like a victim because when it really mattered you couldn’t figure it out? no. i will not forgive, i will not forget. i don’t want to hear any more “i voted for him but then i saw the light.” how can you even look me in the eye when you voted for the guy who wants me and my friends dead? i think america is sick at heart. that is my radical takeaway. there is something truly broken about this country if he only wins the popular vote after everything that has happened since 2015.

like i said. i do not believe in an afterlife. but i hope for their sakes that his God is real. may their God forgive them before sending them to Hell because I never will.

[mitigatingchaos]

On Voting

“A vote is not a Valentine. You aren’t professing your love for the candidate. It’s a chess move for the world you want to live in.” In our divided Country, this could be said for either side. Plan your move wisely.

[shirtlessradfahrer]

usa men would genuinely rather destroy their own lives and/or die than concede power to a woman huh