OCTOBER 23, 2019 – A Republican Facebook friend of mine recently asked me three questions about the Democratic candidates for president in 2020. I’ve elected to post the questions—and my responses—here.
QUESTION #1: Which Democratic candidate for president would you support in 2020?
The short answer is, I’d support any of them ahead of Trump. The unfortunate reality is that Trump has so lowered the standards for the presidency, almost anyone is preferable to him. A qualification bar lowered to the floor is just one of numerous serious, negative consequences that 63 million voters brought upon our country; make that 63 million plus the many millions of “no shows” who could have prevented Trump’s election had they not been “no shows.”
In “normal” times, I don’t select presidential candidates based on their stated “policy positions.” (See my 10/17/19 post). Instead, I evaluate candidates based on integrity, inspiration, intelligence, leadership skills, political experience, and policy centrism. As is the case in evaluating almost any number, dollar amount or percentage, assessment of presidential qualifications must be comparative: Candidate A might be lacking in one department or another but to what extent when compared to Candidate B—when realistically, Candidate C (if there is one) has only a spoiler role?
But these are hardly normal times. Our ship of state is under attack. We have taken some major hits and are at risk of foundering—not off some foreign shore but in our own home harbor. We have met the enemy and the enemy is us, however much foreign agents have intentionally (let alone been enlisted to) heighten our own discord.
As the bombs burst in air and we wonder if our flag will still be there, we must first stabilize the ship. Then we need to get her under way. Because of the harbor mines, however, we cannot shout, “Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead!” We need an old, steady hand at the helm.
Getting down to the brass rails . . . to move our nation into the post-Trump era and to restore our faith in ourselves and our institutions, we need a ticket that can defeat Trump and pull the nation together. This is why I support Joe Biden for president and Amy Klobuchar for vice president. Buttigieg will have his day, as will Yang’s ideas, but they are not seasoned enough for the bridge. Once we’ve cleared the mines and passed the range of shore batteries, the mayor (with Yang’s ideas?) can take the helm, envision ports of call and navigate over open seas. (The other candidates? For now they’re too shrill, too untried, or too bent on “Full Steam Ahead.”)
QUESTION #2: Do you support everything your candidate believes in?
See response to Question #1.
QUESTION #3: Are there any Democratic candidates that you could never support and therefore vote Republican?
See response to Question #1.
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© 2019 Eric Nilsson
