Joe Biden, former Vice President and U.S. Senator

Joseph R. Biden and Kamala Harris, Democratic: Joe Biden earned a law degree in 1969, and began his political career in the U.S. Senate as a Senator from Delaware, starting in 1973 and serving through 2009. He became Vice President under President Obama in 2009, serving for a full eight years. Kamala Harris is currently a U.S. Senator from California, elected in 2016, and she’s worked as City Attorney and District Attorney from San Francisco, as well as Attorney General for the State of California.

It’s sometimes tough to remember that things have been pretty bad in America at times before 2020, but Biden became Vice President during the last big recession of roughly 2008-2010. As VP, he was put in charge of implementing the $840 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that helped the nation avoid a depression and rebuild economically. The VP’s record and actions are typically not well publicized since the President gets most of the press, but here’s a link to an extensive record of Biden’s time as second in command: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/vp

In the Senate, Biden chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he focused on issues including terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, post-Cold War Europe, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia. He has represented the nation in many areas of the world, including direct travel to more than two dozen countries. He also chaired the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Senator Harris serves on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on the Budget.

On the Web: https://joebiden.com/

Donald J. Trump and Mike Pence, Republican: Donald Trump is the incumbent President, having been elected due to an Electoral College majority in 2016 but losing the national popular vote by about three million votes. Before running for President, Trump was best known as a real estate manager and developer, including ventures into golf courses and casinos, and as the host of the reality TV show “The Apprentice.” He was impeached but not removed from office in early 2020. Mike Pence became Vice President in 2017, and was a U.S. Representative from Indiana between 2001-2013 and Governor of Indiana from 2013-2017. While in the House, Pence served on committees including Agriculture, Judiciary, and Foreign Affairs.

I normally prefer a more scholarly approach to political analysis, but the Trump years have been disastrous for many though lucrative for some. His response to the COVID-19 crisis ought to be enough by itself to disqualify him from re-election. As of late September the nation had passed a tragic milestone of more than 200,000 dead, and the new Bob Woodward book revealed that he knew the gravity of the situation but decided against statements that would cause “panic” in the U.S. His statements included saying that one day COVID-19 would just disappear, and he publicized the unproven treatment of hydroxychloroquine. Cornell University researchers found he was the “single largest driver of misinformation” about COVID-19, and of course his words have been amplified through social media and outlets like Fox News to reach millions of people who might have actually believed what he said.

On top of COVID-19, he has also supported repealing the Affordable Care Act, despite estimates saying bills circulating through Congress in 2017 would have kicked at least 20 million Americans off of coverage.

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, known informally as the “Trump Tax Bill,” widened the gap between the wealthy and the poor through tax policy, and budget deficits expanded enormously. The Washington Post has estimated Trump’s given more than 20,000 false or misleading statements to the American people since taking office. He’s made horrible nominations for key positions, including Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education and Scott Pruitt for head of the Environmental Protection Agency. The Supreme Court lurched rightward with his successful nominations of Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch, plus with more than 200 new federal judges that he nominated the nation’s federal court network has also become more conservative ideologically. Only time will tell if his most recent Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett will be confirmed, potentially creating a serious conservative majority on the nation’s highest court. And, oh yes, he was impeached for trying to use the President of Ukraine to get information against Biden that would sway the 2020 election.

For a couple positive notes, the stock market has done quite well except for a plunge in the early part of the pandemic, and the economy performed decently until the pandemic – although for the most part this did not greatly enrich the lower classes. In fact, Trump told supporters that the newly-enacted 2017 tax bill made some of his wealthy friends “a lot richer.” And fears that Trump would guide the nation into a new hot war, say, in North Korea, never came to pass, at least as of early October, and that’s a really big deal whether it’s due to his efforts or not.

Those who follow the news have probably seen most of the above, but if you really want to dig deeper into Trump’s record, try https://trumpresearchbook.com/.

On the Web: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/

Richard’s Take

Just vote Biden. I don’t want to use a lot of words on this.

I’m old, and I’ve never seen anything like the Trump experience. Nixon was a crook, but a petty crook compared to what’s happened since Trump took office. The nation cannot endure four more years of him. It’s been an embarrassing string of scandals, indictments of close associates, impeachment, lies, grift, statements not befitting of a President, death, violence, racism, hush-money payouts, handouts to the wealthy, and failure.

With Biden, the U.S. might not return to “normal” quickly, whatever that means, but I have full confidence Biden will listen to science and ethical legal opinions, hire good people, and govern with competence. And I fully believe we’ll go through weeks or months without the type of scandalous junk that’s been in the news almost daily since Trump became the Republican nominee. With politics come controversy, and it’s inevitable, but I just want the controversy to be rare for a while. We all need a break.

For those who aren’t crazy about Biden, first and foremost he’s the only candidate who can beat Trump, and that’s completely undeniable. But voters must remember that this election is also about what happens with the rest of the government. Presidents nominate Supreme Court and federal judge candidates, and the nation’s judicial system has taken a hard right turn under Trump that progressives and liberals ought not allow to continue. Presidents also nominate Secretaries of major departments and other high-ranking officials – so if you want a stronger EPA or a different Attorney General, you must vote Biden.

And to close on a positive note, Biden has had a long career serving this nation, knows the system inside and out, and has already spent eight years in the White House as Vice President. You’ll be getting an honorable man who will hit the ground running – exactly what the nation needs to start getting back on track. And Harris performed capably in her debate against Pence – while she’s got a long way to go to catch up with Biden on overall experience, she has great intellectual capacity and seems to have the work ethic that will lend itself to immersing herself in the job.

Minor Parties and Unaffiliated

I don’t want to encourage voting minor party for President this year, because there’s just too much at stake to risk handing Trump another four years. But I respect that the Libertarian Party and Green Party are established parties dating back several decades, so here are a few words about their candidates.

Jo Jorgensen and Jeremy “Spike” Cohen, Libertarian: Jorgensen has a PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, and is a senior lecturer at Clemson University. She has worked as a marketing representative for IBM, and started a software business in the 1980s. She was the Libertarian Party’s vice presidential nominee in 1996. Cohen is an activist and entrepreneur who started a web design company, and was the 2020 running mate in the Libertarian primary under, yes, Vermin Supreme before winning the party’s vice presidential nomination.

Jorgensen supports reducing health care costs through market competition, blocking deficit spending and government borrowing, American military neutrality, allowing Americans to opt out of the Social Security system, cutting spending and taxation, and eliminating the federal Department of Education.

On the Web: https://jo20.com/

Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker, Green: Hawkins is a trade unionist and environmental activist. He has run for office at least 24 times, including runs as the Green nominee for Governor of New York and U.S. Senate from New York, but has yet to win an election. Walker is a professional driver and labor organizer. She was the Socialist Party USA vice presidential nominee in 2016.

Hawkins supports what he calls an “Ecosocialist Green New Deal” including public ownership in energy, manufacturing and transportation, and would ban fracking. He supports unilateral nuclear disarmament and cutting the military budget by 75%. His economic plan includes a $20/hour minimum wage and rent control. He favors anti-trust action against media conglomerates and social media platforms. He supports full public campaign financing and proportional representation for Congress.

The problem is – voters won’t get any of these things by voting for Hawkins since he can’t win, and if voting Green winds up helping Trump win enough states to once again win in the Electoral College, voters will get exactly the opposite of what they’re hoping for with Hawkins’ policy list for four intolerably long years.

On the Web: https://howiehawkins.us/

Also Running: There will be at least 24 choices for President/Vice President on your Colorado ballot, but I’m not going to take the time and effort to name all of them. This includes: six running as Unaffiliated, three parties with the word “Socialist” in their titles, four write-ins, and one candidate from each of the rest – Unity Party, Approval Voting Party, American Solidarity Party, Alliance Party, Progressive Party, American Independent Party, and Phil Collins (but not THAT Phil Collins) is running for the Prohibition Party. You’ve heard of one of the Unaffiliated candidates and it would not be cute or hip to vote for him.