It's crunch time: Vote to move the country forward or back to a MAGA nightmare

Kamala Harris has been part of all our successes and will continue to move us forward. Donald Trump has been the author of all those lies and can only move us backwards.

And here we are. After so much, it is now up to us.

The GOP, once America’s conservative party, now transformed into a radical cult, abandoned American greatness and embraces its new role as handmaiden to a would-be tyrant. The brave amongst them are cast out. From the party’s remnants we get abortion bans, book bans, and the abuse of state power to silence those who will not fall in line. The party of Abe Lincoln is now the party seeking to make sure a government of the people, by the people and for the people will, this time, perish from the earth.

For four years, we have listened to them whine about reality. Truth, to them is as sunlight is to vampires. They shun it. We have been forced to listen to them tell us they won when they lost. We have been forced to hear them describe felons who attacked police with bear spray and flagpoles as political prisoners. We have listened to them portray January 6^th as a tourist visit.

For four years, we have been forced to watch helplessly as a captured and corrupt Supreme Court eroded the guardrails protecting democracy. They made presidents above the law, shut the judiciary doors to gerrymandering cases, and legalized political bribery. They ignored the 14^th amendment when it applied to Donald Trump and enforced it when it applied to everyone else. And they stole away the right of every woman to control her own body.

For four years we have heard these Republicans threaten us, promising all manner of retribution when they retake power. We have heard them promise to throw millions out of the country. We have heard Donald Trump and his fawning running mate call people who are here legally, “illegals,” and then they invent a story that those folks are stealing and eating pets. We have heard them say Jews are to blame if they lose. We have heard them say our borders are open, our government is destroying the nation, our economy is in ruins.

All lies.

Thankfully, though you would barely know it from our cowed media, that’s not all these last four years have been about.

Mr. Trump, who wants us to believe “common sense,” once told us to drink bleach as a cure for COVID 19. His mishandling of that pandemic led to tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths. He didn’t care. You know who did? Joe Biden. And when Joe took office, he took action. He organized a massive effort to vaccinate Americans and tame the virus.

Even before COVID hit us, under Trump’s leadership the nation was in a manufacturing recession. During the pandemic the economy crashed. Millions were out of work. Supply chains failed. As President, Mr. Trump was a champion at blame. The virus was China’s fault. Its persistence was science’s fault. What he never championed was our recovery. Who did? Joe Biden.

With help from a Democratic Congress, and his Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden rebuilt the American economy. On his watch ours became the fastest growing large economy in the world. On his watch, for the first time in decades, ordinary Americans began to benefit from that growth. On his watch more Americans are working, inflation is down, crime is down, investment in American manufacturing is at record levels, infrastructure is getting repaired, and, yes, even illegal border crossings our down.

We are better off now than we were four years ago. We are better off now than we were before the pandemic.

These past four years have also seen the US lead the world through some of our biggest challenges. Top of the list, climate change. Mr. Trump actually told oil execs that for a billion dollars he would end efforts to transition to clean fuels. But under Joe Biden, America is now leading the world in efforts to invest build an economy on clean energy. This is a massive achievement.

Then there are the old threats. Russia’s invasion of Europe- the first military invasion since WWII. The growing push by China to militarize the South China Sea. The explosion of ancient hatreds in the middle east. Against each of these threats, these past four years have seen increased American leadership in the form of stronger and more strategic alliances, the use of military assets, including selling weapons with conditions attached to the sale. It is a dangerous world, and our adversaries are just as smart as we are. And yet, because of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Americans are not themselves at war for the first time in a generation. Because of their leadership, Ukraine still stands. China is an adversary but not an enemy. The middle east, despite the unconscionable loss of life, finally has a path to lasting peace, if they will are willing to take it.

It has been the longest four years. But now, it is up to us. Will all the MAGA lies matter more than all that good work?

It is up to us.

Kamala Harris has been part of all our successes and will continue to move us forward. Donald Trump has been the author of all those lies and can only move us backwards.

It is up to us.

America and the world stand on a knife’s edge. Will freedom and democracy continue to light humanity’s path, or will we surrender to rulers who impose their order from above?

It is up to us.

Well, actually, it is up to you.  What will you do now that voting is underway?

Will you vote as soon as you can? Will you join efforts to get out the rest of the vote? Will you stand up and counter the lies with facts until the last vote is counted. And then, will you help put a rapid end to the virus of Trumpism?

Of course you will.