Source: Editorial Board
Many Democrats and others who had concerns about President Joe Biden’s age and ability to win this November are likely feeling a mix of emotions – excitement, gratefulness, and perhaps relief – since Biden dropped his reelection bid on July 21 and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the job.
This historic act cannot be underestimated in both its rarity and impact. A chorus of Americans have offered their gratitude to President Biden for his courageous decision to end his candidacy, creating the space for Vice President Harris to defeat Donald Trump. In stepping aside, he has put not only the Democratic Party ahead of his ambition but the future of the country.
The Biden administration took the helm amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which the Trump administration did a horrendous job of handling, but was able to steer the country out of it.
Other successes on Biden’s watch include:
- Fighting to protect abortion, birth control and fertility treatments like IVF despite Trump’s Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade
- Lowering prescription drug costs for Americans and capping insulin at $35 a month for seniors
- Stopping cuts to Social Security and Medicare
- Creating good-paying manufacturing and clean energy jobs
- Addressing climate change more effectively than any other president before him
- Taking on gun violence and passing the first major federal gun safety bill in almost 30 years – the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act
- Providing billions in funding to rebuild America’s roads and bridges through his Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
As for Vice President Harris’s credentials, she has dedicated her career to fighting for women, children and their families during her time as a prosecutor, district attorney and attorney general in California, as well as her time as a U.S. senator and now as Vice President. Harris specialized in prosecuting child sex assault cases, worked to expand resources for domestic violence survivors, created the Bureau of Children’s Justice in California, addressed the Black maternal health care crisis and has worked to improve elder care and lower the cost of child care.
Vice President Harris is the only major party presidential candidate who will defend reproductive rights. She has been the leading voice in the Biden administration on the need to restore abortion rights in America and she helped organize executive action to protect abortion access.
Harris has been a champion for LGBTQ+ rights for decades. She performed one of the nation’s first same-sex marriages as a district attorney in 2004 and, as vice president, has worked to expand mental health resources for LGBTQ+ youth and helped initiate federal employment protections for LGBTQ+ workers.
Two other areas where Harris has substantially different views from Trump are gun safety and voting rights. She has spoken out in favor of red flag laws, restrictions on assault weapons, called for stronger background checks and helped pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. She is also a supporter of voting rights and is opposed to right-wing voter suppression laws.
This fall, voters will be presented with a much different choice than they probably anticipated just a few weeks ago. Many Democrats have a renewed energy about the election and are ready to work hard to get Harris elected. Unfortunately, excitement doesn’t vote, only people do – and you better believe that Trump and MAGA Republicans will be showing up to vote this fall. They have shown us what their future looks like with their Project 2025 agenda and it’s terrifying. They’ll work to divide Americans so that they can ban abortion, cut Social Security and Medicare, and give more tax breaks to the wealthy and large corporations.
This election is about choosing between two futures for America. We have the power to keep moving forward or move backward.
