Dear DNC: I’d vote for a tent pole before I’d vote for Joe Biden
Addendum: After reading 250 of your comments in response to this post (below), I have had a change of heart. I still hate Biden. But I think I also hate this post. So I’ve written a new post, over here.
The Democratic Party’s strategy is Trump is so bad that the DNC can win with anyone. That’s why the DNC didn’t care when Hilary didn’t bother campaigning in Michigan or Wisconsin. That’s why the DNC doesn’t care that younger democrats hate Biden. The DNC is a club that meets to protect their own power. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes reminds us of that all the time.
The DNC wants you to believe you are a virtuous person for voting for Biden because even if he’s not perfect you have to get Trump out of office. I think Biden is not nearly enough of an improvement to vote for him. And I think you throw away your vote if you let someone tell you the anyone-but-Trump rule means you vote for whatever is in front of you. That’s not choice.
Here’s why I’d never vote for Biden:
1. Biden has always been the conservative wing of the democrats. He has always been part of the conservative guard. It’s why Obama chose him as a running mate. It’s hard for racist white people to look at a Black candidate –– Obama picked him to counterbalance Obama’s Blackness. Biden as a VP made the ticket look ok. After all, what other Democrat was still in Congress in the 90s who had a track record for opposing busing?
2. Biden is the anti-#metoo candidate. He was the centerpiece of the congressional attack on Anita Hill. And he has been unable to apologize for his universally panned behavior. More recently he is accused of rape and he has been pictured violating the personal space of many women. While the #metoo movement has forced men to stop pushing aside these accusations, Democrats tell us that it’s so important to get Trump out of office that we have to push aside the accusations against Biden. If Trump is that bad, then the DNC surely could find a candidate who wouldn’t require us to brush aside rape accusations in order to vote for the candidate.
3. Biden is the anti-Black Lives Matter candidate. He is a moderate who was lifted up from his racist past by a black man. Biden did not get more liberal. He’s the same guy. Electing him is shifting the party to the right. At a time when the party is visibly shifting to the left. Additionally, Biden picked Kamala Harris without regard to the fact that Black people don’t trust her.
Tirkhakah writes, “The party’s leadership tells us to hold our noses and vote — a hollow, greater-good argument which is exactly why Black men don’t head to the polls.”
4. Biden wants things to stay the same. That’s why he picked Kamala Harris. She has an absolutely terrible record on criminal justice reform that in similar to Biden and Trump — those masters of refusing to apologize — she has refused to apologize for her bafflingly terrible record. So of course Biden hopes she will appeal to some Trump voters. Ironically, Obama picking Biden to appeal to racist voters is like Biden picking Harris to appeal to the Trump voters.
5. Biden and the DNC assume we’re trapped. The DNC thinks we hate Trump so much that we will support an unpopular, neo-liberal candidate with a history of very public racism and sexism. Biden hears goodwill toward Obama and he mistakes it for himself. I hate Biden so much because he’s been taking swipes at women and Black people for as long as I’ve been following politics. And I’m completely insulted that the Democratic Party thinks I believe Biden is an improvement over Trump.
We are not trapped. But we have to act like we have power. Our vote counts when we refuse to vote for Biden. We can refuse to support neo-liberalism because it could destroy our lives, our communities, and our earth.
Addendum: After reading 250 of your comments (below), I have had a change of heart. I still hate Biden. But I think I also hate this post. So I’ve written a new post, over here.
P, this is so, So, SO not a good idea. When we vote, we do so knowing the candidate won’t be everything we want, no matter what party they’re from. It comes down to the lesser of any of the evils. I agree we need more than a 2-party system. But this is not the year to make that happen. First and foremost is to have someone in office with morals, respects the position he’s been given, and looks to benefit others instead of just himself. Trump just isn’t that man…it is was it is.
I feel sad that so many progressive people I know think that watching Trump and his corporate cronies burn us to the ground will somehow bring about bigger progressive changes we need … just later on. You think you’re gonna get to vote for AOC in 2024 if we get Trump now? Gee, maybe you are right and it will create a progressive revolution later, but first a lot of innocent people will die in order for that scenario to play out. Literally, people will die. Oh and what if, opps, you are wrong, and instead of having a Green New Deal victory in 2024 we find Trump declaring martial law (NYC police endorsed that disgusting pig) that he’s ending elections and installing Don Jr. as POTUS for life? Oh, well in that scenario you don’t get to vote for AOC later instead you’ll have to recite “God Bless the United States of Russia” every time you want a jar of mayonnaise. California, where I live, is literally on fire right now – climate change isn’t coming soon … it is here. We don’t have time to wait out and see if Trump for 4 years leads to the dream of a more progressive or the nightmare fascist scenario. This isn’t a just fun night out at the roulette tables. In the 4 years between now and then …. Trump would not only replace RBG on the SC (probably, God Bless her I hope she lives forever but be realistic), but he will veto every piece of legislation that the squad gets through to his desk for the next y years also. We have to fight in 2020 for the progressive agendas we need. Those agendas have to be put on the books in 2021. BERNIE lost the primary, get over it. If Bernie won I would be telling everyone I know they had to vote for him too. We are in this shit together, bitches. No, allowing Trump to have another 4 years, either through your own apathy and unwillingness to participate, or through a write in or protest vote, won’t get better things to happen in 2021, and my family might not survive the blazes long enough to know if your ideas panned out or not later on. So thank you very much for sharing your ideas, but no, I’m not with you.
PS. If you think Biden picked Harris to appeal to the Trump voters, you’re wrong. Here’s what really happened: primary voters picked Biden to appeal to the Trump voters, then Biden picked Harris to appeal to the liberal voters. Maybe that’s not what you thought should have happened but it’s over, it happened. Give up the hope of a better past.
Penelope, I am a reader who enjoys some of the things you say but not all. And you certainly have the right to your own opinion. My opinion is- you are a classic “oppositional defiant disorder” case- you love to be a contrarian! You love it! Perhaps because of your Aspergers’s that is your defining characteristic? But you do love it! And your thoughts and posts are not always in alignment with what you practice- e.g. a huge proponent of “home schooling”? You hire tutors- you are NOT home schooling. I’m not the first to say this. You expose your immaturity and ignorance by not realizing the situation we are in right now- this is a 5 alarm fire! Even Bernie Sanders and AOC are voting for Biden. Enough with your immature/Aspergers’ tendancies to be “knee-jerk NO”. There are only two things on the menu- Biden and Trump. Social media highlights the outliers and the difficult- and that’s you. I will also not be reading your blog anymore.
This is HORRIBLE. I honestly thought you were smart and helpful to so many women/leaders/PEOPLE in this country and now I just pray that you have a smaller following than I thought.
You must know as well as anyone that any lost vote for Biden is a vote for Trump. You’re exactly what I fear most in this election. Not the Trump supporters (I’m optimistic that they’re beginning to dwindle), but the feared group of Biden haters/anti government/3rd party etc. that will essentially put the entire country in jeopardy by supporting the collapse of our democracy.
In the future, yes, I (and we all) pray that we’ll be fighting over who’s BETTER not over who’s WORSE. But any lost vote for Biden is putting our democracy, black lives, health, women, & countless other people and ideals at risk.
PLEASE tell your followers, family, friends to vote for Biden to save our country from total ruin and despair.
Agreed that Biden sucks, but you’re wrong to post this and it should be deleted.
Biden is going to be like a mediocre, breakfast sandwich + tepid coffee after a long night of drinking. We’re hungover as hell, we feel like shit, we’re filled with anxiety and regret. This breakfast isn’t delicious but it’s going to get us back on track and be just what we need for now. These four years have been absolute HELL, filled with hate, greed, and death. We don’t need the “best president yet”, we’re hungover and need a f*ing BREAK and a NAP.
I, too, am one of those people who have been reading you on and off for most of 20 years, and although you can write beautifully and you can be incredibly insightful, you do often fall into that Michael Moore trap of not being able to get out of your own way, and, sometimes of being too certain of your positions, to the point of where it weakens your arguments, and pushes you to extremes. I do think this is one of those times.
Yes, the two party system is not ideal, but it’s what we have now, and not voting or casting third party only pushes us closer to the brink. Having Trump has very real, dire consequences including potentially irreparable damage to the environment, to our reputation and alliances, to our economy, and to our national culture. Unlike Trump, Biden is not making it okay to be a racist again. Yes, he has a history, but he doesn’t embrace those positions now. Unlike Trump. He’s not a petulant child, who always seems to be a tweet away from starting a war. He hasn’t turned his back on thousands of refugees and separated asylum seekers from their children. He hasn’t chosen to attack the affordable care act and leave people without access to health care. I know you don’t agree with any of those positions, and yet…you’d still chose to not stop him from becoming president. To what end? To deligitimize the DNC.or to turn it more progressive? I’m for that, but not at such an immediate terrible cost. Make your statement some other way.
I’ve spent years working within the democratic establishment, at the county level, state level and as much as is possible, the national level. I’m your average Democratic party volunteer. I’m the block walker, the phone banker, I sit on the candidate recruitment committee, I help build platforms and policies for local races, and do volunteer recruitment. I attend the meetings and have relationships with all of the local elected officials. I host meetings at my house and am known locally in a suburban red county as a liberal. I’ve helped to flip long held “red” seats blue for the school district, commissioners court, city council, sherrif, state house and senate. I’ve talked to tens of thousands of Democrat voters, Republican voters, non-affiliated voters, swing voters, and non-voters.
The party is corrupt. The DCCC and DSCC come into our districts and prop up their donor selected federal candidates every cycle. These pre-selected house, senate and yes, presidential candidates don’t represent us and the choice is never truly the peoples. These aren’t the people already doing the work in our communities. They don’t know the issues, the struggles, the voters. They are who the voting rules change for, who the local elections are tailored to. These are the candidates who destroy the work we’ve done building trust in local candidates who actually hold Democratic values. These are the candidates who destroy down ballot results and make year over year progress so difficult. If you knock on a strong dem door, it’s a waste of time. You can see that they vote blue down the ballot, every election, without needing a reminder.
The doors that really matter are the registered non-voters and sometimes dem voters. We go to the door with literature on each of the dem canddiates that they are able to vote for. I can’t tell you how hard it is to sell a candidate for county office who believes in medicare for all and supports increasing the budget for indigent care for the impoverished rural areas while also trying to convince them to vote for Joe Biden who has a record of and believes in the opposite. When you knock on doors, you had better be able to answer voter questions and you will not trick anybody. They aren’t stupid and telling them “Biden is better than Trump!” doesn’t work. It’s not good enough. People ask about specific issues and stances. They ask about policy and know about voting history. I’m not having a lot of luck.
I have a feeling we are heading for a repeat of 2016. Until the pearl clutchers stop screaming on the internet about how people had better vote for Biden and step in to volunteer and see how the Democratic party actually works, winning is not going to happen.
This sums Trump up: He separated asylum seekers from their children. He attacks the affordable care act with no viable alternative, and will leave people without access to health care. He is chummy with dictators and criticizes our historical allies. He placed his untrained and inexperienced children in important public policy roles. He questions doctors and public health officials so that he can stimulate the economy, leading to more death and intrastate competition than is wise in a time of crisis. He has never said anything positive about the black/brown communities or their contributions to this country. He questions the impact of man on the environment. He is a habitually dishonest person in both his personal relationships and business. He lies and then stands firm on his lies when called out. He makes up science as he goes along. He questions our (mostly republican) intelligence services when they present inconvenient data. He has used the office to give his business interests revenue. He has done things to make his rich cronies richer (tax cuts) even when other rich people say they do not want it (Buffet). Need I continue?
If you really like Bernie, please listen to this video. He wants everyone to vote for Biden.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CEJ2ZtQpeLI/?igshid=1bteaspvsq3te
Carrie mentioned foreign news sources for stuff Americans miss. My favorite is the free BBC News website which has both prose and videos. They explain U.S. elections, gun culture and more.
An example of a BBC story I didn’t see covered (even when I tried google) in the U.S. was when a family was involved, through two siblings, in two separate school mass shootings.
I see a lot of “cancel culture” around not voting blue. In this very thread there are many threatening to unsubscribe. The danger in this is that when people can’t express their true views, the result is a surprise shock at the ballot box. Isn’t it better to know that people are unhappy with the Democrats than to be unpleasantly surprised? Shouldn’t you engage in debate rather than silence? Have we learned nothing from 2016? If it is so important to beat Trump (and it is), don’t you think you should be amenable to changing your platform? Sure, you have enough votes to with the primary with a conservative, but do you have enough to win the general election? Don’t get mad at people like Penelope – get mad at the party that is dead-set on moving our country to the right when the population is ready to go left.
Unbelievable, we have a sociopathic liar in office who very likely will win again and you are encouraging people to give him a vote by doing a write in? You clearly have not yet grasped what a dictator he is ( note that he’s trying to put police at the election polls & has already ordered troops into our cities). You need to wake up to the damage you are doing. Yes, 4 more years of Trump could destroy everything democratic
Trump is for small government (not a dictator at all) and as little intervention as possible in terms of force. He is for liberty and the Democratic party is for control (i.e. socialism >> communism). The news is trying to do a sleight of hand, especially frequently by CNN. Study what Trump is for and you see it is 180 degrees the reverse of what you are saying.
Anna,
There’s what you want to be the case, and what is actually the case. Trump is a wanttobe dictator who is only interested in increasing his and his cronies’ bank accounts. He is vindictive and came into the WH bent on undoing everything Obama created, but his transparent admiration for the man persists in everything he says and does. His attacks on the affordable care act with no viable alternative, despite the fact that it will leave millions of people without access to health care is one example of that warped hatred, born of admiration. His blatant nepotism in placing his untrained and inexperienced children in important public policy roles is unconscionable. His disdain for science, medical professionals and public health officials so that he can stimulate the economy, leading to more death and intrastate competition in a time of crisis, was because of poor leadership skills. He is a habitually dishonest person in both his personal relationships and business. He lies constantly. He makes up science as he goes along. He questions our (mostly republican) intelligence services when they present inconvenient data. Need I continue?
You are blind!
If Trump wanted to increase his own bank account, I don’t think he would run for president (then serve without a paycheck by his decision). He really loves this country–which is WHY he undoes what Obama did. Obama did things that are the opposite of what the founders intended–they intended small government, which equals liberty. CNN always says Trump lies, but they seem to be taking him out of context in an attempt to influence public opinion to support socialism, the actual oppression (top down control and decision-making), and Trump opposes that which supports socialism. Check out when he spoke at Davos.
You are not looking at the big picture. The salary for president is a pittance compared to the financial windfall that the influence of the presidency affords him. He’s made more now than before he was president… But oh yes, unlike other presidential candidates and sitting presidents, he hasn’t released his financial records has he? What does he have to hide. How much does he make from having foreign entities vie for his favor by establishing his brand named companies in their countries? You seem to prefer an unscrupulous racist, misogynist to someone with true integrity, well so be it. We get the government we deserve. Also, ask the other republicans like Brian Fitzpatrick, Chris Smith, John Kasich, and Mitt Romney how much of a lover of America he is. The man is the bottom of the barrel, proving the theory that not only does cream rise to the top, but also scum.
Ask any farmer how represented they feel? Ask the peaceful protesters he unleashed his storm troopers on, how they feel. These people included congress persons who were filmed being pepper sprayed on the pavement in Columbus Ohio.
You are as blind as you are gullible and I pity you.
The End.
Oh, PT, PT, this post is such an obvious attempt to get attention for yourself. It is calculated and manipulative. Looks like a lot of people took the bait.
I hope bourgeois trotskyism doesn’t come back into fashion. It didn’t do us any good last time around either.
Vote for democracy, or vote against it. We might not get another chance at it.
If the bourgeois trotskyists would rather try going to the barricades in a police state, they’ll likely find it more difficult than voting was.
Democracy is the worst system, except for all the others.
Laying out Trump’s countless misdeeds is pointless. His followers only hear “blah, blah, fake news, blah”. Many say they will support him if he loses and refuses to leave. These people scare me even more than Trump. The belief in democracy is no longer a consensus in this country.
Always count on you for the harsh truth. Thank you! Brilliant. Liberty is at stake here.
There is an old, pithy saying that I hear in my head when I think about Trump supporters — when they complain that “the Dems” or “the liberals” or “the elites” think they’re stupid.
The saying: Stupid is as stupid does.
If Penelope votes for anyone other than Biden, that saying will clearly apply to her. Because she will have done something phenomenally stupid. And dangerous to the country.
Penelope . . . don’t be so stupid.
Shame on you for deleting my post. Just a shame. I guess you really want to just live in your bubble and not be confronted with diversity (of thought).
Shame. Shame. Shame.
This was a pathetic ‘shock and awe’ post. I thought you were smarter than this. Your ‘Dislike’ for Biden is weak and unfounded. On a simple moral level, how could you begin to think Trump (a mysogynistic, narcissistic bully) is a ‘better’ candidate than Biden. You would vote for a guy that mocks handicap people and has ZERO empathy? Like attracts like. You have disclosed you are on the Spectrum. Perhaps you have ZERO empathy as well. I’m an INFJ and, while you and I are polar opposites, I appreciated what intellect I thought you had. Your self righteous blast of Biden makes no sense. Your intended vote for Trump shows you align with his lack of empathy and compassion to a degree that I find morally reprehensible. Now we know who you really are. Thank you for that.
I’m glad you added the addendum and the apology post. From the Never Trump camp here, if so many of us Republicans can swallow our pride and dislike and vote for Biden, so can you. Not because you like him, not because the DNC tells you to, but because the alternative is a dark abyss. As one of the 537 Florida voters who voted George Bush into the presidency in 2000, I truly believe every vote counts. Did your post influence 537 voters in a swing state? Possibly. I still want to read your blog. You have a unique and compelling voice. Best wishes.
Penelope I am terribly disappointed in this post-what I read so far. As a BERNIE supporter and voter since 2016, I realize the extreme danger we face right now to our democracy due to Trump. Like in 2016, you are supporting a narrative that because the person nominated by the primaries (last time I agree Hillary sucked) wasn’t to your or other like me, left wing folks, we should not vote for Hillary (which got us Trump, thank you very much) and will get us Fascism this time around and worse. You need to educate yourself! Never before have I felt the need to tell you this, but read the book Tyranny and read anything everything about what Trump has done to systematically dismantle our democracy including voter suppression, Justice department, children in cages (remember the Holocaust?), fascism (goons in camo firing on peaceful protestors, hate , bigotry, alliance with white supremacists, … I could go on. I am very very very disappointed in you.
Fascism? Tyrany? Are you kidding? Trump is for small government, the opposite of tyranny and fascism.
_tyranny_ typo.
After reading this post, the one that follows, and the comments, I don’t think it’s your hate and disgust for Biden as much as it is for the DNC and a fractured Party that can’t or won’t select a candidate to your liking. As an example – “The DNC is a club that meets to protect their own power.” You spent a lot of space writing about what you hated about Biden. I happen to share some of those same reasons with some of my own. A better post in my estimation would have been about the primary process that got Biden to be the Democrat Party’s candidate. Write about Jim Clyburn’s role as the House Majority Whip and being the third-ranking Democrat in the House. As Wikipedia says on his page – “Clyburn played a pivotal role in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries by endorsing Democratic candidate Joe Biden three days before the South Carolina primary, which Biden won. Winning the South Carolina primary changed the trajectory of the race, giving Biden crucial momentum towards clinching the Democratic nomination.” The people and politics within the Party leverage the outcome in ways to their own liking. It happened with Reagan in 1976 in a hotly contested race that was decided at their Convention. A good recent article that describes that primary is by Craig Shirley (Ronald Reagan biographer and presidential historian) titled ‘How Reagan’s 1976 Speech Ignited a Revolution’. Reagan had the votes but Ford was the incumbent with the power in the Republican Party. I am a Republican and a Trump supporter. I don’t always agree with his positions on certain issues. However, I do for the most part. I listen to his words and track his actions as well as his political opponents. I read the news and commentary from many different sources to come to my own conclusions. I find it interesting to see many people here in the comments attempting to point out the flaws in other people’s reasons for liking either Trump or Biden. I very much doubt anybody’s mind is being changed how they will vote. And here’s something else. People threatening or declaring that they’re going to unsubscribe. Why? Because they found a post to be offensive and contrary to their views? So compelling that it will sway an election? Ridiculous. It’s a blog post on the Internet. It’s not 24/7 propaganda being broadcasted while being held captive in a cell. That’s one of the many things that’s great about this country – read it, don’t read it, like it, don’t like it, and then speak or don’t speak your mind.
Mark,
I disagree with your politics, but I 100% agree with the substance of your comment.
Peace,
D
I 100% agree with you! I find it comical that the people who consider themselves liberals and tolerant human beings are the first ones to unfollow you because they can’t tolerate your views! Penelope has the right to her opinions and I hope she never gives in to the mob mentality because they don’t like what she said. Ridiculous!
Agree with your thoughts on unsubscribing. Penelope offers a different viewpoint on issues, for me that’s the whole attraction of her blog. I’m tired of mainstream viewpoints. I want to run up against viewpoints that challenge my own. The vitriol of many commentators is astonishing. Looks like they demand an echo chamber. Their view is the only view. Ironically they are becoming the fascists.
An honest question here… Does anyone realized that communism, socialism, and fascism are all the same thing on a spectrum? And the US has none of this? All three of these are the left in the US. The right in the US is conservative, as in, conserve the principles of small government. The trio above are all big government, all located on the left.
They are similar in practice, but on paper, communism is stateless, classless and governed by the people, although this has never happened. So theoretically it’s the opposite of fascism, where one leader has sole authority. Nazi fascism believes in a superior white race, aligning with the far right in the US.
well said my friend!!
The post’s message is so stupid that you’d vote for Trump makes sense. He’s running on ignorance
Hello Penelope,
Yes, Biden has a long history of supporting what is politically expedient and not having the courage to stand up for what is right-even when it’s unpopular. I get that. I am truly disappointed. But when it comes to voting you have to take strategy into account: 1) Even if Electoral College wasn’t winner take all, there is literally NO PATH whatsoever for a third-party candidate to win the presidency. It will be Trump or Biden and we must deal with that, even if we hold our noses. 2) At least Joe Biden is experienced and competent at maneuvering the levers of government vis a vis Coronavirus/pandemics; not letting people in Puerto Rico suffer, ignoring Russian bounties on American soldiers.. as much as I dislike Joe Biden these things are IMPORTANT and we as voters must hold our noses some times and do the right thing. 3) Voting for someone who did not win their primary is a wasted vote & there are sore losers that will prevent votes for Bernie to be counted. 4) Keep in mind Electoral College is winner take all, so there is some strategy to voting for the Green Party in a SAFE state– if a third party gets 5% of the vote in this election they will qualify for federal funding for the next election, which would be nice for amplifying our voice, but not wise if we foolishly become spoilers. 5) Joe Biden WILL win the popular vote– no doubt about it. But as of Sept 10 the mathematical models show Trump has a 1 in 4 chance of winning the election. Therefore there is no room to be selfish or frivolous with your vote if you are in a swing state! Hold your nose and vote for Biden swing staters! I am volunteering to reach voters in Wisconsin because voting and putting up a yard sign is not enough. I hope I can edit this if it’s not clear.. lol
darn it… I meant to say “sore loser rules” and I did use the metaphor “hold your nose” a lot… hmmmm. I must be having a hang-up about that….
I totally agree with this post and no this post is not mistake. Hypocrisies are the problem. Biden is a pedophile so why should penelope vote for him? Trump is lesser of two evils