Note the kind words of Mike, one recent paid subscriber: "I supported your work because yours is an important voice of reason amidst the insanity and chaos hitting us from all sides and sources." Deciding on America's Future The votes we make in November are about far more than picking a favorite candidate STEVEN BESCHLOSS JUN 24 The face-off on October 22, 2020. (Photos by Morry Gash and Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images) A vote for Joe Biden is not choosing the better of two evils. A vote for Joe Biden is not simply deciding who you like better, who you’d rather drink a beer with, who you find more entertaining or who’s a better debater. It’s not a hold-your-nose decision just because you don’t like his age or his policies on any particular issue. Nor, as much as voting for Biden may be about voting against the vengeful, hateful, dictatorial Donald Trump, is this just about defeating one man. All that thinking harkens back to the time when there were two legitimate governing parties. However much you may have disagreed with the policies of the nominees, you had no reason to doubt their basic commitment to democracy, free and fair elections, and the peaceful transfer of power once the voters’ will was determined. There is no normal to return to now, not as long as the Republicans and their leaders have abandoned factual reality, lie to the public with shameless abandon and are determined to take power by any means necessary—be that rejecting November’s truthful outcome if Trump loses, exploiting the courts to try and deny a Biden win, or supporting political violence to incite fear and fuel conflict and chaos. No, a vote for Joe Biden is not simply about your candidate beating that other candidate, not when we can see so clearly how devastating the impact of a Republican takeover will be for a progressive future in America. The consequences will be felt in everything from women’s reproductive freedoms and the fundamental commitment to immigrants and a diverse, inclusive country, to the separation of church and state, gay rights and race, to guns, economic inequality and addressing the climate crisis. As much as we rightfully focus on the self-serving ambitions of convicted felon Donald Trump, the ripple effects of a GOP takeover will be felt far and wide. Consider three snapshots from this moment as bellwethers of where the country is going if the Democrats fail to hold the White House and the Senate. At another time, I plan to dig into Project 2025 as the overarching blueprint for the Trump-inspired effort to stamp out a progressive future and turn the clocks backward. Today marks the two-year anniversary when this Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, what every one of those conservative justices previously claimed was a legal precedent and settled law when they lied in their nomination hearings to get the job. Now, two years after they decided in a 6-3 ruling to strip away women’s reproductive rights, Republican legislatures have been inspired to expand their attacks against women with 14 states passing near-total abortion bans, making it necessary for some women to travel hundreds of miles to obtain an abortion (if they can). Meanwhile, the man who appointed Justices Neal Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett crows about his achievement of ending Roe. Yes, we have seen the successful pushback when states put the question of abortion access on the ballot, even in red states like Ohio and Kansas. But we should not doubt that the right will keep going in their desire to control women’s bodies. Last week Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed into law three bills linked to public education to promote and impose a Christian worldview on Louisiana’s students. One requires transgender students to be addressed by whatever gender was on their birth certificate. “God gives us our mark,” Landry said. A second law enables public schools to hire chaplains and a third mandates hanging the Ten Commandments in every classroom, a national first. “We don’t quit,” the governor boasted. Don’t doubt that a GOP victory in November will accelerate this imposition of Christian nationalism across America. Contrast this with the sensible rejoinder of Preet Bharara, the former U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York: “Maybe post the Bill of Rights in classrooms.” Last week, without explanation, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed all arts grants in his state. That represented $32 million in funding intended for hundreds of arts organizations, a microscopic line item eliminated in an announced budget that totaled $116.5 billion. It was a stunning rebuke for the arts community, which expects to cancel public events, cut programming for children and reduce staff—assuming, that is, individual groups won’t have to shut their doors altogether. Zeroing out the arts was part of what DeSantis called decisions “that are in the best interests of the State of Florida.” Wonder if he took out his veto pen because he didn’t like the progressive work and values of many of the state’s arts organizations? I don’t. And I think we can expect plenty more of these kind of draconian assaults across the country if the Democrats lose. Four nights from now on Thursday, I will be among the millions looking closely at the side-by-side match-up of Biden and Trump on an Atlanta debate stage. I hope there will be plenty of current fence-sitters who will grasp the danger that Trump represents after watching his likely unhinged and hostile performance. I hope they will recognize their responsibility not just to vote for Biden, but to vote for democracy, decency, factual reality and the survival of American values before it’s too late.