Blog

Friday, August 18, 2023

Let He with Reservations Cast the First Vote

Disclaimer: This is not intended to support or malign any specific candidate. It is general advice promoting voting when candidates are unlikeable. Any promotion of specific candidates is a result of current polling on race, not policies or characteristics of the candidates.

Dominic Pino said something interesting on the 8/15 edition of The Editors Podcast. He argued that while a majority of Republican primary voters may support Donald Trump, a majority of Republicans probably doesn't, and almost certainly, a majority of people who might consider voting Republican also wouldn't support Trump.

This is a unique election. In my lifetime, these are the two worst candidates ever. Arguably, both are unqualified to be president, but for very different reasons. In elections before 2020, many people would complain about the quality of candidates, and it's true that the two parties' nominees are typically pretty poor representatives of the greatest America has to offer, but to a large extent, that's what the system, as it is currently constituted, can produce. That's also a very complex topic.

The difference with the 2020 election and the two front-running candidates for 2024, is that they're not just sub-optimal people, neither of them should be in the White House with any power whatsoever to make decisions for the country. Many, many people detested Hillary Clinton, but the idea that she was unqualified is ludicrous. The same can't be said for Biden and Trump. It would be easy to make an argument for either one of them that they are unqualified from holding this office.

For Biden, there's not much that can be done in a primary election, when no viable candidate wants to challenge him. For Trump, however, there is an opportunity. This will make practically everyone angry, but the most American thing a person can do is to vote in the Republican primary, for the candidate who's most likely to beat Trump.

This will make practically everyone angry, but the most American thing a person can do is to vote in the Republican primary, for the candidate who's most likely to beat Trump.

Many moderate Republicans, who despise Trump, have also developed a strong aversion to DeSantis because of his stances and focus on cultural issues. Even if they don't think DeSantis should be president, they should still vote for him in the Republican primary, assuming he stands the best chance of beating Trump. It is un-American to believe that Trump is a mortal threat to democracy, but allow him to win the primary and have a chance at becoming president. Right now, polls are pretty close. In fact, Trump has a better chance at beating Biden than DeSantis. Anything can happen between today and the 2024 election, and if you truly believe Trump is unfit for office, doing nothing but hoping things work out is a dangerous gamble.

If you truly believe Trump is unfit for office, doing nothing but hoping things work out is a dangerous gamble.

But you don't like DeSantis, and you're afraid he might win the general and become president. If you're a pro-democracy patriot, you should be okay with that, even if it's not your ideal outcome. In fact, you should want a strong contest between qualified candidates, even if it doesn't go the way you want. Whether you're a full-blooded Democrat, an ambivalent moderate, or a disaffected Republican, the most civic-minded thing you can do is vote for the Republican who stands the best chance of beating Trump.

Perhaps you think DeSantis himself is unqualified, just like Trump, so why vote for him. Here's a great test as to whether you believe a candidate is qualified. Ask yourself, why shouldn't this person be president. Come up with as many answers as you like, but try to be honest with yourself as to why you don't think they should be in office. If the reasons are all policy-related, then the candidate is qualified, but just has different positions. Shouldn't voters make that decision? Don't you want an election where voters can talk about issues and choose who better represents them and not a "my guy's awful, but their guy will usher in Ragnarok" election?