A matter of conscience…

There’s about an hour before wall-to-wall media coverage of the Democratic National Convention kicks off. It will be the second political convention of the summer that I’ll watch while gritting my teeth. Unlike their Republican counterparts, though, my trouble with the Democrats will be more about how many of their policy positions I object to rather than abject fear that electing them in November could represent an existential threat to small “r” republican government in the United States. 

I’ll never be a bleeding-heart liberal. I’ve always considered the Democratic Party to want government involved in entirely too many things and to gin up taxes accordingly. Here’s the catch, though, Donald Trump’s four years in office proved that Republicans are an even worse option – racking up unprecedent levels of debt and shrinking the government to be just small enough that it can fit into our bedrooms. Worse yet, they did it while ignoring the historical norms that have governed our politics since the founding of the republic.

For better or worse, the Democrats are now the party most concerned with our personal liberty – of keeping government from stepping between doctors and patients and not using the inherent power of government to enforce religious or social values entirely out of step with the majority of American citizens. I don’t love everything they do or stand for, but I expect I’d be more likely to be allowed to voice a dissenting opinion under a Democratic administration than under religio-fascist fuckery proposed by Republicans and Project 2025.

So, here’s the lead:  In November I fully intend to cast my vote for the Harris-Walz ticket. This isn’t a statement of my love for their candidacy or most of their proposed policies. It is, however, reflective of my fundamental belief that democracy in America is worth protecting – and for the moment Kamala Harris and Tim Walz represent the option most likely to preserve the republic in 2025. Once I’m convinced the United States isn’t about to install some over tanned tin pot dictator, I’ll be happy to get back to fighting them on any number of policy issues, but a man has to have priorities.