This Just in, Florida Man Votes for…
I’ve voted for candidates in both major parties, in addition to voting for third party candidates. Sometimes in the same election. In 2018 for example, my ballot was cast for Ron DeSantis (R) and Bill Nelson (D).
The letters next to the name mean very little to me. I have essentially zero party allegiance. Particularly in this age of rabid partisans, I find blind loyalty profoundly frustrating.
Recall Benjamin Franklin’s famous assertion that “Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.”
I understand quite clearly that I and nearly everyone I’ve ever known or cared about, are part of that “well-armed lamb”. For those of you who identify with or imagine yourself to be one of the “two wolves”, here’s a reality check: unless you’re having dinners in the wine cellar with billionaires or high rolling with Steve Wynn, then I’m sorry, kiddo, you’re just not part of the club. You’re no wolf. At best, maybe you’re a pawn or mouthpiece.
The fanatical demands by each party that I must either support your blue or red guy or else I am responsible for the destruction of America is quite offputting, to put it gently. If you’re inclined to make those sorts of impositions towards me, save yourself some grief: Don’t.
For the most part, I’ll vote based on two criteria: 1) integrity, and 2) competence.
"What I saw last night was a cruel schoolyard bully finally meeting his match against the stuttering kid that isn’t afraid of bullies."
The rest can sort itself out. It shouldn’t surprise you that the only politician I’ve ever supported with real enthusiasm is Andrew Yang, who is both tech-literate enough to understand what’s really happening right now, and genuine enough to go all-in on solution-oriented ways of addressing America’s threats and opportunities.
On the other hand, maybe that’s not true because although I’m not eligible to vote for him I guess you could also count me as having supported Ike McCorkle, the contender for Colorado’s 4th district. Below is my interview with him.
Politicians can have their minds changed as new evidence comes in just as anyone else can, and if they have character, which is what I prioritize, they will stand up to their own party members who are wrong regardless of what the party platform is.
For example, the fair-minded Cory Booker often fights his own party because he’s put in the research about nuclear energy and knows what he’s talking about. This happens to be the only issue that I care about with the same sort of rabid ferocity that most of you partisans out there seem to have over social issues like abortion or policing. (Here’s the TLDR: renewables alone won’t be cheap and plentiful enough to get us off of fossil fuels before 2035, and we’re out of time to wait any longer than that to change our fleet and update our power supply. Over the timeline that we actually have to work with there’s no way to get carbon neutral without nuclear, and so the countries that thrive will be the ones that embrace this fact.)
"What I saw last night was a cruel schoolyard bully finally meeting his match against the stuttering kid that isn’t afraid of bullies."
The rest can sort itself out. It shouldn’t surprise you that the only politician I’ve ever supported with real enthusiasm is Andrew Yang, who is both tech-literate enough to understand what’s really happening right now, and genuine enough to go all-in on solution-oriented ways of addressing America’s threats and opportunities.
On the other hand, maybe that’s not true because although I’m not eligible to vote for him I guess you could also count me as having supported Ike McCorkle, the contender for Colorado’s 4th district. Below is my interview with him.
For example, the fair-minded Cory Booker often fights his own party because he’s put in the research about nuclear energy and knows what he’s talking about. This happens to be the only issue that I care about with the same sort of rabid ferocity that most of you partisans out there seem to have over social issues like abortion or policing. (Here’s the TLDR: renewables alone won’t be cheap and plentiful enough to get us off of fossil fuels before 2035, and we’re out of time to wait any longer than that to change our fleet and update our power supply. Over the timeline that we actually have to work with there’s no way to get carbon neutral without nuclear, and so the countries that thrive will be the ones that embrace this fact.)
How Biden Won the Debate and My Support
I’ve never been terribly offended by anything about Joe Biden, I just thought he’s completely the wrong guy to lead at this moment. My reluctance is obvious in the conversation I had with fellow author, voice actor, and YangGang supporter Fred Eder.
The debate changed my mind because I realized how capable Joe Biden really is during a verbal brawl. His opponents in the primaries were all respectful professionals who didn’t hit him very hard despite having real disagreements with him, and so it wasn’t yet obvious to me then.
People like Dr. Jo Jorgensen and Andrew Yang have the leeway to express good ideas and support sound policies (both are strong supporters of nuclear energy) and sound very articulate as they do so in large part because no one is coming after them. But politics isn’t like playing a violin solo. Politics is more like a wrestling match and for that, you need a fighter.
Trump doesn’t let up. He throws jab, after jab, after jab, the kind of things that are perfectly calibrated not necessarily to persuade the audience but to wear down, to exhaust, and to get under the skin of that specific opponent. All Trump needs to do is get them to make a fatal mistake.
The president is so relentlessly aggressive that he even regularly clashes with moderators whether or not they belong to Fox News!
What I saw last night was a cruel schoolyard bully finally meeting his match against the stuttering kid that isn’t afraid of bullies. Trump got where he is by appealing to the worst aspects of human nature. I know you don’t need me to recap, you’ve all seen how he’s mocked the disabled, demeaned women, played coy and denialist about condemnations of white supremacists, and all the rest of it.
Trump’s supporters treat those of us who are able to see his faults as if there’s something wrong with us for not going along with the make-believe idea that the man is some kind of a genius whose behavior is excusable simply because he’s entertaining and able to draw out mean-spirited laughs.
Even in me. I admit it. Several years ago I stopped reading his tweets or paying attention to him when I realized I was laughing along, and that on some days even I found myself explaining away his flaws.
He seduces with a false image. It isn’t real. What he does might be okay for a regular citizen, fine, but it isn't okay for someone who holds his job. He’s irresponsible, and so he must not continue to hold a station of that responsibility.
This is all old news. What’s new is that I’ve now seen with my own eyes that his challenger can take all the hits Trump has to throw and still flash that “you can’t hurt me” smile.
For a long time, I didn’t think Joe Biden was up to it. I feared Democrats had made a terrible mistake. I see it now, and I admit I was wrong.
I don’t know what future elections hold, but for this time, I as “the well-armed lamb” will cast my vote for the “blue wolf” to protect me from the “red wolf”.
This time, the Democrats have chosen correctly despite my own initial objections.
Joe Biden will win, and he will restore the zeitgeist from this dumpster fire into an environment where Republicans and Democrats can resolve our disagreements as Americans. As brothers and sisters whose mutual defense in a dangerous world depends on one another.
We will do so in the tradition of the electoral process, liberty, and lawful order; not by a flirtation with a civil war by a man who tells his most dangerous supporters to “stand back and stand by”.
I’m not afraid of the left, Mr. President. And I’m not afraid of you. Pack your bags.
Jesse J Rogers is writer on Medium, as well as an educator and entrepreneur. He is the founder of the creator network and podcast Resurgent.Us.
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