We will save our democracy or we won't

Voters go to the polls Nov. 5 to elect either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump for president. This election will tell us if we are a nation committed to democratic values, economic opportunity and freedom for all Americans; or, if we are to follow a path of retribution, isolationism and destruction of the very fabric of our democratic society.

If elected, Trump will trash our democratic institutions. He boasts of his plan to consolidate power in the executive branch. He promises to take over the Department of Justice and punish his rivals and critics. He plans to terminate thousands of civil service employees, replacing them with individuals loyal to him. Not loyal to the Constitution - loyal to him.

If Harris is elected, she will fight for the middle class. She pledges no more tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires as Trump has vowed to do; she plans instead to reduce taxes for middle-and lower-income Americans. Harris wants tax credits for child care and middle-income home buyers. She wants to increase financial incentives for small businesses to start up and grow.

Harris will negotiate with big pharma to bring down the cost of medicine for everybody. She will work to make Roe v. Wade the law of the land to protect women’s reproductive freedom.

Harris will work with Congress to pass the immigration border bill Trump killed last spring purely for his own political gain.

For those still complaining they don’t know what Harris’ policies are - those are her policies; plain as day. And for those who always say they like Trump’s policies, one has to ask, “What policies?” The only thing he ever talks about is placing high tariffs on products coming in from other countries. U.S. economists predict his tariffs will greatly increase the cost of living for American families, and may plunge our economy into a recession.

We can’t count on his party to stop Trump from doing whatever he wants. Sadly, most Republicans will ignore the chaos and destruction of another Trump presidency for two reasons – deregulation and tax breaks – the only thing they ever care about.

As always, Trump has promised to cut taxes for the rich again. He will follow the roadmap developed for his administration, called Project 2025, that calls for serious reductions in programs for children and families, senior citizens, environmental initiatives, housing and economic development. There will be nothing for public education, gun violence or civil rights.

Trump’s focus is on immigration and he never hides his contempt for black and brown migrants. He pledges to deport millions of them to rid the country of people he doesn’t like, disrupting the economy even more. He wants to isolate America, and risks our safety and standing among nations by threatening to withdraw from NATO and other international alliances.

Harris believes in strengthening American leadership among nations and defending one another through NATO and other agreements with friends and allies. Unlike Trump, she understands we cannot be pals with dictators who invade and attack their neighbors. Trump implies Harris can’t handle Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping because she’s a woman. Actually, those dictators already know a strong woman is far more formidable, than a weak and deferential man.

Trump’s record as president was awful. His huge tax cuts to the rich added $8 trillion to the national deficit. He mismanaged the pandemic so badly a million Americans died - the highest rate in the world. Thousands of jobs were lost and the economy was decimated. He frequently fired decent people who had consented to serve in his administration, then replaced them with loyalists, many who were later indicted and convicted of felonies.

He took a wrecking ball to democracy. He was the president who undermined Americans’ confidence in voting by refusing to accept his defeat in 2020.

Trump has never admitted he lost that election and he incited a violent insurrection in an attempt to steal it back. His stubborn refusal to accept defeat or to help in the transition between administrations nearly tore the country apart. The Biden-Harris administration deserves enormous credit for ending the pandemic, stabilizing the economy and restoring confidence in our institutions of government.

With this election, we voters have a choice. We will save our democracy - or we won’t. We will either protect America from more Trump - or we will fail.

The consequences of failure are terrifying.