This election offers a clear choice between the Party of Freedom and the Party of No

Since the Democrats took over the Oval Office in the 2020 elections, national unemployment rates have fallen considerably to pre-pandemic levels, the stock market has reached record highs, and wages have risen while inflation rates have drastically dropped. And yes, still more needs to be done.

Congress, with the help of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, passed landmark legislation, including comprehensive COVID relief for free vaccines, masks, and home testing kits, and payments to struggling businesses and individual households.

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For the first time since the Eisenhower administration, Congress passed a wide-ranging bipartisan infrastructure bill to repair outdated and crumbling highways, bridges, sewage and water systems, airports, improve mass transit and install electric charging stations, and extend internet access.

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They passed substantial funding to deal with the climate crisis, to produce computer chips in the United States, to pay for the healthcare of servicemembers exposed to toxic “burn pits,” to extend the “cancer moon project” for the purpose of finally curing this deadly disease, and also, they delivered a firearms reform package.

In addition, President Biden and Vice President Harris have shown true leadership in bringing back the Western alliance of nations to counter the unwarranted and brutal invasion of Ukraine, a sovereign nation, by the Russian Federation’s totalitarian regime under its President Vladimir Putin, and they’re working to limit China’s aggression against Taiwan too.

And yes, still more work needs to be done, but at no other time in the history of the United States have we seen a clearer and starker choice than in the 2024 presidential sweepstakes. The Democrats truly represent the Party of Freedom and are forward-thinking, while the Republicans continue to be the Party of No in retrograde.

Though I generally refrain from writing in terms of binaries, I perceive many unambiguous differences:

Democrats actively support reproductive freedom of choice and continued federal funding of reproductive healthcare clinics, IVF procedures, and contraceptives; Republicans don’t support reproductive choice but, instead, in many areas of the GOP, support a total or partial ban on reproductive healthcare and no funding of reproductive healthcare clinics, a ban on IVF procedures, and limiting of contraceptives.

Democrats have substantial support for a single-payer national healthcare plan; Republicans only support fully privatizing healthcare insurance.

Democrats have demonstrated an appropriate and quick response to public health emergencies and a trust in science; Republicans have demonstrated a slow and deadly response to public health emergencies with little or no trust in science but, rather, promotion of dangerous conspiracy theories.

Democrats support paid parental leave, child tax credits, subsidized day care of children and seniors, implementation of a truly equitable and fair tax plan, and commitment to substantially narrowing the wage/wealth gaps; Republicans have offered no substantial support for paid parental leave, child tax credits, and subsidized national childcare plan and no elder care plan — but they do support massive tax breaks for the already-super rich and for corporations.

Democrats don’t support banning books, and they encourage the age=appropriate teaching of race, gender, and sexual and gender identities, as well as the teaching of the “hard” history in public schools, plus additional national and state funding of our public schools; Republicans instituted book bans and the banning of much other curricular content in public schools, want to provide a voucher system of public funding to private schools, some of which are parochial, and have plans to abolish the Federal Department of Education.

Democrats support a fair process in the nomination and confirmation of federal judges and justices; Republicans have virtually no support for the confirmation of judges and justices nominated by Democrats.

Democrats have shown continued and firm support for marriage equality; Republicans have little support for marriage equality and want to possibly pass a Constitutional amendment defining legal marriage as only between “a man and a woman.”

Democrats have demonstrated continued support for the civil and human rights of transgender people and personal choice in their use of public accommodations and healthcare, including gender confirmation procedures; Republicans have continually vilified and scapegoated transgender people, offering no support for transgender choice in their use of public accommodations and healthcare, including GOP-led bans on gender confirmation procedures.

Democrats support a complete separation between religion and government; Republicans want no separation of “Church & State” by attempting to install a patriarchal internationalist Christian white supremacist theocracy.

Democrats have continued and improved consumer protections on all products including prescription drugs, and have passed and enforced appropriate regulations on business and industry to protect the safety of the public and reduce exorbitant price gouging; Republicans have instituted proposals to abolish the Consumer Protections Agency.

Democrats show firm and consistent support for labor unions and the process of collective bargaining, a guaranteed federal living minimum hourly and yearly wage; Republicans want to abolish all labor unions with no collective bargaining rights and no establishment of a minimum hourly or annual wage.

Democrats support a real partnership between the federal, state, and local governments with final authority resting in the federal government; Republicans plan to severely restrict such partnerships and any authority of the federal government over states and locales.  

Democrats desire strong and continued ties with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the United Nations, and our other allies around the world to solve common problems and to serve as trading partners; Republicans promote “America First” isolationism by remaining resolute to retreat from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, with very little support for the work of the United Nations, and little desire to meet our current treaty obligations, depending on the day.  

Democrats have committed to limiting the continued disastrous climate crisis by earmarking more funding to renewable sources of clean energy while ensuring more clean energy jobs, retraining the workforce, and cleaning waterways and the air; Republicans have little commitment to clean energy sources, and repeat “Drill Baby Drill” with no limits on fossil fuel extractions and emissions, mining, and deforestation.

Democrats want common sense firearms regulations such as banning assault rifles, universal background checks, “red flag” laws, and “gun buyback” programs; Republicans want no firearms restrictions of any kind and regularly advise residents to buy more guns.

Democrats’ commitment to just and humane immigration policies will infuse more funding into hiring border agents to process those who wish to enter the country, and offer codified protections for “Dreamers”; Republicans demonize and stereotype primarily Black and Brown immigrants from our southern border, offering virtually no immigration reform except harsh penalties like family separation, arrest, and deportation.

Democrats support police and prison reform, including work to ensure a working partnership between departments and the communities they serve, and instituting humaine policies such as “no choke holds,” the warning of officer body cameras, and other precautions; Republicans have offered virtually no suggestions for police reform other than even harsher treatment by officers on the people they are meant to serve, and also the privatization of the prison system by for-profit corporations.

Democrats have continued their support of some social benefits programs, like increasing funding for public safety net programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, SNAP (food assistance) programs, reducing or eliminating student loan debt, and offering supplemental nutrition assistance such as free school breakfasts and lunches; Republicans have shown virtually no support for public safety net programs defining these as “socialist,” and proposing these programs be run by private for-profit corporations.

Democrats negotiate with big pharmaceutical companies to reduce costs for a wide array of drug therapies for the public, Republicans have shown few actual results in lowering drug prices.

Democrats have pursued continued activism to ensure fair and equitable voting rights for all qualified citizens regardless of their social identities and backgrounds; Republicans have continually worked to rig elections in its own favor by refusing to limit state gerrymandering of voting districts, reducing the number of voting days, giving confusing misinformation on which districts individuals should cast their ballots, limiting or eliminating mail-in ballots and ballot drop-off boxes, and crying about “fraudulent” elections unless Republicans are determined to be the winners.  

Democrats are dedicated to ethics in politics, to truth, facts, and decency; Republicans’ base ethics, lies and “alternative facts” show a lack of decency and a willingness to pursue petty grievances, personal attacks, and retribution.

Democrats understand the potential of a government that works with the people to solve their problems; Republicans have no commitment to governing, even when it has the power to do so.

Democrats are committed to democracy and establishing “a more perfect union”; Republicans are committed to an autocratic system to hold power for power’s sake.  

For those who have watched both the Republican National Convention and the Democratic National Convention, it is evident that the bright and joyful faces at the DNC in Chicago represent all of the United States, while the relatively monotone homogenous faces of the GOP in Milwaukee symbolize a slim swath of what makes up the country.

The Democrats must tell their story, the highlights as well of the issues they need more time to improve. They must also tell the truth that the only thing the Republicans will do and say is “No.”

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