A voter’s response to hard choice

After months of fake primaries, two elderly men were chosen to run for president.

One candidate is an old, pale white guy who shuffles when he walks and stutters when he talks; the other is an old convicted felon who lies every 90 seconds and is afraid of sharks and wind turbines. It’s a match over 70% of the voting public islikes intensely.

How should voters who hate this choice decide how to fill the chief executive position? No president can make laws, but citizens can (and should). Voters enact laws, not directly, but by voting for legislators who will pass bills addressing issues and concerns of their constituents.

If you believe abortions should be protected by a federal law based on Roe v. Wade standards, you should vote for candidates with a (D) after their names. If you want something meaningful done about school shootings and other gun violence, also (D). Laws and rules addressing climate issues, (D) again. Supporting the war in Ukraine, NATO membership, and other foreign alliances is another (D) promise. (D)s promise a tax system requiring more from corporations and the rich, less from the rest of us. The party will also protect labor unions, affordable health care and social security.

According to the (R) platform, you should vote for (R)s if you endorse closing the border completely while at the same time undertaking the largest mass deportation in U.S. history. (R)s will also crack down on non-citizen voting (full disclosure: there isn’t any). If you are a fan of the kind of governments featured in The Handmaids Tale, 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, check out Project 2025, a radical (R) authoritarian handbook assembled by a gaggle of Trump’s former minions. You may find a wave of other policies you like.

John Whalen

Elk Grove Village