The Endorsement That Should Have Been
"The time has come to take a stand, and risk possible political favor to ensure the survival of American Democracy," is what the LA Times and Washington Post should have printed.
It was hard enough to come to terms with the need to remove The New York Times from my “high publishing standards” list, but it has made the idea of adding The LA Times and The Washington Post to that list a little easier, as if we have already made the decision to finally kill traditional print journalism. Exchanging that familiar phrase that denotes you no longer trust The Times has become a way for people to bypass the current political climate in favor of a more temperate exchange of where you stand on the intellectual scale.
Writing an “editorial endorsement for the President of the United States” is a dream job for any non-fiction writer. You get to elevate your personal writing style and try to embrace all of the optimism you hope the younger generations will still harness and you get to sell the idea of what America should look like in its most elevated view. I have no doubt that the editorial boards of both of these prominent newspapers have already drafted, revised, and again reworked their finest version of why the right vote in November will continue to protect the basic ideals upon which most Americans can still agree.
It is an injustice to the readers of a giant publisher when a critical, well-stated opinion is withheld from the public, but it is also a crime against the writers who have put their hearts into a piece that will always maintain its historical significance. What these newspapers have failed to recognize is that refusing to make an endorsement is actually the endorsement itself — and that kind of passive move in this day of elevated political strife will not be respected by anyone. For this reason — after researching the tenor and the pacing of both The LA Times and The Washington Post — I have decided to write the endorsement that should have been.
Disclaimer: I am in no way saying that this endorsement is a proper substitution for the professional and passionate work of these editorial boards, but I hope that it can garner some similar feelings from the reader, as if these writers had been allowed to do their jobs. I would also like to offer to publish the complete endorsements that were planned, and then blocked, on my site here because many people would really like to hear their expert opinions.
Harris is the Way Forward
The SHERO imagined editorial board endorsement that should have been made by two leading papers this week
“We have come to another election, and another year, and hold steadfast to the important notion that an informed reader is an informed voter. It was not so long ago that our newspaper recognized the basic tenets of American Democracy were in serious jeopardy, and we expressed our support then for someone who had dedicated his life to preserving our basic rights. It hardly seems possible, but we are again standing on a perilous threshold, which narrowly separates freedom from ruin, and it is time for Kamala Harris to now take control.
While many can agree that the need for female leadership in the highest office in the land is long overdue, it is our view that the candidate who best represents the energy that we all aspire to have again is Vice President Kamala Devi Harris. Today’s endorsement is not just an argument for the glaringly obvious, which is that Kamala Harris is better than Donald Trump in every way imaginable, but it is also an extension of our proud endorsement from 2020.
Regular readers of this editorial page won’t be surprised by our choice and the continuation of our last argument four years ago, which is that the re-election of Donald Trump would be a calamity. Even more than before, Trump’s record easily justifies a position of “Anybody but Trump,” again. While we would like to emphasize our plea to exercise a defensive vote this November, we would also like to explain the many reasons why we believe Kamala Harris is the woman for our time.
Kamala Harris grew up in a middle-class family and worked at McDonald’s one summer between college. Donald Trump inherited over $400 million from his father and threw French fries at his campaign staff last week, in order to make Harris look like a joke. Harris was the first woman of color elected as district attorney in San Francisco in 2004, and next as California Attorney General in 2010. Trump is a convicted felon, who was found guilty by a jury of his peers, of sexually assaulting E. Jean Carroll.
Harris was elected to the United States Senate in 2016, and became the first female US Vice President in 2020. As the President of the Senate, she cast a record number of tie-breaking votes in a polarized chamber, including nearly $2 trillion for the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act. Trump ensured that the Republican Party would block a bi-partisan US Border bill so that immigration issues would escalate and help him win the election.
Along with President Joe Biden, Kamala Harris worked tirelessly to bring the country back from the destruction of Covid, making labor market gains and stimulating a post-pandemic recovery on all fronts. Donald Trump ensured that a lot of his rich supporters were bailed out with PPP loans, used his son in law to facilitate quid pro quo pardons, and spent millions of tax payer dollars on ventilators for Russia.
Her choice of running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, has emphasized the value she places on humble, positive authenticity. Walz has lived the middle-class American Dream, and has worked hard to ensure that each and every American has a chance at the same opportunities. Contrast this with Donald Trump’s selection of JD Vance as a running mate. Vance is an unqualified bigot who has built his own political brand off of the notion of the angry, poor, white man who wants everyone to be as downtrodden and miserable as he feels. Tim Walz gives people warm hugs. JD Vance leaves people with cold couches.
Donald Trump is a candidate who has run his campaign on the premise of glorifying fascism and idolizing Hitler. In the past week he has been accused of sexually assaulting another woman, who was provided to him by the sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein. He is solely responsible for building a United States Supreme Court that is no longer beholden to the Constitution, but to the ideals of the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation. Thanks to Donald Trump, the people of the United States have not only lost their access to many Civil Rights, they have lost their dignity and respect.
Who better to end this criminal farce started by Donald Trump, and bring him to justice, than Kamala Harris — a person who is experienced with criminals and con men. It is with great enthusiasm that we lend our full support to the person who is able to break a racial barrier and a glass ceiling;
a person who embodies the soul and spirit of what America still aspires to be;
a hard-working, well-trained, extremely educated person who looks for the best in all things first, but who does not flinch in the worst of fights.
We would like to endorse a person who will make the United States proud again, while representing all of us —
we endorse Kamala Harris.”
Amee Vanderpool is feeling mouthy and writes the SHERO Newsletter, is an attorney, published author, contributor to newspapers and magazines, and an analyst for BBC radio. She can be reached at avanderpool@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @girlsreallyrule.
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As always, insightful. The fact that this is "what should be" and not what is, is exactly why these large newspapers are no longer needed in our society. Like mainstream media news shows, they have failed Americans completely. Truth is not political spin. Period.
Beautiful! In spring! Thank you for saying what needed to be said!