There’s a recent Op-Ed in the Times that talks about false choices. Republican politicians seem very fond of them, as do some of the Big Business boosters out there. Thomas Friedman cites an example or two. For example, “We can wear masks and social distance OR we can open our schools to in-person learning.”
In the current, science-averse White House, we now have a clear-cut example of what happens when you choose the fun of a packed party over the sober appearance of empty seats and masked faces. You get a dozen or so people infected with COVID-19. That’s enough out of the number of attendees to qualify as a “super-spreader” event. I suppose that’s okay with the president because it has “super” in it.
With that in mind, I was keen to hear how vice-president Mike Pence, the head of the White House’s coronavirus task force, would defend his record. Especially given his inability to enforce the restrictions widely recommended by the scientists still left hanging around the CDC. And so, fortified by an IPA, I joined some friends on Zoom to watch the livestream of the vice-presidential debate.
A clear choice instead of a false choice
I was duly impressed by the stone-faced Mr Pence’s ability to deflect not only the questions asked by the moderator but also the accusations made by the Democratic challenger, Kamala Harris. How nimble, how willing to defend his boss’s indefensible actions!
And how unwilling Pence appeared to be when asked to disavow certain views held by important people in his party. What does Mr Pence really think about the covid-positive Republican senator from Utah who has voiced his doubts about the validity of democracy? If the debate were today, how would Pence defend the president’s endorsement of his right-wing fanboys who cooked up a plot to attack a sitting governor? I guess the Veep’s alternating stony silence and pious platitudes give me my answers…
I was far more charmed by Kamala Harris’s visible emotional range and expressiveness. And her willingness to frame her responses and challenges with the same prosecutorial ferocity she brings to Senate hearings. She — like Joe Biden — had a devastating knack for turning straight to the camera and making a direct appeal. (She told voters “If you have a pre-existing condition, they’re coming for you” by lining up the Supreme Court to toss out the Affordable Care Act.)
Both candidates declined to answer questions that didn’t suit their purposes. But at least with Harris, I felt I came away with an understanding of the Democratic position on key issues. And I came away with a deeper understanding of what drives this woman seeking the No. 2 slot in America’s political hierarchy.
Understanding should drive decision-making
As the once-necessary women’s suffrage poster said, voting is both a right and a responsibility. I think voters have a responsibility to understand the goals espoused by candidates before giving them one precious vote.
Back in early summer, the PBS program American Experience aired Michelle Ferrari’s fantastic documentary on women’s fight for The Vote. (You might still be able to watch it on your local PBS station.)
The program unpacks the delicate balance between the fight for the right to vote for all women and the fears of the movement’s predominantly white leadership that including black women in their marches would stir up southern-state prejudices that would cost them the vote. (In similar vein, certain savvy leaders sought to distance women’s suffrage from another women’s campaign, that against alcohol.) I believe our 20th-century sisters would be proud our Democratic presidential ticket has a black woman on it. It should demonstrate that we’ve changed as a nation, and can now do what they feared too much.
Still, watching Woodrow Wilson duck and dodge the suffragists picketing the White House reminds us that some things don’t change a lot.
Finally, watching Kamala Harris sock it to Mike Pence’s Harper Valley PTA was informative, energizing and spot-on. So she had to pin him with The Look a few times… Every woman I know knows how to deliver some variation of it. And my pals watching the debate on Zoom cheered Harris every time she did it.
Banner photo credit: Library of Congress archives.