Reagan Republicans endorse Harris

Posted on 2024-09-16 by David

We already had hundreds of staffers from Bush 43, McCain, and Romney endorse Harris but now we add seventeen staffers from the Reagan presidency. More important than who is offering the endorsement is why they give their endorsement:

The time for choosing we face today is a choice between integrity and demagoguery, and the choice must be Harris-Walz. The choice between truth and lies demands support for Harris-Walz. The choice between freedom and suppression of freedoms means support for Harris-Walz.

Having worked for the greatest Republican president of my lifetime they conclude that valuing integrity, truth, and freedom all point to supporting the Harris/Walz ticket.

@KamalaHarrisWin

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Startup tax credit

Posted on 2024-09-06 by David

@KamalaHarrisWin

The expanded tax credit that Kamala Harris is proposing for starting a business illustrates her understanding that it is the economic ground floor that we should be supporting in order to ensure a vibrant and growing economy. The benefits of lowering tax rates for established businesses are negligible (and costly) compared to the benefits that come from increasing the chances of new businesses being successful.

It’s a basic principle of taxation from Adam Smith (The Wealth of Nations) that you take tax revenue from those most able to pay (as opposed to focusing on those least able to wiggle out of them).

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Israeli and Palestinian interests align

Posted on 2024-09-05 by David

I’ve been thinking about the tragic situation in Israel and Gaza. Obviously I mean the current conflict but even going back ever since Israel was established there must be a way to cut this gordian knot. I have always felt that Israel has a right to protect themselves but I don’t think that all of their actions since the terrorist attack by Hamas are justifiable. I also believe that Palestinian civilians shouldn’t have to live perpetually at the mercy of the IDF.

I’m certainly in no position to suggest how to end the present hostilities but as I was lamenting the apparent intractability of the problem it occurred to me that the absolute best thing Israel could do for their long-term security once the current hostilities have cooled would be to put their expertise in settlement building to work in rebuilding Gaza.

I’m confident that if they worked to rebuild the infrastructure that the people of Gaza need and actively work to become partners with their Palestinian neighbors in both Gaza and the West Bank that would be the greatest investment they could make for their future security. They should work to become more sympathetic to the needs of those civilians than Hamas has been.

It’s quite possible that the first step to accomplish such an ambitious change of policy would be to vote out their current leadership but the only people who should object to that are the leaders of Likud.

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Harris is better for the economy

Posted on 2024-09-04 by David

@KamalaHarrisWin Goldman economists have looked at the Trump and Harris policies and concluded that Harris is better for the economy. They conclude that if Trump wins his tariffs and immigration policies would shrink GDP.

If Harris wins with a divided Congress GDP would be flat and if Harris wins with a Democrat-controlled Congress GDP would continue to grow under the policies she had outlined for an opportunity economy.

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Starting out tied

Posted on 2024-09-03 by David

@KamalaHarrisWin

We have 63 days until the election and the general campaign is starting out effectively tied. The Harris campaign is approaching the election as underdogs despite all the enthusiasm we’ve seen which is definitely the right move.

Technically, winning requires 270 electrical votes but with the moves in Georgia to make it easier for Republicans there to throw their state to Trump even if he loses, Harris needs to plan on getting 270 votes out of 522 instead of 270 out of 538. Additionally we know that Trump will do anything to challenge the results of any close state so Harris must aim for a buffer larger than any one close state she wins so it will be important to have a path to 289 (Pennsylvania, with 19, is the largest of the states likely to be close).

Finally, the goal of this election shouldn’t be simply to win – it should be to win so convincingly that the GOP must either refute the authoritarian, divisive, and anti-constitutional tactics and rhetoric of Trumpism or outright implode. In other words, running up the score is to be highly encouraged for the good of our nation.

  • I don’t want a 306-232 outcome like we had in 2020. I want a 356-182 wipeout. (Flipping the two narrowest Trump wins from 2020 would give us 349-189.)
  • I want a 20 million vote margin of victory in the popular vote since 7 million wasn’t enough to deter Trump or those around him.
  • I want Trump to receive fewer views than he did in 2020 to make it absolutely clear that his actions from 2020 on have turned voters away from him. (That can happen without a 20 million vote margin but a 20 million vote margin can’t happen without Trump getting a lower total than before.)

Yes, my wishes are beyond ambitious but this isn’t simply about who wins the White House, it’s about America coming out of the daze that brought us Trump and the further daze that Trump brought us in the last 8 years.

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MAGA is Poison

Posted on 2024-09-02 by David

It’s Labor Day which is generally considered the beginning of the general election campaign in earnest. I decided to start the general election campaign today by making a donation to Kamala Harris. Normally I wouldn’t publish that but I’ve had some other thoughts crystalize recently that I need to share which also lead me to encourage others to donate as well. (I’ve never done that before for any campaign.)

The thing that has crystalized in me is how much I’m done with MAGA. I’ve never been part of MAGA but I can no longer tolerate even being MAGA-adjacent with the divisiveness and cruelty that are defining characteristics of their treatment of those they dislike.

I want to keep my advocacy primarily positive so I’ll avoid dwelling on this going forward but I just have to be clear in saying that no matter how much I might align on many conservative principles I can never vote for a GOP candidate again at any level until the party unambiguously abandons the MAGA playbook and makes a commitment to treat people with respect even when they vigorously disagree. (Yes, other parties can still improve in this area too.)

Country over party starts with a commitment to preserving democracy and treating everyone with basic respect—even those you disagree with.

We have 64 days to go. Let’s send a clear message that we are better than the infantile cruelty that has become all too common over the last several election cycles. (That message is best sent with a resounding victory in November for Harris and anyone running against a MAGA candidate.)

@KamalaHarrisWin

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Things we should not go back to

Posted on 2024-08-30 by David

Trump has just reminded us again in Arlington National Cemetery of the things we don’t want to go back to. Here’s a list of reminders (some more serious than others):

@KamalaHarrisWin

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Expanding the tent

Posted on 2024-08-27 by David

I’m excited to see the big tent of a coalition supporting Harris as 200 Republicans from the Bush, McCain, and Romney teams endorsed the Vice President. These people represent what was considered the core of the GOP before Trump came on the scene and they continue to represent the core of any healthy version of the GOP.

Not only do we need people like this on board, we also need to keep reminding ourselves to avoid looking down on people who still support Trump.

@KamalaHarrisWin

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What can a nobody do?

Posted on 2024-08-23 by David

Here I am in Utah supporting Kamala Harris and wondering “what can I do?”

I don’t have enough money to make a donation worth anything and being in Utah I’m realistic enough to know that if Harris can win Utah we’re looking at a Bush 1988 race at least (426-111) if not a Reagan 1980 race (489-49) so winning my state is a pipe dream, not my realistic goal.

My conclusion is that I will make sure to spend some time each week reaching out to tell why I support Harris and encouraging others to support Harris as well. Every little voice counts.

@kamalaharrisforpresidentnews

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The Best of America

Posted on 2024-08-22 by David

I can scratch this off the bingo card of Things I Didn’t Expect to Happen™: Oprah Winfrey articulating why I’m voting for Kamala Harris by talking about the best of America.

Values and character matter most of all, in leadership and in life. …decency and respect are on the ballot in 2024. And just plain common sense.
…
Let us choose loyalty to the Constitution over loyalty to any individual, because that’s the best of America. And let us choose optimism over cynicism, because that’s the best of America. And let us choose inclusion over retribution. Let us choose common sense over nonsense, because that’s the best of America. And let us choose the sweet promise of tomorrow over the bitter return to yesterday.

Oprah Winfrey

I also appreciate the way she offered a reminder for partisans of all stripes that most people are just basically decent:

More often than not, what I’ve witnessed and experienced are human beings, both conservative and liberal, who may not agree with each other, but who would still help you in a heartbeat if you were in trouble. These are the people who make me proud to say that I am an American.

They are the best of America. And despite what some would have you think, we are not so different from our neighbors. When a house is on fire, we don’t ask about the homeowner’s race or religion. We don’t wonder who their partner is or how they voted. No, we just try to do the best we can to save them. And if the place happens to belong to a childless cat lady, well, we try to get that cat out too.

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