‘Going high’ is great, but stopping Trump is paramount

I usually don’t watch the national political conventions because they’re too much like love fests at concerts; usually, only fans come. By this point in the election process, most people have chosen their candidates, so listening to the hype seems redundant. And with the advent of online coverage, you can listen to specific speeches later.

That’s why I listened to President Joe Biden’s speech live on the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last week and watched the rest the next day on YouTube.

The second evening I followed the entire event, as speakers included former President Barack and former First Lady Michelle Obama.

I later discovered that my thoughts on having Vice President Kamala Harris elected president were different than the Obamas’.

First, I have to admit that I love the Obamas. I’ve always prayed that I’d be on their Christmas card list and in their Rolodex. My disagreement with them is not substantive, but formal.

As expected, they both gave powerful speeches. For both, the underlying theme was to explain why voters should vote for Harris, and the hope for the future she offers, instead of voting in return for former President Donald Trump and his plans to return the country to the restrictive constraints of the past.

While they all went on to make the point that Trump is unfit to be re-elected, the tone of the speeches still reflected a version of the When they go low, we go high speech Michelle Obama gave in 2016.

Here we differ in opinion.

Positive dreams of joy and hope for the future are great messages that can convince some people, but with less than 11 weeks until the election, there is no time for that.

Instead, we should focus on what happens if Trump gets a second term.

Ana Navarro, a co-host on “The View,” was another speaker on the second night of the convention. Her remarks should be a wake-up call for anyone who is not planning to vote, or who has not yet decided.

“Trump calls Kamala a communist,” Navarro said. “I know communism. I fled communism in Nicaragua when I was eight years old. I don’t take it lightly.

“And let me tell you what communist dictators do, and it’s not for one day,” she continued (a reference to Trump’s statement that he won’t be a dictator “on day one”): “They attack the free press. They call them the enemy of the people, like Ortega does in Nicaragua. They put their unqualified family members in cushy government jobs so they can get rich off their positions, like the Castros do in Cuba.

“And they refuse to accept legitimate elections if they lose and call for violence to stay in power, as Maduro is doing now in Venezuela. … Do any of these things sound familiar?”

Yes, Ana, they do. These are the kinds of issues we should be concerned about.

Trump continues to claim, incessantly and falsely, that he won the 2020 election. He has said he will pardon those convicted of crimes related to the January 6, 2021, insurrection. The “Project 2025” blueprint drawn up by many of his most prominent supporters calls for replacing 50,000 tenured civil servants with MAGA loyalists. He shows clear disdain for any elements of the Constitution that would limit his power.

The press was so focused on President Joe Biden’s mental health issues in the run-up to the end of his campaign that they let Trump go during that period. They ignored the large number of questionable statements he made.

We must remember that Trump lives in a world of thin air and golden toilets, where he is king and everything he does is right. Anyone who contradicts him, especially those in his inner circle, is sent away. Believing that you are always right is called delusion.

For example, during a recent press conference at Mar-A-Lago, Trump said that “no one died on January 6th.” This must have come as quite a shock to the family of Ashli ​​Babbitt, one of his supporters who was shot dead that day while trying to enter the U.S. Capitol, let alone to the families of the many police officers killed in the days following the insurrection.

I believe Harris has a vision that benefits all of us, not just the wealthy. But I also fear that the millions of people who believe Trump’s lies will not give her the chance.

Before she reached her current position, Harris spent her professional life fighting for justice for working-class and marginalized people Trump would see as losers. She fought drug cartels and big banks, and prosecuted and convicted violent criminals. She worked with President Biden for four years on foreign policy, the economy and other issues.

If that’s still not enough to make you consider voting for Harris, at least consider voting in return for the vengeful megalomaniac.