Explain Like I’m 14: A Memo to My Nephew on Why I Vote Democrat
Before COVID-19 disrupted our lives, I was having lunch with my nephew, an intelligent and curious kid, during which we got into a discussion about politics. He has been raised in a Catholic, ultra-conservative household. I typically avoid talking about politics because I try to respect their religious beliefs and I don’t want to undermine his parents (one of whom is my sister). Instead, I wrote this memo, which I gave to my sister to share with him. I do not know if she has done that yet, but I am posting it here in case other people find it useful in framing these conversations.
To: My Nephew
From: Aunt Shauna
Re: Why I Vote Democrat
This memo explains why I vote, and the main reasons why I typically vote Democrat. I have also supported the Green Party and the Working Families Party, but I do not address the problems with the current two-party predominance here. I also attempt to avoid the specific choices I have made between candidates over the years and instead focus more broadly on why the Democratic party better reflects my values than the Republican Party. (For the record, I am not keen on Joe Biden but will vote for him if he does indeed become the Democratic nominee.)
Note that the title of this memo is why I vote Democrat, because I do not base my personal identity on party affiliation. The way that I vote is merely my best calculation of how to act in accordance with my values given the choices I have on the ballot.
Why I Vote (and Why You Should Too)
I was old enough to vote in the 1992 election, but I was in full Gen-X cynicism mode back then, and did not vote because I did not want to participate in “the system.” I do not remember voting in the 1996 presidential election. At the time, the incumbent, President Clinton, maintained a lead against the Republican contender throughout the campaign, which is perhaps why voter turnout out that year was the lowest since 1924.
I can confidently say, however, that I voted in the 2000 presidential election and every one since then. The results of that election were crazy close. You have probably heard that it all came down to Florida, which George W. Bush won after a decision by the Supreme Court halted a statewide recount. In the end, Bush got Florida’s electoral college votes and became president, despite losing the popular vote. (We need to fix the electoral college system, by the way, but that is a separate issue).
The election was so close that I have never forgotten it and I have not neglected to vote since then. Even in Oregon, with its few electoral college votes, I have voted in every election. I also was active in city and statewide issues there and learned how important municipal and state elections are for all kinds of things — from law enforcement to library funding.
There is so much at stake for you. The climate crisis, soaring college tuition, access to healthcare — all of these will impact the opportunities available to you and the society that you and your children will grow up in. Remember this, tend to your future, and vote.
Why I Vote Democrat
At the start of this memo, I wrote that I try to vote my values. As most relevant to how I vote, I believe that everyone should have a fair and equal chance to realize their full human potential and that religious beliefs are a matter of personal choice. These values have led me to vote for the Democrat in every presidential election — not because Democrats fully and faithfully serve these values — but because they serve them better than Republicans.
Everyone should have a fair chance to realize their full potential.
I offer this personal example to illustrate how policies can play out in real life. In 1995, I graduated from college and got a job working as an administrative assistant for the ACLU in Louisiana. My low-wage, nonprofit job, and Dietrich’s two minimum-wage jobs were barely enough to cover our rent, utility bills, and transportation. We did not own a house, a car or even a television — and we did not have health insurance. The state, through the Children’s Health Insurance Program, (what some Republicans would today refer to as a form of socialized medicine) provided the healthcare I needed during my pregnancy and childbirth. We also had food stamps and WIC until we found better paying jobs in restaurants in Seattle. Within a year, I obtained a federally-insured student loan to go to graduate school, which led to better-paying jobs and employer-provided healthcare.
Democrats seek to protect vulnerable people and promote equal opportunity.
Democrats are more likely to vote for government spending for this type of support. Since the Great Depression, the Democratic Party has envisioned a role for government in promoting the social and economic welfare of all Americans. The New Deal is perhaps the best example. It included the Social Security Act, which created income for people who are disabled as well as a retirement pension system that your grandparents benefit from today. A Democratic president also successfully pushed for passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which, for the first time in U.S. law, made it illegal for private citizens to discriminate against people at work, at school and at businesses open to the public. (I know grandpa has probably told you, and he is not wrong, that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican, and the Democrats were pro-slavery and segregationist. You are probably not surprised to learn that much has changed since then.)
Republicans expect individuals to make it on their own.
In contrast, the Republican Party has promoted smaller government, less regulation, and tax cuts (including cuts for the wealthy and corporations, see Trump’s tax cuts as the most recent example). Republicans believe that free markets and individual achievement drive economic prosperity. Many Republicans oppose higher tax rates for the wealthy, because they generally believe wealthy people create jobs and that private charity is more efficient than government spending. In short, they are in no way looking out for the little guy. They love the “pick yourself up by your bootstraps” idea.
But bootstraps are not enough. During a period in my life when I was particularly economically vulnerable, state programs of the type favored by Democrats offered some of the support I needed. (I think your parents also relied on government help as young people just starting to raise a family.) I needed assistance for a short while, as I already had (and have) many privileges. I am white and do not have any disabilities. I attended reasonably good schools growing up, where I “fit in” and was not bullied. I was consistently housed and fed. My parents are white collar professionals, and I am college educated. But consider if I was stereotyped or bullied at school for being different, lacked a college education, or grew up in poverty in a family where no one encouraged me to go to college. In that scenario, it would take a lot more than my bootstraps for me to obtain an education and live up to my full potential. Republicans, however, tend to ignore these systemic inequalities.
(As to the question of where the money comes from, it is possible to shift federal spending to reflect policy priorities. The federal coronavirus bailout, which has churned out trillions in taxpayer dollars, is compelling evidence of false scarcity in our current economic system.)
Religious beliefs should be a matter of personal choice.
Another reason that I vote Democrat is my belief in freedom of conscience. Broadly speaking, freedom of conscience means the right to follow one’s own beliefs in matters of religion and morality. In the First Amendment, this concept is embodied in the two clauses respecting free exercise of religion and the prohibition on laws establishing a religion.
Republicans’ positions are inconsistent.
Republicans’ approach to these freedoms is, to me and others, highly problematic. I take issue with the Republicans’ “right to life” stance for several reasons. The first is that Republicans have not been vocally opposed to the death penalty, and I do not understand how that squares with their beliefs on the sanctity of human life. Their opposition to universal healthcare also is inconsistent with a belief that human life is sacred. In light of their positions on these issues, and their broader claims of too much government intrusion into our lives, their embrace of the “right to life” movement looks to me like hypocrisy.
The freedom to choose respects all beliefs.
Lastly, the Republican position is inconsistent with the proper role of government in a free society. In the Supreme Court decision upholding the right of a woman to choose to terminate a pregnancy, the justices recognized that different philosophical and religious traditions will have different answers to the question of when life begins. In light of that, the Court decided that the State’s interest in protecting potential human life is stronger at the point when a fetus may survive outside the womb. Therefore, at that point, the state may place restrictions on a women’s right to be free from government intrusion into a matter so fundamental as the decision whether to bear a child. In doing so, it left women the freedom to choose whether to end a pregnancy (based on their own beliefs), up until that time when, as a matter of medical science (not religion), the state has a strong legitimate (non-religious) interest in protecting life. Republicans’ approach, however, would impose one belief — life begins at conception — on all Americans, regardless of their personal moral and religious beliefs. And that I have never understood.
Keep asking questions.
My goal in sharing all of this is to tell you, as clearly as I know how, some of the main reasons why I choose to vote Democrat. It is not my intention to undermine anything you have learned or believe. I respect that you are raised in a faith and a household that has different values than my own. I believe in the freedom and the safety for our different values to coincide in our society, and it is in that spirit that I have written this memo. I hope you continue these conversations with lots of different people, from all walks of life, as you journey into adulthood — -and that you use them to shape and inform your opinions, your values, and your vote.
