The time has never been more ripe for a woman to win the Presidency, and if the Republicans want any hope of keeping the White House, they would change course drastically too.
Let me explain.
There are many people out there who like to vote for candidates they’d like to have a beer with- as a result we had people like George W. Bush over the more qualified John Kerry. Trump over HRC. Bill Clinton over George Bush. Powerful women make some of those people uncomfortable. It’s like electing their mom. Yikes.
But it’s a whole new ballgame in these United States. That nurturing energy that may have turned some off- people now crave it. Look at the midterms. Look at the rise of Warren, Harris, Castro, Booker- even Marianne Williamson to an extent.
Between the sword of Damocles hanging over our healthcare, our basic human rights, and essentially the New Deal, Trump bullying all our allies, and the utter corruption and abuse of the system— we’re a step away from him suggesting that we feed our babies to the rich. America is beaten down and traumatized. Who do we want when we’re in that state? Our mom.
Look at the rise of Elizabeth “I have a plan for that” Warren. The debates have only helped her further. When Kamala Harris walked into the first debate and proved she could take on not only Biden but Trump and come out on top, her numbers soared. She’s got that- not mean, but “don’t fuck with me”- mom tone and handled business. Both of them went from middle of the pack to right behind Biden. Warren has now surpassed Biden.
We watched Castro and Booker come out on the debate stage as minor players, preach kindness, equality, integrity- basic human decency- they walked off that stage in much better positions.
Now, I’m not saying the President is our parent or that we want the President to be our parent. Nope. What America wants is its foundation back. We want the values and policies that bind us together and protect us, that include us- human kindness, basic human rights and decency, all that unites us, not that which divides us. We also want to build it stronger to truly include everyone now that we see who has been excluded.
We are, after all, the United States, not the randomly chucked together states. All candidates who have preached those values have seen their stock rise because they show they are here to rebuild America from the foundation up.
And if the Republicans were smart, they would run a woman with a history of caring about the American people- say, Lisa Murkowski. She has many policy stances with which I disagree. However, her diligence in getting aid to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands when most of her party gave less than two shits is admirable. She revived Savanna’s Act, which spotlighted disappearances and murders of indigenous women, enhancing their safety and making data collection on crime statistics against indigenous women compulsory- a bill first championed by Democrat Heidi Heitkamp. She broke with her party on Kavanaugh and the ACA repeal. A ticket with her and say, Amash, who has shown great moral fortitude and love of country, would remind me why I was an Independent for most of my adult life. Probably not just me.
Will the GOP do it? Probably not. They’ll likely keep riding the Trump train straight to hell and destroy the party just like the Civil War destroyed the Whigs.
Trump is like the crazy uncle at the family Thanksgiving- you never know what’s going to come out of his mouth, so entertaining. Big, boisterous fellow, gives you a big hug then half drops you after, always telling some crazy story or conspiracy theory, gets more and more belligerent as the day passes.
Y’All, we put Crazy Uncle in charge of the country. What were we thinking? He’s caging kids, accusing pro-choice folk of wanting to murder live babies, and wants to buy Greenland. Greenland.
America has had enough of this crazy ass Thanksgiving dinner. We have had enough of the fighting, the name calling, the bigotry, the cruelty, the crimes against humanity, the open assault on our livelihoods, and all we hold dear. For 2020, we are not looking for another round of being picked up and half dropped by Crazy Uncle then being given stale candy while he swipes our pumpkin pie (again). We are looking for the comforting, uplifting presence who also looks at anyone who tries that pumpkin pie swipe and says, “Not my daughter, you bitch” (Molly Weasley 2020?).
It’s time to rebuild the foundation of this country. It’s time to make America truly great by making it work for everyone. It’s time to unite, to embrace our true American values of all men (and everyone on the gender spectrum) being created equal, of being entitled to pursuit of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It’s time to embrace that nurturing energy we crave. It’s okay, it’s not REALLY like electing our mom. It’s like electing the best person for the job no matter what their gender.
I think Americans are more open to it than they have ever been. Ladies, this could be our year.
