Personal Reflections of a Middle-Aged Man

Dear Joe and Kamala,

Congratulations on becoming the winning Democratic team. You make a good team as you balance one another in your skill sets and your experiences. I’ve been enjoying watching your campaigning take off after everything became official.

I’m just a lowly informed voter. I’ve been married for over 15 years, have four kids and a dog, live in a suburb, and am a die-hard liberal in the red state of Indiana. Just your normal run of the mill middle-class family.

In watching your campaign, and watching some of your polling, I am starting to get a little worried about the election. I’ve seen quite a few ads about how you aren’t the current president and all the things he has gotten wrong, like not denouncing white supremacy, locking asylum seeking families and children in internment camps, lying worse than the Devil, and providing the environment for over 194,000 Covid-19 related deaths. The current man in the Oval Office just doesn’t have the right stuff to be a president, but here we are. And with all that he has gotten wrong, the man still has strong support and is working hard to tilt this election his way through voter suppression, disinformation, and downright bullying and threats.

You are right to have so many negative ads towards the current administration, and working to provide factual information, but you need to do better if you want to win, as it is not a guarantee and will most likely be quite the battle in the end.

What I don’t see much of in your political ads, in your television appearances, or on social media are the things you are going to do to help us Americans improve our lives. I don’t see you standing united with Speaker Pelosi and Senator Schumer saying this is what my administration, in cooperation with a Democratic majority in the House and the Senate will achieve for us. We see the two of you united, but we don’t see a united Democratic leadership vowing to do a set of things within the first 100 days of your administration.

We, the American voters, want to see the four of you, standing as one, to move the country forward. We, the American voters, want to hear a commitment from all four of you, standing as one, to move the country forward. We, the American voters, want to know, and feel, you have our backs to move the country forward.

Here is what we need to see as a signed 2020 Pledge of Commitment for the American People stating a minimum of the following:

1. You will convene a meeting with the governors of all 50 states and all U.S. territories to make a united plan to combat Covid-19 with the goal to decrease cases and deaths, and increase testing and contact tracing, while still working to produce a viable vaccine based on the best scientific minds we have.
2. You will enact the Defense Production Act to ensure all health care, school, and essential workers have the PPE equipment necessary in an efficient, timely, and effective manner.
3. You will pass and sign The Hero’s Act and ensure the funding reaches those most in need, not big business and political cronies.
4. You will pass a $15/hour minimum wage across the board.
5. You will pass a Medicare for All who choose to join.
6. You will reinstate the Brady Bill and pass a law for a mandatory background check requirement for all purchases of firearms regardless of where the firearm is being purchased.
7. You will sign on as a signatory to the Paris Climate Accord.
8. You will immediately sanction Russia for its interference in the 2016 and 2020 elections, for its interference in the elections of our allies, for its continued occupation of Crimea, and continued harassment of the Ukrainians.
9. You will sign into law that all future presidential candidates must release a minimum of 10-years of most recent tax returns, release all health records during candidacy and as president to the public, and be subject to background checks to determine one is not compromised by a foreign government.
10. You will sign into law the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.

Yes, continue the ads showing voters the true nature of the current administration. Those are needed.

Just importantly though, we need to know you care about our well-being and show us how your administration, with the support of Congress, intended to do just that.

Thank you and best of luck!

Sincerely,

A Concerned Citizen and Voter