I’m tired. I think we’re all pretty tired right now. Tired physically, emotionally, mentally. So this may be a political post, but it’s going to be a nice, quiet, chill, friendly post. We’re keeping our voices down and shoulders relaxed today, because I just don’t feel like dealing with anything else. Okay?

Technically, I am an independent, politically speaking. I’ve never registered for one party, only requested specific ballots for primaries. I’ve voted for both Democrats and Republicans.

Today is for my red and metaphorically-neutral-tone friends and readers. The Republicans, and moderates, and folks on the fence. Especially the Christians, because I know there’s a lot of you.

I’d like to ask you to hear me out for a second. This is about the November presidential election. By now, it’s pretty obvious the race is Biden vs. Trump. A lot of people have a lot of reasons for and against both men. I’m not here to tell you the stuff I already say all the time. I’d just like to give a quick plea that you consider voting for Biden — not in spite of your convictions, politics, policies, or faith, but because of them.

Most of this comes from the Biden campaign website and Wikipedia sources, but there are plenty of other articles on every point if you want to read more. All photos are borrowed from the official Biden Flickr account and photographed by Adam Schultz; I claim no rights to these images.

His faith

Biden is a Christian. I know a Catholic isn’t every Christian’s favorite candidate, but he has a long history of personal faith that’s worth taking note of. That’s a strong starting foundation.

His family

Biden is a dedicated family man. He married Neilia Hunter in 1966, and they had three children. He was happily loyal to his beloved wife until her tragic death with their one-year-old daughter in a truck accident in 1972. In their memory, he does not work on December 18, the date of the accident. In 1977, he married Jill Tracy Jacobs, with whom he had a daughter four years later. They are still together. His son’s death from brain cancer in 2015 launched his personal dedication to bipartisan efforts to fight cancer.

The abortion issue

I have a theory that Biden is personally pro-life. Historically, he has opposed abortion, which is one reason many liberals are so mad he’s the Democratic nominee. Now, his current political stance is to codify Roe v. Wade and “fund” Planned Parenthood*. BUT. Maybe he’s seen the same data I have. Maybe he’s had the same ideas as other pro-life Democrats. Funding reproductive health services — especially sex education and access to contraception, like the birth control pill — has been proven to significantly decrease a country’s rate of unplanned pregnancy and even teen sexual behavior in general —> and, by extension, demand for abortions.

Important notes on Planned Parenthood, specifically

Planned Parenthood is a major provider for these and other important medical services (like pap smears and infertility care). They’re known in public conversation for abortion, but only 3 percent of their total services is abortions. That’s 97 percent other stuff: pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, vaccines, cancer screenings, and more. The only reason they’re the country’s largest abortion provider is because they’re the country’s largest reproductive healthcare services provider — that includes birth control, pap smears, prenatal care, and so much more important stuff.

*Also, Planned Parenthood doesn’t actually get “federal funding” in the sense that many people assume. They get no money directly from any federal budget. The only federal money they get is the same money any healthcare provider gets when someone on government healthcare, like Medicare or Medicaid, uses their services. This is the primary source of their revenue, but not because they’re a special case… just because they’re a really big healthcare services provider with a lot of low-income patients.

Back to the main content

As for keeping abortion legal… well, aside from the controversial arguments about rape, incest, and the mother’s life being in peril, abortion is actually a surgical procedure that doesn’t always kill a baby. The same “abortion” procedures that many Republicans want outlawed are actually necessary to save the lives of women who have suffered painful, heartbreaking natural miscarriages but still have tissue in their uterus. I know the diagrams and animations of a D&C look grotesque, but when a family is grieving the loss of their unborn child, the last thing they need is to lose their wife/mother to a disease that could have been prevented by that surgery.

Bipartisan work record

You know another reason some liberals are against Biden’s nomination? He works with Republicans and the GOP. I grew up in a Republican environment and, as an adult working at a small-town newspaper, developed a strong working relationship with the district’s Republican Congresswoman. I admired her bipartisan work, most of which went nationally overlooked, and learned a lot about how work actually gets done in legislation. Almost nothing can be accomplished when we dig in our heels on party lines. So, so, so much difference in the world can be made when we “work across the aisle,” as that Congresswoman (Susan Brooks) so often said.

Biden understands this. He respects Republican politicians and voters in a way that many Democratic politicians and voters don’t. He knows the country is best served when everyone is heard. He’ll listen to you and your representatives, even if it pisses off some of his peers in blue.

The economy

Biden can strengthen our (recently unexpectedly tanked) economy. How do I know this? Because he’s done it before. He was critically instrumental in passing and implementing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 after the Great Recession. The Act worked to save existing jobs, create new ones, and bolster the infrastructure and industries of healthcare, energy, law enforcement, education, and transportation, to name a few. It included tax cuts for both individuals and businesses, and a “Buy American” provision requiring any public building or project funded by the Act to use only American-made materials. You can learn a lot more about this Act from the detailed Wikipedia page, linked above, and its bibliography of sources.

His resume

Biden has political experience. He has worked for the public for decades. I know how untrustworthy politicians seem, and I’m not saying Biden is better than the rest. What I am saying is that I’m a young college graduate, unemployed, who understands painfully how much a good employer values job experience. There’s a reason most senior executives and CEOs are older than me. They’ve earned their place there! They worked to get where they are in life and their career — and so has Biden.

As the people of the United States, we’re technically the president’s hiring manager. Shouldn’t we hire someone with a resume that fits the job description?

He cares about you

Biden supports veterans. Military families. Women. Essential workers. Small businesses. K-12 students. Rural Americans. Older Americans nearing and in retirement. Victims of the opioid epidemic. Christians. Students. I know this because all of these people are specifically addressed on his campaign website. Biden knows you and everyone else on this list are important and have been overlooked by too many politicians for too long.

In conclusion…

There are a lot more reasons to support Biden for president, like his appeals to civility and his nonprofit work fighting cancer. The points outlined in this post are just the ones that stood out to me at 3 a.m. this week.

I don’t believe the man is perfect. He wasn’t even my third choice for Democratic nominee. But I absolutely plan to vote for him in November, because I believe he will work for the common American and make our lives better — all of us.

If you’ve read this far, thanks for listening. Will you consider joining me, and voting #TeamJoe?