There is a fundamental flaw in our current presidential and vice presidential debate system. The candidates are asked repeatedly what specific things they would do to address problems that voters are concerned about. The premise is faulty because while the Executive Branch can propose laws, the Legislative Branch alone can pass legislation to address problems in specific ways.
The differences in the two parties are not about specifics, but rather how they perceive the world. The Republican Party and its candidates refuse to live in the real world. They do not accept scientific consensus as a basis for action. They will not address climate change because they do not believe it is real, or they simply do not care. They pretended that COVID was a hoax, and thousands of Americans died as a consequence. They do not like losing elections so they pretend they really won. They do not apologize when caught in lies because their world is fictional, where lies are the basis for their actions. For many decades they have proposed cutting taxes on the rich and on corporations, based on “trickle-down” economic theories that have failed every time.
In the vice presidential debate, Republican J.D. Vance claimed “experts are wrong” because some made predictions that did not come true. But what “experts” can do very accurately is to analyze past history and extract patterns. History can tell us that cutting taxes on the rich does not stimulate the economy and pay for itself because it has been tried repeatedly and it never worked. It is no coincidence that Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, has donated tens of millions to the GOP. He expects to reap hundreds of billions in tax breaks, which is a phenomenal return on his investment.
Voters should ask themselves which candidates live in the real world and intend to address real problems, and which live in a fantasy world where they can do what they want and then simply lie about the horrific consequences that result.
Voters may tell themselves, I choose to vote for the Fantasyland candidate because I like their world vision. Unfortunately, whether one believes in the real world or not, that is where we all live, and when the Fantasyland candidate wrecks the environment and the U.S. economy, and takes away our rights and freedoms and health insurance, we will all suffer the real-world consequences.
Tom DeCoursey
Oak Park