Voters are democracy's heat shield. Will they hold up on Election Day? (Photo credit Universal screenshot)

Stand up like Liz Cheney

Last weekend, for the umpteenth time, I watched the movie “Apollo 13.” It happened by accident, channel surfing, while enjoying a glass of cabernet. “Apollo 13” never disappoints. A strong cast, visually stimulating, and a plot that, no matter if you know the outcome, excites and inspires.

The 4-minute blackout period, when mission control in Houston loses contact with the astronauts as they re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere, is gripping. Thanks to the command module’s heat shield, the static crackling of audio being re-established gives way to Commander Jim Lovell (played by Tom Hanks) who says, “Hello, Houston, this is Odyssey, it’s good to see you again.” Re-acquisition, as it’s called, was only possible because the heat shield held up, functioning as designed.

Prior to re-acquisition, the astronauts were hurtling through space into Earth’s atmosphere. Similarly, American democracy hurtles toward Election Day. Right now, the future of our democracy is uncertain. Will our heat shield, consisting of voters who believe in democracy’s fundamental tenet of the rule-of-law, be strong enough to withstand the inferno of fascist, racist, misogynist, homophobic and out-in-the-open criminal behavior of Trump and MAGAs?

With less than a month before splash-down, there are as many questions facing America’s democracy as the Apollo 13 crew faced. Just as Apollo 13 had to overcome a never-before catastrophic occurrence, America confronts an ordeal unheard of in the annals of post-Civil War democracy.

Now, we stare down a criminal enterprise, masquerading as a political party led by a four-times indicted, 34x criminally convicted felon whom the media, courts and politicians accommodate (including some unwitting Democrats). All this even after a judge in a civil case concluded that Trump raped E. Jean Carroll, before repeatedly defaming her.

The uniformed

Many people with a vast platform, including Super Bowl champion quarterback Patrick Mahomes, avoid taking sides publicly, making tepid statements like, “Do your due diligence, learn about the candidates, and make an informed decision.” (Reminds me of when Michael Jordan, protecting his endorsement money with Nike, sprouted chicken wings and said, “Republicans buy sneakers, too.”) In a normal election, recommending folks do due diligence and make an informed decision is appropriate. Not this year. The choice is obvious. Democracy’s at state.

Patrick and Brittany Mahomes might be out of their league when it comes to politics. (Photo credit Yahoo)

Last month, Patrick Mahomes’ wife Brittany liked an Instagram post shared by Trump that spelled out the MAGA agenda. Soon thereafter, creepy Trump called Ms. Mahomes “beautiful” while thanking her for “defending him.” But then Trump childishly said he “hates Taylor Swift,” which caused Ms. Mahomes to backpedal faster than an NFL cornerback trying to cover a speedy receiver. Brittany Mahomes and Taylor Swift are friends and now, according to conservative British tabloid the Daily Mail, Ms. Mahomes is reconsidering her support of Trump.

Like too many others, when it comes to this election the Mahomes’ do not understand what’s at stake. It’s conceivable that wacko MAGA legislators (Marjorie Taylor Greene and Tom Cotton come to mind) would absurdly pressure the NFL to make it illegal for Blacks, like Patrick Mahomes, to play quarterback. (That may sound far-fetched but so was MTG telling people Democrats engineered Hurricane Helene.)

Don’t put it past lunatic MAGA legislators (Matt Gaetz and Nancy Mace come to mind) to backwardly attempt to make it illegal for a white woman, like Brittany Mahomes, to marry a Black man. (Black-White marriage was illegal in the U.S. until a 1967 Supreme Court ruling legalized interracial marriage. That was just six years before the Supreme Court ruled in favor of abortion rights in 1973, which the current Supreme Court reversed in 2022.)

To the people who won’t vote for Harris, I counter by saying that what’s on the line in this election rises above all the hemming and hawing. The choice is clearer than a cloudless blue sky on a crisp fall morning.

Voting for Kamala Harris is the only option. There is no other way forward. Vote for Democrats at the national, state and local level. A vote for any Republican is a vote for corruption and chaos and a fascist, violent government.

Stop it with the “educate yourself and make an informed decision” talk. Harris-Walz is the ticket.

Liz Cheney’s table is ready

I cannot stand former Vice President Dick Cheney. Before Trump, Cheney was Republican’s ruthless dirtbag. His role in convincing President W. Bush to invade Iraq, under the lie (sound familiar?) that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, was a significant contributor to on-going instability in the Middle East.

Ladies night. Liz Cheney's embrace of Kamala Harris and democracy is beyond commendable. It's the right thing to do. (Photo credit CNN screenshot)

While it’s nice Dick Cheney endorses Kamala Harris, it doesn’t undo the damage Cheney did to America’s standing in the world. There is a reason Malaysia convicted (sound familiar?) Dick Cheney, W. Bush and others of war crimes for torture and cruel, inhumane treatment of prisoners. Back home, Cheney devised a plan – approved by Bush – for the National Security Agency to monitor the phone calls and emails of U.S. citizens, without a warrant. When VP Cheney left office, his approval rating was a miserable 13 percent.

Consequently, because she’s Dick’s daughter, I never much cared for Liz Cheney. Like father, like daughter, Liz Cheney is a staunch conservative. However, being conservative is acceptable if it is accompanied by modernism. In other words, smart conservatives recognize and embrace progress. Otherwise, we’d still be riding around in buggy’s pulled by horses and reading under candlelight. And football teams would still line up in the T-formation. Liz Cheney seems to understand that supporting progress is not the same as being a political progressive. Kamala Harris represents progress. Trump does not.

Liz Cheney, by forcefully standing up to Trump as a member of the January 6th House Select Committee, and travelling across the country to denounce Trump, is showing that when democracy’s progress is threatened conservatives, moderates and progressives should stand together. Cheney’s appearance alongside Kamala Harris in Ripon, Wisconsin, the birthplace of the Republican Party, was monumental. Cheney provided air cover for anyone standing in the shadows too timid to speak truth-to-power out loud.

Speaking of movies, with her powerful endorsement of Kamala Harris, Liz Cheney reminded me of “The Wizard of Oz” and the Good Witch of the North, who implored fearful munchkins to “come out, come out, wherever you are.” Cheney just gave all reluctant, normal Republicans a permission slip to speak up for, and vote for, decency and freedom.

Hopefully, the heat shield of voters who believe in the Constitution will hold firm, allowing democracy to say, on the morning of November 6, “Hello, Americans, this is democracy, it’s good to see you again.”

INFORMED DECISION