By Bret Stephens / The New York Times
It’s time for Kamala Harris to deliver her closing argument for why she deserves to be the next president. Here’s what I think she should say.
My fellow citizens,
When the tumultuous history of this year’s presidential election is written, future generations will note that the choice boiled down to this: the certainty of division versus the possibility of unity.
Whether you love Donald Trump or loathe him, prefer his policies or mine, you can be sure of one thing: If he wins next month, we will be a bitterly, vocally, emotionally, exhaustingly divided country.
You know this because whatever you thought of his first term, you remember how that division became a part of your daily life. Thanksgiving dinners you stopped going to; because of Trump. Friends and neighbors you stopped speaking to; because of Trump. Topics you wouldn’t broach; because of Trump.
There was no getting away from it. Trump is a human jackhammer pounding outside your window at 6:30 a.m. The noise is incessant. It’s in the ad hominem tweets, the nasty nicknames, the disparagement of anyone who disagrees with him as an idiot, a weakling, an enemy of the people. And let’s be honest: The noise also came from the enraged reaction that Trump provoked, whether on cable TV or the streets of many of our cities.
Trump brought out the worst in everyone, not just his most ardent fans but also — yes — his most acerbic critics. In the four years of his presidency, he turned us into a nation of haters. He’ll do it again if you elect him next month.
In a democracy, a certain amount of division is natural. Like the opposition of wind and sail, it’s the productive tension that drives a nation forward while allowing it to find its balance.
I’m a proud Democrat. I’ll fight hard for the policies in which I believe: a woman’s right to her reproductive choices, a child’s right to quality public education, a worker’s right to collective bargaining, a citizen’s right to safe streets. Above all, I’ll fight for what we cherish most: the American dream, which for so many of us starts when we sign the purchase agreement for an affordable first home.
But in a healthy democracy, division must ultimately be framed by unity. Democrats, Republicans and independents must be able to recognize one another as fellow patriots. The party in power should not abuse its temporary majority to change the rules of the game; something both parties have been guilty of. When consensus reached through compromise is possible, we should prefer it to divisive, and reversible, partisan victories. That’s how progress isn’t just achieved but also secured.
I’ve been a partisan in my past; sometimes in ways that perspective has caused me to regret. But I’m not ashamed that some of my opinions have changed; it is what thoughtful people do in the face of new information. Better that than being stuck, like my opponent, with the worldview he seems to have adopted when he was 6.
What I’ve mostly learned in my nearly four years as vice president is that the national interest demands greater unity; never more so than right now. Can we be disunited against the challenge of a brazenly aggressive China and its new best friends in Moscow and Tehran? Can we be disunited when it comes to strengthening our national infrastructure in the face of devastating storms and climate change? Can we be disunited over stopping the billion-plus doses of fentanyl that crossed our border last year? And — seriously — can we continue to be disunited about gaining effective control over our borders while remaining a welcoming destination to legal immigrants from around the world?
Disunity leads to paralysis, and that’s where this country has been stuck for too long. We’re like a Corvette in which the driver and the passenger keep fighting for control of the stick, stalling and ruining the gears. We can do better, go faster and — why not? — put some joy in the ride.
I’ve said that I intend to name a Republican to my Cabinet. In fact, it will be more than just one, and not just to secondary positions. Donald Trump wants to politicize the entire civil service and turn it into an arm of MAGA-nation. I, on the other hand, intend to depoliticize the Cabinet so that the men and women in charge of our defense, diplomacy, Justice Department and economic system will have broad bipartisan respect, whatever party they affiliate with.
We can’t lose hope that this kind of leadership is within our grasp. We see it every day in the work of so many Americans: destroyer captains in the Navy fighting Houthi pirates, biotech entrepreneurs charting the next wave of lifesaving innovation, pastors and social workers providing hope — and food and shelter — for the neediest.
The talent, the passion, the optimism, the capacity, the sense of a shared and greater purpose that united our states and must continue to unite our nation; it’s still there, all around us. With your help, let me bring it to the White House.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times, c.2024.
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