Introduction: This was not the column we wanted to write earlier this year, nor does it reflect what we might have written in 2012, 2008, 2004, 2000 or before. The principal purpose of this column in The Justice has been to present competing arguments on important issues, to promote critical thought and dialogue. In this piece, however, we write with a different intention. Whether or not you agree with the positions we take below, we hope you will consider them, though we respect those regular readers who choose to skip this edition.

On the issues we have showcased in previous editions, we have possessed a variety of opinions, and demonstrated those both in line and in conflict with our own. On the matter of the upcoming U.S. presidential election, however, The Devil’s Advocate elects to present a united viewpoint. Both in spite and because of politics and policies, and with the understanding that our words here will be of negligible impact, if any, our intention below is to offer our own, shared view of this election. 

For Democracy, Against Trump (Gaughan):

At the Democratic National Convention this past August, a small series of Republican former officials, including former Representitive Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and former Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan of Georgia, diverged from their party to back Vice President Harris in the upcoming election. They spoke primarily, on the circumstances of the previous presidential election, in which former President Trump was resoundingly defeated, yet refused to concede. Instead, he wove a web of conspiracy theories surrounding false allegations of voting irregularities, triggering a wave of violence and threats thereof against those responsible for presiding over the electoral process. This, they recognized, as did a bipartisan House Select Committee of which Kinzinger was a member, resulted in the deadly Jan. 6th, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, perpetrated by believers in the former President’s lies. Meanwhile, for three hours, the President refused to speak against violent supporters as they stormed the heart of American democracy.

Then-House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney of Wyoming acknowledged frankly ahead of her vote to impeach then-President Trump that he “summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack.” As a result of his actions that day, and in the leadup thereto, Trump faces a litany of federal and state criminal charges, to complement the 34 counts of felony falsification of business records of which he has been convicted in New York.

I am a moderate. I have voted for both Democrats and Republicans alike, and when over the course of his presidency Trump encouraged Americans to read the documents on which his political opponents attacked him — from the Mueller Report on Russian interference in the 2016 election and arising matters, to his indictments — I have generally obliged. While occasionally the contents of these materials have been misconstrued against him, they have never realistically been used in his favor. The fact of the matter is that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report depicted a man surrounded by incompetence, who himself likely participated in ritualistic obstruction of justice in his first years in office. He was impeached — the first time —  over a quid pro quo in which his administration withheld $391 million in aid and from a warring partner state, Ukraine, and waved the carrot of an Oval Office meeting before its president, all in demand of a potential investigation of his political opponent’s son. In this, he created the misconception of U.S. disinterest in the sovereignty of our democratic allies that awoke Vladimir Putin’s aggressive adventurism. He taunted vital allies and mocked their leaders, drawing their own petty insults, and weakening the U.S.’ global standing. In the last year of his presidency, he promoted quack cures and nonsense political approaches to the raging COVID-19 pandemic, while hundreds of thousands of Americans died. In short, his presidency was a catastrophe.

To oppose a Trump return is not to embrace the left-wing of American political culture, but to ensure a reasonable debate between the left and the right another day, rather than one dictated by a man who has already proved himself definitively and dangeously unfit to lead. In the aftermath of a horrific attempt to assassinate the former president, he pledged moderation. He lied. Immediately thereafter, former President Trump selected Senator James David Vance (R-OH) to be his running mate. Vance, once a thoughtful intellectual who reflected on America’s working class in the Rust Belt, and a voice of calm, collected, conservative opposition to Trump’s renegade hostility against all who wrong him, has reinvented himself as a vindictive isolationist. This ticket, together, is not “anti-woke,” but anti-decency, positioning itself against all that has defined American democracy, lawfulness and global aspiration. 

This column is not an endorsement of President Biden’s aborted second term pursuit, and this section has nothing to do with V.P. Harris. My point should be clear: both the American people, and the American spirit, deserve better than Donald Trump. While some correctly point out that in the aftermath of Trump’s flailing presidency, our allies began to contribute more to our collective security, they miss the fact that this investment spike begins not with a leader’s inspiration, but with a dictator’s invasion, and an international lack of confidence in American support for American values abroad under a second Trump term. It’s time to end the nonsense, and reject Donald Trump not just for who he is — a hateful, vindictive philanderer, and a convicted criminal –– but for what he’s done, and what he’s likely to do if he is returned to the height of global power.

The Case for Kamala Harris (Granahan)

When President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the presidential election on July 21, I was immediately convinced that the 2024 election was over, and former President Donald Trump would return to the Oval Office in 2025. In my view, to replace a successful incumbent with his seemingly unpopular vice president, due to the bad faith age-related arguments of the Trump campaign and the uncommitted votes of anti-Israel extremists, was an irreparable mistake. Although only time will tell whether or not former President Trump will win, I now believe my initial hostility towards Vice President Kamala Harris’ candidacy was shortsighted.

Although she has often stayed out of the limelight, one cannot decouple Vice President Harris from the achievements of the Biden administration. While vice presidents are generally not given the same credit as their superiors, they still play a role in developing the frameworks for presidential administrations. Since Harris was inaugurated as vice president, American infrastructure has received more funding than it has in decades thanks to bipartisan legislation. Same-sex and interracial marriage have been codified into federal law. LGBTQ+ men are no longer barred from assisting their communities by donating blood. Military veterans exposed to toxic burn pits now have expanded access to healthcare. Ukraine continues to endure against all odds despite Russia’s invasion. Six Americans, most notably Evan Gershkovich, Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, have been repatriated from Russian prison camps. Thanks to both a U.S.-brokered temporary ceasefire and a U.S.-assisted military operation, 117 Israeli, Thai, Nepalese and Filipino hostages in Gaza have been rescued from the clutches of Hamas. It would be irresponsible to ignore Vice President Harris’ ties to the success of her and President Biden’s administration.

Even still, Vice President Harris’ influence has exceeded that of almost all who have held her position. During his tenure as vice president under former  president Barack Obama, Joe Biden did not cast any tie-breaking votes in the Senate. Vice President Harris has cast more than any vice president in American history. Thus, she can claim direct credit for having passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which is preparing the America of the future to run on clean energy sources like nuclear power, while allowing thousands of Americans to procure lifesaving prescription medications like insulin at affordable costs. Though she continues to be erroneously portrayed by some as a failed “border czar,” Harris has assisted the Biden administration in making some of the most meaningful progress on immigration reform in the last century. Since the Trump administration’s disastrous Title 42 order (which barred virtually all land entry to the U.S. at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic) was revoked, estimated “gotaways” have plunged. Given the opportunity to cross the border legally, fewer immigrants are choosing to evade law enforcement, instead opting to pursue the American dream through the legal asylum process.

In contrast with a man who has repeatedly stated that “the American dream is dead,” Vice President Harris has outlined a platform that will go beyond her previous accomplishments in ensuring that the American dream remains alive and well. It contains bold, yet attainable proposals such as massively bolstering America’s high-speed rail infrastructure, implementing child tax credits and paid family leave, enforcing universal background checks on firearm purchases and putting American astronauts on the moon once again. As a breath of fresh air in modern politics, Harris’ platform also compromises with broadly-supported conservative positions, explicitly rejecting calls to defund police departments while supporting an increased security presence at the southern border to keep bad actors and deadly substances out of America.

Above all else, Vice President Harris has embraced a vision for this country that her opponent refuses to acknowledge — one in which all Americans can succeed and prosper. While there is no one-size-fits-all description of an American, there may be no ticket more representative of this country than a teacher, football coach and decorated Army veteran from middle America, behind a daughter of immigrants who dedicated her career as a prosecutor and a U.S. senator to serving America’s most populous state. A month ago, I was not particularly excited about Vice President Harris’ presidential candidacy. Now, I can enthusiastically say that I will be voting for Kamala Harris, a demonstrated American patriot and fighter for what is right.

The authors of  Devil’s Advocate endorse Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.