This won’t be a startling news flash: The Wisconsin State Journal editorial board is endorsing Kamala Harris for president.
We’ve never been fans of Donald Trump, the self-absorbed hotel and casino promoter-turned reality TV star who railed against the Washington establishment to become president in 2016. His chaotic administration heightened division, trampled conservative values and diminished America as a beacon of freedom and hope around the world.
America and Wisconsin were right to fire Trump in 2020, and shouldn’t return to the past now.
We’ve written dozens of editorials detailing Trump’s failed leadership. Occasionally, we have acknowledged when he’s done something right.
But this endorsement isn’t about Trump. It’s not an anybody-but-him indictment.
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The State Journal editorial board has endorsed Democrats and Republicans for president in modern history. Scroll down to see who the newspaper…
This is about Harris, the vice president, former U.S. senator, former California attorney general and prosecutor whom voters should elect the 47th president of the United States on Nov. 5.
Harris deserves America’s trust and support based on her own merits, many of which have shined in recent weeks since she was thrust into the Democratic nomination.
Harris is experienced, tough, level-headed and works hard to study and get things right.
Harris prepared for days for last week’s presidential debate, which the polls and all but the most partisan analysts agree she handily won. Harris didn’t wing it with shallow insults and outlandish claims, which seemed to be her opponent’s strategy. Though disciplined in repeating key priorities and sometimes dodging questions, she offered more clarity than her off-the-cuff opponent. She projected well-grounded optimism for America’s future.
Harris believes in and respects our democracy and democratic norms. That means accepting the will of the voters when they disagree with her, not endlessly denying and fighting against reality when the people choose a different path. Trump still hasn’t acknowledged his 2020 loss, which was confirmed by recounts, the courts, independent reviews and even close allies such as U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh.
When supporters at Harris’ rallies this year yelled “Lock him up!” after Trump was convicted of 34 felonies for falsifying business records, Harris didn’t revel in the mob-like chant that mimicked Trump rallies from eight years ago.
“Hold on,” Harris told the crowd, her open hand raised to calm the shouting. “Here’s the thing: The courts are going to handle that. We’re going to beat him in November.”
As president, Harris won’t use the criminal justice system to go after her political enemies, as Trump has threatened to do.
While her political opponents fault Harris for changing her position on fracking, “Medicaid for all” and the border wall, we see a savvy leader recognizing where the American people want to go. She has adjusted some positions to match the will of voters without abandoning her core values.
Hundreds of millions of dollars for an expanded border wall were part of a bipartisan security plan that Biden, Harris and many top Republicans endorsed and would have passed earlier this year — if only Trump hadn’t killed it. He preferred letting the problem fester for political advantage, rather than getting it done.
Harris has been much more consistent than her opponent, whose positions change by the day. That’s especially true on preserving legal access to abortion — a freedom Harris has steadfastly pledged to protect. Trump appointed the justices who were key to overturning Roe v. Wade. And at last week’s debate, Trump refused to say if he would veto a national abortion ban.
President Joe Biden left the race for the White House in July after a disastrous debate that exposed his aging faculties. Yet Biden and his vice president have accomplished a lot in four years.
Under their leadership, the economy came roaring back following the pandemic. Unemployment is low. Inflation has largely been tamed. Incomes rebounded to pre-pandemic levels last year.
Groceries, travel and many goods cost more now, which is frustrating. And Biden and Trump bear some of the responsibility for higher prices because of their aggressive spending during the height of COVID-19.
But compared to much of the world, inflation here isn’t so bad. Biden and Harris wisely let the independent Federal Reserve do its job. The FED largely succeeded at raising interest rates to ease higher prices — without triggering a recession. That was no small feat.
The impetuous Trump often railed against the FED’s measured actions when he was president. Thankfully, the FED didn’t bend to his insults or threats.
Harris’ plan to help people afford housing isn’t as detailed and realistic as we’d like. But we appreciate her goal and attention to helping more people afford homes — especially here in south-central Wisconsin, where housing costs have soared.
Republicans fault the administration for its ugly military withdrawal from Afghanistan. Yet getting out was something the American people wanted and that previous administrations hadn’t accomplished. America is no longer at war. And Harris’ strong support for Ukraine in its resistance to Russia’s invasion has helped defend the free world without directly involving American fighting forces.
Two of the administration’s biggest accomplishments are rebuilding roads and bridges while accelerating clean energy to combat climate change. Harris understands the planet is at risk for our children and grandchildren. Her opponent calls the science a “hoax,” ignoring record global temperatures and stronger storms.
The daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, Harris rose from humble roots and a middle-class upbringing — including two years in Madison — to excel at school, the law, politics and life. She would become the first female president, which is exciting and long overdue. She represents a younger generation of leadership, with Trump approaching 80 years old. Trump would become the oldest president in history if he is elected in November and serves a full term. He’ll be older than Biden, who will turn 82 a couple months before he leaves the White House in January.
Harris is a much better role model for our kids. She’s not just a go-getter who plays by the rules and works well with others. She’s empathetic and offers some humility. Trump pretends his enormous advantages of being born into wealth and power didn’t foster his high-flying real estate career, which included several bankruptcies.
Harris prioritizes opportunities for all. Her opponent’s biggest priority seems to be ever-more tax cuts, which would mostly benefit wealthy people like him and increase the federal budget deficit.
Neither candidate has said or done enough to address America’s weakening finances. Future generations will be stuck with the bill for more than $35 trillion in debt (more than $100,000 per person). Yet Harris has demonstrated more willingness to compromise on competing priorities. Trump’s grandiose claim that steep tariffs on foreign goods can magically boost jobs, spending and the economy doesn’t add up for the Treasury, most economists agree. He ran up more U.S. debt as president than the Biden and Harris administration did.
Harris spoke eloquently at the debate about Americans pulling together and sharing a common spirit. Trump tried to pit people against one another, as if some of us can only get ahead if others are held behind.
That’s not the American dream so many of our ancestors pursued, nor what the Founding Fathers envisioned.
Perhaps the biggest contrast in this race is the stability, by comparison, that Harris will bring to the White House, filling her Cabinet with experienced and knowledgeable people, not yes-men and conspiracists.
Harris has traveled the world as vice president, building relationships and trust with world leaders — especially America’s allies, not the strongmen and dictators who impress her opponent.
We recommend Harris for president based on her record and vision. We endorse her for her optimism, open mind, strong priorities and work ethic. We urge her election Nov. 5 to renew our democracy and to lead America confidently forward.
Wisconsin State Journal editorial board
The views expressed in the editorials are shaped by the board, independent of news coverage decisions elsewhere in the newspaper.
STAFF MEMBERS
KELLY LECKER, Executive editor
SCOTT MILFRED, Editorial page editor
PHIL HANDS, Editorial cartoonist
COMMUNITY MEMBERS
JAMES L. HOWARD
JENNY PRICE
The newest community member to join the Wisconsin State Journal editorial board introduces herself
The newest addition to the Wisconsin State Journal’s editorial board introduces himself
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Publish date : 2024-09-15 00:00:00
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