The 2024 Election In One, Simple Word
The 2024 election will be about freedom.
That's it. This is the mantra, the rallying cry, the final part of the elevator pitch. While issues such as the economy, inflation, or the border will inevitably rise to the forefront, at the core of this upcoming election will be the concept of freedom spread across multiple venues of those residing in our dear democracy.
At the core of this election will be freedom for a woman to make her own healthcare choices. As we've seen with this past week's events in Texas, the GOP is more than happy to force births in states that have newly enacted abortion bans. These bans were never about the "sanctity of life" as the Texas case shows but rather as a way of controlling women, taking away their ability to decide when and if they want to start a family. We've seen reproductive freedom win across the board since the Dobbs decision because even some Republican women are uneasy with the fact that their party wants to strip them of their bodily autonomy. Freedom for women to make these decisions is on the ballot in 2024.
This election is also about the freedom to vote; to participate without hassel via the democratic process. Despite 2020 being "the most secure in American history" Republicans have gone out of their way to make it more difficult for non-White women and men to vote over the past 3 years. They do it under the guise of "election integrity" but we all know that they are targeting college students and communities of color that overwhelmingly vote Democratic. The right to vote is sacred in our history and Republicans are more than happy to create barriers to disinterest and discourage people from voting. The time-honored tradition of one-person, one-vote that Republicans seek to eliminate is unquestionably on the ballot in 2024.
Freedom also applies to future generations. Parents and grandparents want a world where their children and grandchildren can enjoy the natural wonders and landscapes they themselves enjoy. To do that, we need a president who not only acknowledges that climate change is real but that does something about it. With Joe Biden having rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement on the first day of his presidency, he made a commitment to environmental protection a centerpiece of his administration. By creating the American Climate Corps and scaling up international climate financing, the Biden Administration has prioritized funding to make a measurable difference for the country. Continuing on this path or losing out on all this momentum is a key ballot issue in 2024.
Freedom is also critical when it comes to job stability. While the 14+ million new jobs created by the Biden-Harris Administration can and should be at the center of their reelection campaign, it is also important to highlight how many of these jobs are good-paying union jobs. Since Biden took office, union petitions have increased by 58%, and public support for unions is over 70%, the highest level since the Johnson Administration. There has been the addition of over 800,000 manufacturing jobs, the overwhelming majority of which have been union-based. The freedom to join a good-paying, stable union is very much on the ballot in 2024.
Freedom is also critical when it comes to job stability. While the 14+ million new jobs created by the Biden-Harris Administration can and should be at the center of their reelection campaign, it is also important to highlight how many of these jobs are good-paying union jobs. Since Biden took office, union petitions have increased by 58%, and public support for unions is over 70%, the highest level since the Johnson Administration. There has been the addition of over 800,000 manufacturing jobs, the overwhelming majority of which have been union-based. The freedom to join a good-paying, stable union is very much on the ballot in 2024.
There are also ways in which to frame freedom as a counter-narrative to long-standing GOP talking points. While the GOP likes to champion its view on "freedom" for Second Amendment supporters, the real freedom lies for the rest of us in wanting to live our daily lives free of the threat of weapons of war. There is overwhelming support for common sense gun violence prevention legislation that Democrats and Democrats alone have been working to achieve. Actual legislation was passed for the first time in three decades in 2022 spearheaded by congressional Democrats and the Biden Administration launched the Office of Gun Violence Presention in September of this past year. For those seeking the freedom of movement in their own communities and not having to worry about a mass shooting at schools, places of worship, places of entertainment, or any other location where a lunatic with an AR-15 has access to, there is only one political party seriously working on common sense solutions to reduce gun violence in this country. The desire for this freedom is on the ballot in 2024.
It also bears mentioning that freedom is the ability to keep effective programs and policies in place that have had a demonstrative positive impact on society. Despite the fact that social security has long been seen as the third rail in American politics, the GOP continues to play footsie with the idea of cutting social security as a way to "reign in government spending." Of course, as we all know, social security cannot add to the long-term deficit because it is prohibited from borrowing but that hasn't stopped Republican candidates like Nikki Haley from wanting to "reform" social security in a way that is detrimental to our nation's seniors. In addition to social security, the GOP now has returned to the immensely unpopular idea of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act. With higher ACA subsidies, the program has seen record enrollment numbers in 2023 with over 40 million Americans now signed up for healthcare that previously to Barack Obama had been unaccessible for them. The freedom to have unaltered access to social security and the ACA is absolutely on the ballot in 2024.
It also bears mentioning that freedom is the ability to keep effective programs and policies in place that have had a demonstrative positive impact on society. Despite the fact that social security has long been seen as the third rail in American politics, the GOP continues to play footsie with the idea of cutting social security as a way to "reign in government spending." Of course, as we all know, social security cannot add to the long-term deficit because it is prohibited from borrowing but that hasn't stopped Republican candidates like Nikki Haley from wanting to "reform" social security in a way that is detrimental to our nation's seniors. In addition to social security, the GOP now has returned to the immensely unpopular idea of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act. With higher ACA subsidies, the program has seen record enrollment numbers in 2023 with over 40 million Americans now signed up for healthcare that previously to Barack Obama had been unaccessible for them. The freedom to have unaltered access to social security and the ACA is absolutely on the ballot in 2024.
Lastly, freedom is critical for those unjustly targeted by Republicans themselves. From teachers to transgender individuals, the GOP has made no secret that it tries to repress anyone that they feel doesn't meet their definition of what a typical American "should" look like and how they should act. Democrats, on the other hand, support individuals to be free to express and support themselves and to be accepted and love just the way they are. That is why Democrats are on the front lines fighting against Republican censorship of teachers, drag shows, and book banning. Democrats are expanding Native American rights, a group long demonized by the GOP. They're also fighting against school vouchers which help increase segregation and benefit wealthy private schools at the expense of traditional public schools. The "Party of Small Government" would like nothing better than to continue to marginalize the most vulnerable among us. The freedom and, to be honest, the right to peacefully exist for historically marginalized communities is very much on the ballot in 2024.
Joe Biden entered the Democratic primary in 2019 seeing it as "a battle for the soul of our nation." Over four and a half years later, that battle continues. But while there were only whispers about the intent of the GOP back then, we've seen those whispers come to fruition in 2023. Their fascist leanings are no longer the talk of closed-door sessions and clandestine getaways. It's all out in the open now with multiple GOP governors going full authoritarian and the party itself embracing those practices. This is no longer a party interested in the freedom of its countrymen and women but rather one that wants to force its antiquated views down the throats of each and every one of us. Democrats are the only ones fighting for everyday Americans to be who they are, do what they care about, love who they love, and raise their children to inherit a world that has even more opportunities than the ones they were presented with. That, right there, is the messaging we can take with us into 2024.
And that is the exact message that will resonate with the American people.
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