I can’t wait for the election to be over

This election has done a number on my nerves. I was an anxious person to begin with, but the prospect of former President Donald Trump returning to the White House has sent my anxiety through the roof. Over the past eight years, I’ve been disappointed to see many on the left downplay the Republican’s threat to democracy.

I understand why they do this. If you concede Trump is a fascist, it increases the pressure on the left to make common cause with liberals, centrists and even pro-democracy conservatives to defeat him. At a certain point, though, you need to acknowledge reality and not hide behind increasingly limited definitions of fascism.

Believe me, I hate this truth. I’ve been dismayed as Vice President Kamala Harris, in her run for the White House, has refused to distance herself from President Joe Biden’s murderous foreign policy. She wouldn’t even allow a Palestinian American to have a brief, vetted speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention.

Meanwhile, Harris has been trumpeting her endorsements from Republicans, like former Congresswoman Liz Cheney. Again, I’m not opposed to bringing these figures into the broad, anti-fascist coalition, but making them such a centerpiece of your campaign depresses the base and does more harm than good, in my view.

Further, I think there’s a decent chance Harris will move to the right on economic issues. Since receiving the Democratic nomination, she’s been cozying up to billionaires, even those in the Crypto industry, while playing coy about whether she would keep progressive Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan.

Leftists are stuck between a rock and a hard place. But the unfortunate reality is Trump will be far worse, even on issues where Harris is most conservative. Right now, the war-mongering, corporate Democratic Party is what’s standing between America and fascism. We can’t underestimate how much damage Trump could do.

With that in mind, I’ve tried to highlight some of Harris’ strengths and the unique threats posed by Trump. For instance, I’m an animal activist who believes development of cultivated meat is the most promising means of reducing nonhuman suffering and premature death. The protein is grown from livestock cells, without slaughter.

The Biden administration, of which Harris is a part, has taken small, but nevertheless important steps to help the nascent industry. Republicans, on the other hand, have preemptively banned cultivated meat in Florida and Alabama, and are seeking to do the same elsewhere. Whatever Trump’s personal views, this is his coalition.

On a more personal level, my oldest child is autistic and nonverbal. She will likely require around-the-clock care for the rest of her life. While I am far from an expert on insurance, it seems as if Harris’ plan to expand Medicare to cover long-term support at home could be transformative for our family. Of course, it would help seniors as well.

Finally, my wife is Hispanic. While I’ve yet to mention this in my writing, I am deeply concerned about the dangerous environment Trump will create for Latinos, even for American citizens like my wife, if he follows through with his plan to deport millions of undocumented immigrants who look like her. I have no reason to believe Trump won’t.

So, yeah, my anxiety about the election is through the roof. I can’t wait for it to be over, if only so I can have a better sense of what we’ll be dealing with politically during the next four years. I’m tired of the threat of fascism forcing me to pull my punches against a Democratic Party that is drifting further and further to the right.