Dear Joe, this is how you win the independent vote

This article is part of a dueling viewpoint series. The opposing viewpoint can be found here or listen to the writers debate on the Beach Weekly Podcast. 

Joe Biden is not a figure who inspires confidence. 

He’s spent the entire election cycle cherry-picking his best traits and completely disregarding his atrocious decision-making that has plagued his political career.

Similar to incumbent President Donald Trump, he was a part of an administration that locked kids in cages and helped give an exorbitant bailout to large corporations. 

So why should I vote for him?

Although he is the lesser of two evils in this instance, Biden’s inhumane record should get the scrutiny it deserves. Maybe then he’ll learn from his failures and favor policies that benefit everyday people.

Biden also has a credible sexual assault allegation from his former Senate staffer Tara Reade during an encounter they had in 1993. Biden has not acknowledged the accusation despite being on national television multiple times since it became public.

I would advise the Biden campaign to be completely transparent about the interaction.

These are only three examples of his record yet they show that Biden isn’t willing to change the basic structure of American society; instead, he takes advantage of the current power structures because he believes there will be no repercussions.

This conservative approach allowed him to move up the political chain; it’s what Barack Obama needed in 2008 to balance out his presidential ticket and gain the vote of working-class citizens who were afraid of change.

Biden might be updating his policies for modern times, but his world view is still decades old, which leads me to believe that there will be no substantive change in this country under his administration.

That being said, policy-wise I can understand why Biden may be someone who can steady the ship after four years of Trump. 

Yet for me and many others, it’s very difficult to just vote for someone, especially when similar politicians’ failed campaigns, like those of  Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, were so disastrous.

What made these two former presidential candidates so unlikable was the lack of contrast to their opponents in terms of economic policy. They weren’t looking to end trade deals that hurt American workers or fight for basic necessities like universal healthcare.

These pro-working class policies are ones that Americans from all over the political spectrum can get behind, so if Biden wishes to earn my vote then he’ll have to hire policy aides and administrative figures that can make progressive legislation a reality.

This level of decision making is important not only for policy reasons but also because Biden needs help getting his message across. 

It’s very alarming to me when a 77-year-old man can’t string together a coherent sentence in front of media experts like Anderson Cooper and Sanjay Gupta. 

Biden made a great point by saying we need an FDR-style war production board to battle this pandemic, yet that point became moot when he couldn’t finish that statement properly. 

Although this is concerning, I think the only correct way to go about this situation is by surrounding the presumptive Democratic nominee with people who can help carry the political load, allowing him to be more of a figurehead as opposed to a politician who works day in and day out.

Yet this should also not be an excuse for him to hire corporate lobbyists like Obama did in 2008. The current political landscape requires pro-worker figures like Bernie Sanders to occupy the White House.

So if Joe Biden wishes for people to vote for him and take his campaign seriously then he must bring in people who prioritize the American worker over corporate business. It’s as simple as that.

If he doesn’t do so then many Americans like me will either vote third party, turn in an incomplete ballot or avoid casting one altogether.