Dear Editor,
For the first time in American history our democracy is on the precipice of becoming extinct. The odds are stacked against us. Democrats find themselves in a precarious place. They have lost the House, the Senate is holding on by a thread and our president is not a slam dunk for reelection in 2024. Unlike past campaign slogans, “Hope” is not a strategy.
The Republicans are about to nominate one of the worst presidents in U.S. history as their preferred candidate, and the courts are unlikely to keep Donald Trump off the ballot or conclude his criminal trials before the election. You may be saying to yourselves, “We’re Democrats, this is a Republican problem.” Wrong. It’s everybody’s problem. So what can we do?
Register Republican. That’s right. You heard me. Register Republican and become eligible to vote in the Republican primaries. Then vote for Nikki Haley. Why Nikki Haley? She isn’t Trump and she isn’t Ron DeSantis. She understands the job, and even if you disagree with her on policy, she is reasonable and can be expected to uphold the Constitution.
Your principles may be telling you not to pursue this line of reasoning. But think about this. There are enough Democrats to change the outcome of the Republican primaries. If Democrats remain confident about the Democratic nominee for president and believe that he will win no matter what, then they are guilty of not taking action to protect our democracy. As we too often discover, blind faith is often not rewarded. If Democrats go to the Republican primary polls in unprecedented numbers, they can at least ensure that the country will be led by either a seasoned Democrat or the country’s first female president. And it can be Democrats who determine that outcome.
So Democrats, go RED…at least for a few months. Vote for Nikki Haley as the Republican nominee and then vote BLUE in November. This is your choice, but it’s worth doing. Protecting our democracy is a responsibility that falls on all of us.
Check with your Secretary of State for instructions on how to register for a different party.
Hon. Noah Margo and
Dr. David Bernell
