62 Comments

In my opinion, this was the best part of Harris’s closing argument speech from last night, which is also consistent with so much we have all learned from the Preamble these last months:

“And here is my pledge to you. I pledge to seek common ground and common sense solutions to make your life better. I am not looking to score political points. I am looking to make progress. I pledge to listen to experts, to those who will be impacted by the decisions I make, and to people who disagree with me. Unlike Donald Trump, I don’t believe people who disagree with me are the enemy. He wants to put them in jail. I’ll give them a seat at the table. I pledge to you to approach my work with the joy and optimism that comes from making a difference in people’s lives, and I pledge to be a president for all Americans. And to always put country above party and self.”

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What a statement 🔥. I’m starved for this level of dignity

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You’re in good company!

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I appreciate you stating facts and taking a neutral stance. I just can't do that with this election. It is too critical. When one side wants to take away voting rights, civil rights and women's rights, and is saying that if they lose, then the election was rigged, that is un-American. I love how you stated that we should vote for someone who supports the Constitution. Our Democracy depends on "we the people" having our voices heard and our vote is our voice. Trying to make it harder to vote, trying to throw out legitimate votes, trying to sow doubts about the election process is not supporting the voice of "we the people". There are so many other issues that we can debate and discuss but we have to save our Democracy first so that we can have that right. This election, I voted for loving our neighbors, not turning them into our enemies, I voted for joy and not negativity, I voted for a person that loves America and doesn't talk about it like it is a "garbage dump" for the world. However the most important thing I voted for was saving our Democracy so we can all have the opportunity to vote for and debate all the other issues for years to come because we will still live in a Democracy. Every generation has had to step up to save Democracy. This is our time and it is our responsibility and I take it very seriously.

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Never in our history have so many members of one candidate’s former administration and party publicly stated not only that the candidate of their own party is unfit to be president again but that they are endorsing his opponent for the office. Years ago, when we had “normal politics,” such cross-party endorsements were unusual but not earth-shaking. In this divided and polarized era it is absolutely unprecedented.

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These are all great suggestions. I especially like “Is the candidate someone who behaves the way you teach your children to behave?”. That makes it an easy choice in my opinion, but I also understand that not everyone teaches their children how to behave :) What I always say to people who I know that are undecided is closer to "catch the bus that will get you closer to where you want to be". The important thing is that you vote.

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founding

One of those pictures is from my area. The artist Panhandle Slim’s signs have been hard to get. His stuff is all over Savannah. Every one with messages of hope, inspiration, or challenge from people in our past and present.

I don’t understand undecided voters in this election, but I’m aware that not everyone experiences the world in the same way that I do.

I hope this helps someone make their decision.

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From my understanding of the situation, undecided voters are mostly undecided about whether they will bother voting or not and are very disengaged otherwise.

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I am technically an undecided voter. However, my current decision is that while I will vote, I will not be casting a vote for the president.

I am undecided for two main reasons:

1. I am somewhat furious with our system turning out these two as our best options. Seriously, this was the best We the People could come up with?! I predicted DJT would win the primaries again, and I was very hesitant about that outcome. And well, Harris wasn’t decided by a primary, she was decided by her party.

2. I don’t feel either party represents my best interests.

I’m choosing to focus more on the government leaders surrounding the executive branch. 🤷🏼‍♀️

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founding

I want to add that my Mom is the same. She voted down ballot and not for President which she has done the past 2 elections. I very under standing of that position, but she was very decided on that situation.

I voted third party in 2016 and regret that decision, I know a lot of people who do. Even though I do think that Harris is a good candidate, I didn’t vote for her for my best interest, but for the best interest of others. Trump would actually be financially beneficial for my family, but I think he will be terrible for minority groups in this country. I really don’t want to go backwards in terms of Civil Rights. I have also seen nothing that Trump policies will be good for those who need more money in their pockets the most.

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I find it interesting you think Trump is better finically for your family. I have family who have found their taxes have gone up because of Trump’s tax policies. They are upper middle class. I think his policies are aimed to make people think they will pay less in taxes, but that’s not always the case. I also think that tariffs will just lead to higher cost for the customer which also hurts peoples wallets even those with means.

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founding

My husband is a small business owner and we benefited during his first presidency. It’s definitely an assumption that another term in office would benefit us, but it’s not something I’ve looked into because I’ve never voted for him and don’t plan to start now 😆

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Harris is one of if not THE most qualified candidate for president we have had in modern history. I hear people say she wasn’t chosen or isn’t a good option but never a substantial answers as to why. I wouldn’t ever want the leader of my country to be a divisive, self proclaimed day one dictator, felon, rapist, I could go on. Not choosing Harris over Trump is mind boggling. Democracy or Dictatorship, capable/empathetic leader of all people or selfish/narcissist, want to make schools safe or abolish dept of education, I could go on forever. If that’s not an easy decision, then it’s time for some self reflection as to why and what really bothers you about her.

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That’s amazing that you feel so strongly about Harris, and feel she’s the best thing!

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founding

Having an all new primary would have been costly to the states and neither party would have had one at that point. The party did exactly as was planned in their bylaws.

Harris is also the only presidential candidate who has spent time in the 3 different branches of government. I think she is a good candidate, I definitely think she is clearly the better one, but I certainly don’t expect everyone to agree. Our two party system and campaign financing really limits us in terms of who has a chance, and who is going to represent the wide spectrum of politics ideologies in our country.

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The one thing I would note is the party always decides who the nominee will be. You don't vote for a candidate in a primary, you vote for a delegate. That delegate then casts a vote at the convention. In recent history they have gone with who wins the primaries, but that wasn't always the case. Sharon has discussed the way the candidate was decided at past conventions before.

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You are correct, however I am speaking to this scenario specifically.

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In this case they would argue she was the VP candidate, so people knew if they were voting for Biden she was the stand in if anything happened. Not the same as the party picking someone at random.

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An interesting response, I never made any comment that she was a random nomination.

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Nov 1·edited Nov 1

No you didn’t. That word was in my brain after reading about past conventions, especially pre-1960s!

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Definitely sound advice. I also suggest putting down social media for the next few days and turning to quieter news sources covering more than the election. Sometimes distance and help people gain perspective.

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I have been off social media for a few months now. It was just getting to be too much! I receive several email news letters now from trusted, unbiased sources. Sharon's are the best!

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Also great advice.

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I missed this question when it was open, so I’ll add another:

Consider when you apply for a job with leadership responsibilities, are scoping out a company to work for their leadership, or are hiring someone for a leadership positions yourself (if you don’t work, what about scoping out teachers? coaches?)

Ask some of those interview questions like:

“What would this person’s direct reports say about working for them?” “How has the quality of where this person worked changed (improved? decreased?) when they started in their last leadership position?” “How well does this person do at working with people not on their team? When there’s conflict?”

The president has no power without their executive branch to execute & advise, so you’re voting for a team. I value respect, cooperation, and compassion in my leaders and in the teams they build, and that made the decision for me.

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These are great questions to consider, Audrey!

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Lots of great advice for any election. Some tips feel a little bit absurd given our current choices. For instance, choosing the candidate who gets you closer to where you want to be. I have been talking with a lot of undecided voters. Of those who are truly undecided, meaning they have all of the information but are not sure what to prioritize, many say they have no financial freedom to worry about anything other than what is going to help them pay rent. And they think both candidates are making promises they cannot keep. And that means they think they must vote for Trump because “the economy was better back then”. But they also realize that our bungled response to the pandemic was the root cause of why things are so bad now. And they wonder if their grandchildren are going to have to pay for all of his tax breaks. And they also wonder if our country will survive under his leadership, just listening to his rhetoric. And then they wonder if our country will survive him if he doesn’t win. And I just nod my head and say I hope they vote, no matter what they choose.

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Thank you for sharing! What is difficult for me when I read this is knowing how much worse things stand to get not just due to taxes and tariffs. If Trump were to follow through on his attempts to deport on persons who are undocumented, the cost is estimated to be at least a trillion dollars. Not to mention the lost money in taxes from those persons, and the significant rise in costs we would expect to see due to the impact on agriculture, hospitality, and construction. I know my life experience is different than others and my financial security is different than others, but I have so many concerns.

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So do you believe that allowing 10million to enter the US illegally should have been allowed? How much has that already cost? How about all the cities over run with the influx of so many new people? These people weee allowed to enter inverted and now we are supposed to say, “oh well, it will cost too much to send them back”? This issue is among the top three determine factors in who I’m choosing to vote for in this election.

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"So do you believe that allowing 10million to enter the US illegally should have been allowed?"

The fact is that there have not been 10 million migrants allowed to enter the US illegally in the past four years: https://www.factcheck.org/2024/02/breaking-down-the-immigration-figures/ -and- https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/07/22/what-we-know-about-unauthorized-immigrants-living-in-the-us/

And it's estimated that up to 40% of our current undocumented population are people who overstayed their visa, meaning they entered the country *legally*: https://www.abc15.com/news/state/the-immigration-problem-that-no-one-is-talking-about

Our immigration system is in desperate need of reform, and better paths to legal citizenship, and there are many diverse opinions on how we should best manage this issue. The Cato Institute, which is a libertarian thinktank, has some great pieces on separating immigration fiction from immigration reality: https://www.cato.org/immigration

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Thank you so much for sharing these facts. The fear mongering rhetoric is getting so old. Facts matter

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Right? When I am having these conversations I wish I could download all of the information I have collected about the nuances of these topics, but I have to fight the urge. The persuadable voters in this election tend to be in a financial place where their persuasion is along the lines of what their immediate needs are. The fear of a collapsing republic can give them pause, but more often their question for me is “who is going to make my living space affordable at all?” And it’s hard to argue when one guy is basically saying “free money for everyone and magic will make the math work” so I just try to remind them that the Trump plan is smoke and mirrors, which ruins their day but hopefully it’s one less shot fired into their foot. 🇺🇸😌

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I understand where you’re coming from… I think not all answers apply to the same situation:

I think other tips might help in the case you describe, like maybe pointing out to who would help out most people? Or maybe the one that suggests to chose the candidate that will defend democracy? Or the one that more closely resembles the behavior you’d teach your children?

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Exactly, thank you for saying that. I did not mean to say none of the advice applies to next week’s decision. And to be clear, all of the advice is generally helpful. I just felt an impulse to express the cognitive dissonance of applying some of it to the current election.

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I agree in some ways this election looks so extreme that might seem that way; but for some single issue voters, the idea of the bus that would get you closer to the outcome you want, helps.

For example, I support both the pro-Palestinian and Venezuelan causes; and in both cases neither candidate has the position I want… so many people would just “sit this one out”. However, looking carefully, it’s clear one candidate would be the worse option (for both causes) and the other one seems at least willing to listen? On other issues down my priority list, who is closer to what I support? That’s when the “bus” analogy works 😉

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My numbers may be off some but my point stands as to the astronomical burden that the current administration has allowed to accrue. The first 7 months of 2023 alone cost just NYC over $1.7 billion for food, shelter and other services according to budget.house.gov website. We have only begun to see the ramifications of this policy fiasco.

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I Agree, but I feel so frustrated that the bipartisan immigration bill wasn’t even addressed by the GOP controlled house because a specific candidate wanted this to be his main fear mongering talking point - (and he certainly doesn’t care about NYC) I don’t know a single person who doesn’t believe we need immigration reform, but he seems most concerned about vilifying a specific demographic of immigrants

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To be clear, I totally agree - we really need to reform our immigration process. Mass deportation would deal a staggering and expensive blow to the American economy: https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/mass-deportation

*However* I don't want to deny the reality that housing and benefits cost money as well - if not nearly as much money, it's not nothing either.

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This analogy is everything ‼️

"Think of voting as public transportation, not a personal vehicle. Which bus could you get on that will get you closer to your desired destination, even if they don’t drop you off at the doorstep?"

We often scrutinize candidates versus our ideal, but our ideal is not on the ballot. To use the analogy, our ideal is the destination, not a vehicle. The candidates are the vehicles.

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That is an excellent way to think about it. We may never get to the destination but we can take pride in how we continually strive to get there.

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I've always liked the bus analogy. Of course, with this particular election (and maybe I'm just too cynical) when one of the candidates promises to "suspend the constitution"...that bus is going in the opposite direction at 100 mph for EVERYONE.

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I especially like the question about think about who you would like your children to emulate. That brings it home!

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These are great points Sharon. Thank you for being a corner of calm during the last few months 💝

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Good advice! I appreciate you taking neutral stance with the advice. We have a couple undecided voters in our family who did actually vote yesterday.

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Help me out please: I wanted to send this article to some undecided voters in my extended family, but the first person I sent it to advised me NOT to keep sharing it because it came across as partisan (leftist) - why? Because of the mention of "marginalized people" 😭 They said they couldn't view this as a neutral source because of that section. It broke my heart. What would your answer be to people with that mindset?

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I think they may seem undecided, but are not. IMO, it sounds like they’ve made up their mind but aren’t voicing it. They don’t want the pushback?

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founding

I agree that asking them what marginalized means to them? White working poor or working class who are a large cohort of the Trump supporters might qualify as marginalized if the government has been overlooking demise of those communities (lost jobs, opiod crises, etc...). I might also ask them what's wrong with helping people who are marginalized?

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I might ask them what they hear when they read those words. Who to them are marginalized people. And what does caring for them mean.

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I’ve used the bus analogy many, many times. It doesn’t always land when people just want to scream that “they’re both the same!!”. They aren’t the same. They have very different character, very different ideas about what it means to be the leader of the free world, and very different plans for running a country where 50% or more of the people don’t like them.

I love your other suggestions so thanks for sharing them!

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I was excited to share this with one friend who was still undecided. Great advice!!!

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