An Endoresement

Let me make an unequivocal statement: I will vote for Kamala Harris on November 5^th. I’ll also be voting for Josh Riley, Didi Barrett, and Michelle Hinchey.

And so should you.

Or, to put it another way, this year I won’t vote for anyone who either explicitly or implicitly supports Donald Trump, including any of his down ballot enablers.

Is that a clear enough endorsement for you?

It’s not that I think you’re looking for an endorsement from me to affect how you vote, or even care if I say anything at all. But because of the events of the past few days, it seems important to say something.

Who I’ve decided to vote for shouldn’t surprise anyone who has been reading me over the past several years. But this is an unsettled time in America, not just in our politics but in our journalism. The political mood of the country is precisely what has caused the latest disturbance in journalism. After all, we journalists (if I can be so bold as to include myself in that category) have long been declared to be “enemies of the people.” That, in itself, is enough for me to want to be part of that band of brothers. Not that I think that DJT cares one iota what I think about anything, or that I might suffer any penalty for publicly opposing him. However, at this particular time, in this particular moment in American journalism, taking a specific stand seems immensely important.

That two of the most well-known newspapers in America have decided not to endorse a presidential candidate at virtually the last moment is extraordinary, but also deeply disturbing. That the papers’ owners made this decision and not the editors of the papers certainly cause their motivations to be suspect. No one that I know of has suggested that they have any motive other than to avoid the displeasure of Trump or that they actually favor him. Frankly, I wouldn’t believe anything they said at this point.

Journalists at both papers have vehemently made their disagreements with ownership known. Editors and journalists at the LA Times have resigned. The LAT may no longer have the reputation it once enjoyed, it nonetheless is one of the most famous brands in journalism. The resignations matter, as do those readers who have canceled subscriptions. I haven’t heard of anyone resigning at the Washington Post, but voices in opposition to Jeff Bezos’s decision have been loud throughout the paper’s ranks. Marty Baron, their former editor who led them during the Trump presidency, has castigated ownership. Even Carolyn Hax, their premier advice columnist, publicly castigated ownership on Friday. Readers, too, have canceled subscriptions in reaction.

It wasn’t until 2017 that the WaPo adopted the slogan, “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” To me, having spent thirty-four years in journalism, when I first saw the slogan, it moved me, it resonated with me. It still does. It is a perfect distillation of the fundamental purpose, the raison d’être of journalism, the purpose of every reporter I’ve ever known. If the owners and publishers of these two newspapers believe in the reporting of their staffs over the past decade (I’m not talking about op-ed columnists, but reporters—they’re not the same thing), then an endorsement would seem to be an imperative of editorial boards in this election, if for no other. Anything else is unconscionable.

There are too many ways for democracy to die. One of them is in darkness. Another is cowardice.

There is a third way, and you all know it—to do nothing. So, on November 5^th, do what you know you must if you haven’t already.

VOTE.