As campaign approaches the homestretch, one question lingers

Editor’s note: The Democratic National Convention is over, Vice President Kamala Harris is the nominee and President Joe Biden will finish his term of office focused on being president and not as a candidate for reelection. The candidates — Harris and Donald Trump — are locked in the final sprint toward the election in November.

And my friend Perry Rogers has a question that has yet to be answered.

I asked him to share his thoughts with Sun readers because I believe so many of them have the same question.

— Brian Greenspun

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At this year’s Democratic National Convention, we saw unity at the United Center in Chicago. Joy made a full comeback into American politics. The Democratic Party threw a democratic party, to which everyone was invited to attend.

The Democrats made the case for your vote. They brought out their top leaders to address the concerns that are shared across the spectrum of backgrounds and identities in the United States and their vision for addressing those concerns.

We heard President Joe Biden talk about the soul of America. Former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton addressed the possibility of America. Former first lady Michelle Obama told us that “hope is making a comeback.” Former President Barack Obama reminded us of all the ties that bind us together. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a former public school teacher and high school football coach, talked about the importance of helping our neighbors and respecting their privacy and their beliefs.

Finally, we heard Vice President Kamala Harris promise to represent all Americans and “move past the bitterness and chart a new way forward.”

All of this happened as chants of USA rang through the rafters and American flags waved proudly throughout the arena.

Throughout the convention, one question that kept crossing my mind: Who is against these folks?

There is so much to respect about Harris’ biography. She came from a middle-class family, got a great education and immediately went to work as a prosecutor to put criminals in jail. Eventually, she became the attorney general of California, a U.S. senator and has been vice president for the past three and a half years.

During Harris’ time as vice president, the administration passed the American Rescue Plan, which stimulated the economy and helped us recover from COVID-19. More than 14 million jobs were created in the past three and a half years — the largest gain in any single administration in American history.

After decades of failed promises from other administrations to help repair our decaying bridges and roads, the Biden-Harris administration got it done by passing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. It’s a $1.2 trillion commitment that will also help upgrade public transit (like the Brightline West train to Southern California), water systems and our dilapidated energy systems. The dividends this improvement in infrastructure will pay make all the delays on Interstate 15 from the work on Tropicana Avenue worth it (it’s almost done!).

This administration proved we do not have to choose between the right thing to do and the economy. We rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement and, despite the doomsday rhetoric of some politicians, it did not cause the economy to collapse.

With bipartisan support in Congress, the Biden-Harris administration made the largest investment in the climate in the history of the planet, committing to spend $369 billion on clean-energy initiatives.

The administration lowered the cost of prescription drugs, expanded the Affordable Care Act and extended the child tax credit, cutting child poverty by 50%. It passed the first meaningful gun legislation in 20 years, appointed the most diverse group of federal judges in our nation’s history, strengthened NATO and our global alliances, and made sure that companies that were making billions of dollars were paying at least 15% federal taxes on those earnings.

Crime is down under the Biden administration. We keep hearing how dangerous the world is from Trump and his allies, but the facts don’t support that. Violent crime is down to a nearly 50-year low.

If, after looking at all that Harris has helped accomplish, you decide she still has not earned your vote, then I challenge you to ask yourself what would change your mind. If you conclude that nothing would change your mind, then you have ceded your vote. Politicians and political parties (including my own) shouldn’t get a free pass. If nothing would change your mind, then a politician no longer needs to earn your vote, they no longer need to worry about your concerns, and they certainly don’t need to be concerned with how they conduct themselves in office.

Darkness and division are exhausting. But joy keeps us going, keeps reminding us that there is so much to stand for, not just against. Darkness wants us to feel alone. Joy is best shared.

You might be hearing the music and laughter from down the hall, and wondering if this party is for you too. Come join us. We’ll fix you a plate. It doesn’t matter when you arrive; we don’t keep score. We just keep the party going.

Perry Rogers is CEO and founder of PRP, the agency that represents professional athletes Shaquille O’Neal, Jayson Tatum and Jonathan Isaac, among others, and is a partner in JRS Hospitality, a company that owns several brands of restaurants and bars.