The African American Leadership Finance Council (AALFC), a fundraising team for the Joe Biden campaign, organized an online press conference to discuss the importance of Biden/Harris winning the 2020 election.
America is currently in uncertain times with the continual threat of police violence, the trends in bigotry, as well as 180,000 Americans who have died from COVID-19 related deaths. The 60-day checkpoint for the 2020 Presidential Election is upon us, and it is now become a matter of life or death.
The French poet, Victor Hugo said, “The future has many names; for the weak, it means the unattainable. For the fearful, it means the unknown. For the courageous, it means opportunity.” We must see the great opportunity within this chaos to change the course of U.S. history for the benefit of humanity.
The AALFC online press conference on Monday was a great way to gather politicians, American capitalists, and community leaders. The press conference was hosted by National Co-Chair of the AALFC for the Biden/Harris campaign, Commissioner Gail Willis. The conference primary keynote speakers were Congresswoman Karen Bass and former State Controller of California, Steve Westly.
Currently, the polls show that Biden is up eight points; however, with the political landscape constantly changing, it is no time for voters to be lackadaisical. In Monday’s press conference, Steve Westly said “Hilary was up by 12 points at this point 4 years ago, and she isn’t sitting in the White House.” Westly continued to mention, “We won the election by 3 million popular votes but came away with nothing. That means we probably need to be up in the polls by at least 6 points.”
Throughout Trump’s four-year presidential run, he has started many fires (figuratively speaking), from spreading blatant lies, to stirring up turmoil causing division. Despite those disruptions, what was recognized as Democratic states, is trending toward Republican; that includes, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin.
“This election is life and death,” said Congresswoman Karen Bass as she made her opening statement to the panel. She continued by exclaiming, “180,000 Americans are dead!” Bass refers to the ample amount of COVID-19 deaths that could have been significantly decreased. Trump’s refusal to implement preventative measures using scientific strategies is a testimony to his carelessness of serious circumstances.
Instead, the President and his cabinet-members have mentioned using an experimental strategy referred to as ‘herd immunity,’ which involves deliberately allowing COVID-19 to spread, so a population can hopefully build resistance to the virus.
Congresswoman Bass stated, “The first job of the commander-in-chief is to protect his people. We have somebody who has never been committed to protecting us. You saw the debacle on the last day of the convention. Openly violating the law, The Hatch Act, by having that big event and exposing over a thousand of his supporters to COVID-19.” Notably, Co-Chairman of Black Voices for Trump, Herman Cain, died from COVID-19 shortly after attending Trump’s rally in Tulsa.
Not to mention, Trump’s attempt to defund America’s safety net, such as Social Security and Medicare funds that will further compromise countless Americans. In a written statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stated, “If President Trump gets his way, 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions will lose the ACA’s lifesaving protections and 23 million Americans will lose their health coverage entirely.”
According to Congresswoman Bass, “This time we have to vote early. In case [Republicans] try to interfere with the post office. You cannot send your ballot in at the end of October, you have to send it in now!” She also expressed the importance of voters completing the 2020 Census, in which is critical data that is used to provide daily services, products, and support for you and your community.
“We have got to make sure we fill out our census forms. Especially, because of COVID-19, there is an under count. We need to have the census reported in April of next year, so it can be reported under a Biden administration. If it is reported under his administration, then we lose legal standing. So, the census is critical.” As a result, billions of dollars in federal funding can go to hospitals, fire departments, schools, roads, and other resources depending on data.
In the last election, if you moved 80,000 votes around, the presidential results completely change. This election will likely be moved by 1%. Any social media post, any email sent, call or donation given, will make an overall difference in the 2020 election.
