Come November, you're not just choosing between 4 more years of Trump/Pence or Biden/Harris

A thread (partly mine, partly @unmitigated_ian's)

You're voting out AG Bill Barr who has destroyed the independence of the Judiciary department, along with a litany of crimes of his own, and covering up those of Trump.

You're voting out Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who purposefully doesn't fully staff the State Department.

He destroys chances of rebuilding diplomatic relations internationally or reacting to any crisis in a way that isn't focused on war.

You're voting out Secretary of Treasury Steve Mnuchin, who has personally fueled the topheavy growth and consequential recession we're now in.

You're voting out Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.

Shes made sexual assault in campus easier to get away with, increased police in schools, streamlined the school to prison pipeline, denied disability accommodations, and fucked over student loan repayers.

You're voting out Secretary of HHS Alex Azar, who, along with Trump, is an integral part of why the results of COVID-19 have been drastically deadlier than they ever needed to be, and it will continue to get worse.

Oh and Azar also gives medical providers legal cover to kill trans patients through refusing to treat them, at any time, for any reason.

You're voting out Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, you know, Mitch McConnell's wife? Who are (or were prior to Bill Barr becoming AG) under investigation for inside dealing in Kentucky, enriching the both of them to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.

You're voting out Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, you know, the guy who is (or was, prior to Bill Barr becoming AG) under investigation for rampant waste and fraud, leading to self-enrichment to the tune of millions of dollars.

You're voting out Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, you know, that guy who wanted to add a citizenship question to the Census, following the writings of a confederate supremacist.

You're voting out Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia - y'know, Antonin Scalia's kid - who has worked to make Title VII irrelevant in relation to LGBT employees.

You're voting out the Director of National Intelligence Dan Coates, the guy who tried to squash the whistleblower who let us all know that Trump was illegally and corruptly using his office for personal gain, to the detriment of the entire country of Ukraine.

You're voting out Director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney, the guy who withheld evidence in the above.

You're voting out Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Andrew Wheeler who, like Scott Pruitt, continues to roll back environmental protections to a level that, conservatively speaking, resembles the 1970s. In a bad way.

You're voting out Presidential Advisor Stephen Miller, a literal nazi.

You're voting out every other executive agency head that Trump has, or will, appoint.

You're voting for RBG's replacement and the future of the Supreme Court.

AND the future of the various other courts in the system as we have aging staff.

You're voting for a REAL pandemic response, not one based on which liberal states should be left to defend themselves -

But, like, Fauci being able to actually do his job and protect us

You're voting for the USPS to be strengthened again after the last few weeks of bullshit from Trump and his administration stripping them of vital equipment like MAIL SORTERS

You're voting for a move to better representation in our offices - and filling them with folx who know how to do these jobs, not just the highest donors

You're voting against anti-trans laws that mean shelter workers and others can turn away trans folx - esp trans femme peeps - if they even suspect transness

You're voting to restore acts that protect indigenous lands and a higher chance that treaties will be honored

(Know this is not a guarantee, but it gives us better odds)

You're voting to keep national parks protected places instead of filled with fracking equipment

You're voting to restore CDC and NIH funding towards research on things like arthritis, Covid, and post-covid syndromes/outcomes

You're voting to get us closer to things like a better healthcare system

Not to perfect it, but get us closer

You're voting to get us back into/keep us engaged in spaces like the WHO, NATO, and UN

You're voting to ensure that mail-in voting can be allowed across the country for those who can/want to partake in it

Especially with pandemic stuff happening

You're voting to have future positive changes to laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act that benefit over a quarter of the US population

You're voting to protect children from states that want to insist on in-person learning

No, changes won't come soon enough, but they would eventually come

You're voting for greater chances of improvements in society, from actual work on racial inequality to possible recognition of past wrongs from the country itself

You're voting to do more to protect the people in historically marginalized groups including BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, poor, etc.

You're voting for a country that actually recognizes the state we're currently in and works to rectify it

No, it won't be perfect* but it gets us doing more

*perfection is a tool of white supremacy anyway

Very realistically, 6oure voting to SAVE LIVES

So many people have died in the last 4 years between Covid, hate crimes, lack of access to medical care or accessibility tools, and so much more

We owe it to them to use our ability to vote - one small tool - to make a change

Voting is one way to enact change, but we also can't forget the many ways we will have to continue to push for change in January and beyond, too

We the people can hold our elected officials accountable, but it's easier if they want to be more accountable from the start

I'm not saying you need to be ecstatic about this vote or be incredibly happy about it

But I am saying please do it

I don't want to die, and I don't want the people I care about to die

PS as someone working in public health, please note that these national changes affect things at a local level, too

It affects our funding to help keep our localities safe, the way the public perceives our actions, and so much more