My mom is a never-trump republican who voted for neither Trump nor Clinton in 2016. I have stayed in @PantsuitPolitic style conversation with her the whole time, and over time, she agreed to vote for Biden in 2020. But last week, she got a little...wobbly about that.

She started to talk about writing in Bill Weld or John Kasich again. But we live in Pennsylvania, and I implored her to reconsider We can’t afford symbolic votes in PA. It ended up being a tough conversation that ended badly.

But in that tough conversation, I practiced what I have learned from @nkybeth and @bluegrassred and told her that I knew how hard voting for a Democrat would be, and how deeply grateful I’d be if she could bring herself to do it, and how heartbroken I’d be if she couldn’t

I told her that a vote for Biden wasn’t an endorsement of every Democratic policy for the last 50 years but a patriotic act that put love of country above all else. I told her to split her ticket if it made her feel better (y’all it was hard to give on that).

She called me yesterday to say that after watching the first hour of the debate, she was convinced that voting for Biden was the only option a patriotic American had at this point. She has made peace with her vote as a vote for decency.

So I just want to encourage all of you to hang in there with your wobbly family members. And to thank @nkybeth and @bluegrassred for showing me and everyone in the whole community that there is a way forward with the persistence of love and grace and vulnerability and truth.