Kamala Harris for President

Rarely in the annals of the American republic have its citizens been presented with an electoral choice that could be termed existential, not only for our own shared destiny, but also for those of far-flung allies and untold millions for whom the global balance of power hangs in the balance.

Such is the case in 2024, when Americans must decide between a Republican ticket that has professed strong sympathies, if not explicit loyalties, to foreign strongmen and autocrats – proven and devoted adversaries of all democracies, including our own – and an incumbent administration sworn to sacred bonds of allegiance to like-minded Western republics, most of them crafted in the likeness of our own noble experiment in self-government. 

For these reasons – and many more – we enthusiastically endorse Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, for election on Nov. 5.

In the weeks since President Biden’s announcement that he would not seek re-election, and his swift and full-throated endorsement of his vice president  to succeed him in the White House, there has been too-little public discussion about the foreign policy implications of this election.  That is a testament to the grave domestic perils that we face and that, quite understandably, dominate our immediate impulses: The specter of civil unrest of the Jan. 6 variety, or worse, that could accompany a disputed result, whether or not such a dispute is even credible; the assault on civil liberties most egregiously waged and executed on women and their reproductive rights; the rupture of the Rule of Law personified by a former and would-be president who is a convicted, but unrepentant felon.

But what of the collapse of global order and the undermining of our own national security that a Republican victory portends?

Of all the mysteries inherent in this once Grand Old Party’s devolution over the last decade, none is more confounding than its abandonment of the post-World War II balance in which the United States is the main character and global leader. The Trumpist alternative is sometimes mistakenly characterized as mere isolationism, an echo of familiar “America First” refrains of earlier generations. But this MAGA iteration is a more sinister brand that has its standard-bearers shamelessly embracing the likes of Russia's Putin, Hungary's Orban, and North Korea's Kim jong-un.

The Trump doctrine would pacify Russia’s naked aggression in Ukraine, leaving a valiant, fledgling democracy to be wiped out by the war criminal next door. It would weaken or destroy 75-year-old alliances with European allies, who also happen to be among our most vital trade partners. It would have us walk away from the Pacific Rim at a time when China mobilizes and menaces its neighbors and North Korea’s dictator tests nuclear warheads. All await a second Trump term to get the green light to roll, unencumbered, into a new era of autocratic rule.

This matters, too, in the context of US-Ireland relations and the future of the Irish Republic, which this publication and its readers are particularly concerned with. “Irish America” is not a monolithic voting bloc by any means. But those of us tuned in closely to the homeland understand that the chaotic policies of the Trump years, his embrace of right-wing movements, including Brexit, and his undermining of NATO and the EU are all net losers for Ireland.

The Biden-Harris administration restored strong leadership in the form of Massachusetts’s own Ambassador Claire Cronin. Biden’s appointment of Joe Kennedy III as Special Envoy to North Ireland signaled a deft understanding of the importance of strengthening economic bonds in the interest of preserving peace and stability on the island. A Harris-Walz administration promises to continue these sound policies and ward off the destabilizing forces of Trumpism.

Finally, a note about President Biden, whose connection to Ireland and Mayo is well-documented and for whom we have a genuine fondness and appreciation. His decision to withdraw was the act of an American patriot. It was also the hard-nosed decision of a wise and wary world leader who can see the disastrous outcome of an American surrender to our own worst impulses. In stepping aside, he may have saved more than just our own democracy.  He may have saved democracy writ large.

We respect President Biden’s choice of successor and have been delighted to see VP Harris not only rise to the occasion, but also inspire us with her skills, her acumen in law and justice, her personal story, and her choice of running mate. Biden and his camp picked Harris for good reason in 2020, and it paid off. We see her choice of Gov. Walz in much the same way.

Like many of our readers whom we have heard from in recent weeks, there is now authentic excitement for the Democratic ticket and an eagerness to defeat Trump and move forward beyond this unfortunate era in our nation’s journey.

On Nov. 5, we will be first in line to vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.