Conservative Reasons to Vote for Joe Biden
By: Jeanne Pickering
Tags: Biden, Election 2020, Republicans

Even though you are a lifelong Republican or tend to vote for conservatives, you may already believe there are good reasons not to re-elect the president. You may also be wary, however, of voting for the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden. Perhaps you’ve never voted for a Democrat and have a tough time seeing yourself starting now. Without saying anything about the incumbent president, here are some reasons why you, a conservative or a Republican, should vote for Joe Biden. These are reasons based on Joe Biden’s long career in the Senate and as vice president. These are not party talking points; these are accessible facts.

Biden is an institutionalist. During his decades-long career, Joe Biden’s actions and leadership were centered on supporting and improving the institutions of our government. This history has brought him trouble — and still does on occasion — from progressives, but he has held his ground, even during the recent primary season when he was losing. After all these years, this is what he knows and believes about good governance. He has not said or done anything during his campaign to indicate he is going to change course.

Biden seeks mutual ground for agreement. It doesn’t happen as much as it used to, but finding mutual ground is how legislation got passed when Biden was in Congress. It was his expertise in finding shared commitments with Republicans and conservative Democrats that brought him success in the House, the Senate, and the vice presidency. It’s been a winning approach for him his entire political life. He’s not going to radically change now.

Biden is the choice of moderate Democrats. In these highly polarized times, moderates do not get much attention, so it’s easy to lose sight of the Democratic majority who are moderates or just slightly left of center. But they saw Joe Biden for what he is — a moderate Democrat — and it was their overwhelming support for Biden that made him the Democratic nominee.

Biden holds on to his values. You can read about his values or just listen to him espouse them. You may disagree with some of his values or worry about where he’ll take the country with them. But you don’t have to wonder what those values are, and you can be sure he won’t drop them for his private advantage. What you see and hear now is what you will get in his presidency.

These are not exciting reasons to vote for a candidate. What most of us want, though, is a president who will steady the country, get everyone back to work, and steer us out of these stormy waters back to sailing in a safe direction. With Joe Biden, conservatives and Republicans may still argue about the direction or how to rig the sails, but the country will move forward rather than sit becalmed or, worse, continue to spiral in the whirlpool.

Of course, you could choose to vote for a third-party candidate, write in a name for president, or just not vote at all. That choice is yours. In our sadly polarized political atmosphere, however, not choosing one of the two major candidates is tantamount to not voting at all. Given how close support is for the two candidates, failing to vote is a gift for the one you really don’t want to win.

Vote for Joe Biden. Let’s get the country moving again.