The Gatepost Editorial: We, The Gatepost, endorse Kamala Harris

By The Gatepost Editorial Board On Oct. 25, The Washington Post published the editorial, “On political endorsement.” The editorial, written by William Lewis, publisher and chief executive officer of The Washington Post, outlined the paper’s decision not to endorse a presidential candidate in the 2024 election, a departure from their practice of endorsement in past election years. While Lewis wrote refusing to endorse a candidate was part of a return to their original practice from the ’60s, customer response to the editorial was extremely negative. According to National Public Radio, “by midday Monday” over 200,000 people had canceled their subscriptions, about 8% of the publication’s paid customer base, as shared by two sources from The Washington Post. While it is the journalist’s responsibility to report fairly and unbiasedly, an editorial board, using this information, is free to take a stand. By not choosing a candidate to endorse, The Washington Post disrespected both parties and their readers. Especially in an election that is not only highly contested, but also about moral standing. When one of the candidates wants to erode the rights of the free press, has been convicted of 34 felony counts, and has incited violence when an election did not go his way, it is clear this is no longer a campaign about merely voting red or blue. This is why The Gatepost editorial board decided to take a stand. The editorial board can proudly say we make the choice to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris with confidence she will pave the way to a brighter future. Following Trump’s Oct. 27 New York rally and the slew of racist “jokes” by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe - which included calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” and a remark about him and a Black attendee of the rally “carving watermelons together” at a Halloween party - it is clear the choice in the 2024 election is about more than party affiliation. The 2020 election raised similar questions, but some felt the choice between Trump and Biden was between the lesser of two evils due to the age of both candidates and Biden's fairly centrist policies. Vice President Harris has earned our endorsement through her demonstrated commitment to Gen Z - evident both through her campaign policies and her acknowledgment of social issues affecting young people. Harris’ experience in a number of roles - including serving as vice president, U.S. senator, and the attorney general of California - has also given us the confidence that she will be well-equipped to govern the country. As young people, we are worried about the autonomy of our bodies, civil rights for underrepresented groups, including those who are BIPOC and/or identify as LGBTQ+, and the increasing cost of living, particularly rent - to name a few issues. Harris, fortunately, has taken a stance to protect these liberties and rights and to combat the high cost of living. Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade - which was caused by Supreme Court justices appointed during Trump’s 2016 term - Harris has promised to sign a bill restoring reproductive freedom across the country once it has been passed by Congress. Tim Walz, Harris’ vice presidential pick, also helped Minnesota become the first state to protect women’s autonomy following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, further illustrating the commitment the Harris/Walz ticket has to reproductive rights. Trump’s opinion of LGBTQ+ Americans, and the way they can be expected to be treated under his presidency, can be gleaned from the rampant homophobic and transphobic rhetoric already taking place on X, Elon Musk’s social media platform. Trump has invited Musk to speak at his rallies a number of times and Musk was also present at the New York rally Oct. 27. Harris, on the other hand, has already promised to enact additional legal protections for LGBTQ+ individuals. She has promised to sign The Equality Act into law, which, according to her campaign website, will “enshrine anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ Americans in health care, housing, education, and more into law.” According to the Human Rights Campaign, Trump disapproves of The Equality Act and would not allow it to be codified, despite the act receiving “support from almost every segment of the U.S. population and a majority of Republicans.” Harris has also promised to make affordable health care a right by “expanding and strengthening the Affordable Care Act and making permanent the Biden-Harris tax credit enhancements,” which are responsible for reducing the cost of health care premiums for many Americans, according to her campaign website. She also promises to extend the $35 limit on insulin prices and the $2,000 limit on out-of-pocket medical spending for senior citizens and vows to extend this $2,000 limit to all Americans. As vice president, Harris also assisted President Biden in eliminating over $7 billion in medical debt for over 3 million Americans. As president, she plans to work with states to increase the number of people whose medical debt will be forgiven. Harris has also recognized the roadblock many Americans are facing today in buying a home due to the high cost of housing and other difficulties such as the low number of new houses being built. According to her campaign website, as president, she will sign legislation to ban “new methods of price fixing by corporate landlords” as well as increase the number of new affordable rental units and homes by 3 million by the end of her first term. At every talking point, we have seen hateful speech and planning from Donald Trump. We have seen his resistance to equality regarding identity, protection of civil rights, and bodily autonomy. Any campaign that vows to strip American citizens of their right to govern their own bodies, deny them access to affordable health care, or put them in danger for expressing their sexual orientation is not a moral campaign. The rhetoric we have seen from Harris, instead, has been in service of a better world that we, as young people, have a vested interest in building. The Washington Post’s billionaire owner, Jeff Bezos, in refusing to allow the newspaper he owns to endorse her, has made his allegiance clear. We at The Gatepost desire to do the same. We are sticking to our roots and our right to editorialize without censorship. We are endorsing Kamala Harris for president.