Henry Herz

 Because she respects the Constitution (the other guy doesn’t)

The Constitution is the backbone of American democracy. The longest-standing written constitution in force in the world, its articles and amendments enshrine our rights and freedoms. But instead of revering the Constitution, Donald Trump has stated and demonstrated his desire to violate it, consolidating federal powers under an authoritarian president—himself. 

  • The Constitution’s first three articles define the separation of government powers. Project 2025 makes clear that Trump will remove the guardrails that prevent him from abusing executive branch power. Trump will use a politicized Justice Department and federal agencies (as he did during his first term) to attack voters, protestors, journalists, political opponents, and other perceived enemies. He will replace tens of thousands of currently protected civil servants with political hires.

  • The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech and the press. Trump routinely disparaged (without supporting evidence) the news media as “fake news” and the “enemy of the people.” The Washington Post’s fact-checkers documented 30,573 false or misleading claims during his presidency, averaging over twenty per day. His ongoing lies will continue to undermine confidence in democratic institutions. 

  • America had a centuries-long tradition of peaceful transitions of power. During his 2020 campaign, Trump refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power, refused to publicly concede defeat, and incited an insurrection when he lost the election.

The beauty of the Constitution is its presumption of individual liberties, relinquishing only limited and necessary authority to the federal government. Americans of goodwill may have honest disagreements about the federal budget and debt, immigration, support for Ukraine and Israel, abortion, and a host of other policy issues. But with an authoritarian leader, the debates vital to identifying the best policies won’t happen.

Vote for Kamala Harris because she respects the Constitution and will preserve democracy. 


Henry Herz is the author of numerous picture books and short stories, and has edited eight speculative fiction anthologies.