I’m not sure how influential Rolling Stone is these days but they do have 60 million unique monthly visitors, which is a lot more than most magazines. On Saturday, then editorial board endorsed Kamala Harris— the clear choice. It’s an endorsement more likely to energize readers who already support Democrats than to sway many opponents or even swing voters. There are probably some undecided voters who just come for the music and pop cultural coverage that could be persuaded by the editorial that Trump shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the White House.
Sean Woods made the point that “in this time of true danger, one candidate for president talks only about his own grievances. His party, which could once boast of being a big tent, is now devoted to a toxic cult of personality. The GOP falls in lockstep with Donald Trump. The party refuses to legislate, threatens another government shutdown, and engages in the pettiest of feuds, like its leader. It spiked a bipartisan border bill in obeisance to Trump— continuing the chaos there for his political gain. We live in a two-party system built on compromise. It’s important to the health of the country to have a sane Republican Party to offer a counterpoint, a check and a balance. But Trump is incapable of dealing in good faith or uniting a polarized nation. And the MAGA faithful are willing to blindly follow him to our collective ruin. Trump is demonstrably unfit to ever hold office again. From Jan. 6 to his lethally incompetent handling of the pandemic, his callous attitude toward the George Floyd protests, and his perilous remaking of the Supreme Court into an arm of the conservative right, Trump has time and again shown us exactly who he is. He lies so often his candidacy would be a joke if it weren’t so dangerous. He will make the plans outlined by right-wing extremists in Project 2025 a reality. He has promised to be a ‘dictator’ for a day. The entire premise of a Trump restoration should chill even the most casual followers of politics to their core. This is not a fire drill. As Sen. Bernie Sanders recently told Rolling Stone, ‘This election is about whether we remain a democratic society or we move to authoritarianism. Trump does not believe in the basic tenets of American democracy.’”
Throughout his career, Trump has stoked racial divisions in this country. He entered politics by spreading birther lies about President Obama, ran a campaign based on the demonization of Latin migrants, and among his first acts as president enacted a so-called Muslim ban. His nakedly racist tactics were there for all to see during his Sept. 10 debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, most notably when he repeated debunked claims about Haitian migrants eating cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio. The reckless and hateful rhetoric led to real-life consequences in and around the city: bomb threats, school closures, and the canceling of a local festival. The needless and staggering stupidity of comments like these have become a given in the Trump era. It needs to stop.
The last decade or so of Trump’s fear-mongering has splintered the nation in ways we have not seen since the turbulence of the 1960s. Harris was correct in calling out his failure as a leader. “It’s a tragedy that we have someone who wants to be president who has consistently over the course of his career attempted to use race to divide the American people,” she said in the debate. “I do believe that the vast majority of us know that we have so much more in common than what separates us. And we don’t want this kind of approach that is just constantly trying to divide us, and especially by race.”
…Based on her career and her campaign, it’s clear Harris shares Rolling Stone’s belief that the U.S. should be a nation that leads the world against the threat of the climate crisis. She will fight for reproductive freedom and civil rights. She wants to build more affordable housing, thinks it’s vital we shore up the social safety net, advocates for sensible gun laws, and wants the U.S. to have the finest education system in the world. She will work for peace, even as she secures our national defense. In contrast to her opponent, Harris’ record as a prosecutor, senator, and vice president has shown a politician devoted to the rule of law, democratic norms, and a willingness to work across party lines. She’s not a firebrand or a demagogue; she’s a lifelong, dedicated public servant who believes that government exists to help and protect the American people.
Kamala Harris is the clear choice over Donald Trump. Vote for a future where the carnage of the Trump era is left in the past and America keeps moving forward.
I’ve always sensed a historical and cultural connection between people who are deeply engaged with the arts—music, literature, visual arts— and opposing authoritarianism and fascist regimes. The link isn’t absolute (there will always be Nazi artists like Richard Wagner, Leni Riefenstahl, Maxim Gorky, Ted Nugent, Kid Rock, Kanye West…) but it emerges consistently across different societies and periods, for a few key reasons. Art, after all, often requires and encourages critical thinking, introspection and empathy-- traits anathema to authoritarian regimes, which thrive on conformity, suppression of dissent and rigid control over thought. Artists, musicians, and writers frequently challenge dominant narratives and question the status quo, fostering environments where free thought is valued over dogma. Music, literature and art have long served as outlets for political dissent. Under authoritarian governments, where open criticism of the regime is dangerous, creative expression can become a subtle or even overt form of resistance. For instance, the work of writers like Václav Havel in Czechoslovakia and musicians like Victor Jara in Chile became symbolic of opposition to oppressive governments. The arts often focus on universal human experiences— love, loss, beauty, injustice— and encourage a shared sense of humanity. Authoritarian ideologies, which frequently rely on dehumanizing certain groups or stoking nationalism, clash with this broader, inclusive view of what it means to be human. And, of course, authoritarians typically seek to control or stifle freedom of expression, a core element of artistic creativity. The desire for self-expression is fundamentally at odds with the control mechanisms of authoritarian regimes, which censor or restrict works that do not align with their political agendas. People who value artistic expression often see such restrictions as an assault on personal and cultural freedom.
Friday night at the iHeartRadio Music Awards in Los Angeles Paramore singer Hayley Williams denounced Trump and Project 2025 while the band was performing “Big Man Little Integrity.”
Williams: “Project 2025 is Donald Trump’s playbook for controlling and punishing women, poor people, people of color and the LGBTQ+ community. It is time for all Americans to band together and to finally defeat the Trump agenda. And the only way to do that is by confronting him at the polls. Do you want to live in a dictatorship? Well show up and vote!”
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