Why I Support Joe Biden-
I am Art Pronin and I have spent 20 years of my life organizing the Meyerland area in Houston Texas for the progressive cause. I was a precinct chair when I was age 18, the president of the University of St Thomas Democrats in 2000, and I am currently a civic and party leader.
I have knocked on countless doors, organized the biggest candidate forums and events, invited new conversations on education, race, climate change and so much more. I am proud to say that this community, which was red/ purple when I became president in 2011, is solid blue as of 2018. We now have a Democratic Congresswoman in Lizzie Fletcher who Vice President Biden helped us elect. In 2020, we will flip the Texas House, and HD134 is the key to achieving that goal in our area.
I speak to hundreds, if not thousands, of voters every year. When I am in line at the store, in the mall, at the library — just about everywhere I go. I am certain from conversations with so many residents of the kind of candidate who can win in Texas, help take our other Democrats across the finish line down ballot, and ultimately, be best positioned to lead America during these difficult times.
You see, I found most voters where I live in Texas want Trump out. And crucially: Voters want their problems fixed — but they do not want a revolution. They just want to wake up in the morning and not have Trump in power taking apart our country.
Never has our work been more important- the republic is at stake. Our values, our freedoms, our country — it is all on the line. We cannot allow Trump back in for a second term. Period.
From the start of this primary, I have been curious about all the presidential candidates — from Cory Booker to Kamala Harris to Julian Castro and Elizabeth Warren. I attended the debate held at Texas Southern University (TSU) during the summer and I have used my time to carefully assess the candidates, as any patriotic citizen should, given the national stakes.
I met Joe Biden twice in my life. Once in 2017, my late friend CJ Yeoman took me to hear him speak in Sugarland and thanks to Biden’s team I got to meet Joe then. In 2019, while in line for that Houston debate at TSU, another friend, Kellen, offered me a ticket to meet Biden at a home. And it was there that Joe did something most powerful.
When I arrived with a small group to meet Joe Biden for the second time, I brought with me some stationary. You see, my dear friend CJ was very ill with bone cancer and I wanted Biden to perhaps write her a note. When I approached him and told of the situation, he asked all kinds of questions about her care and treatment options. He hugged me and then wrote a simple note full of hope and love to CJ — a woman he never met.
It was this act of kindness that stayed with me, and its power was amplified even more so after CJ died four weeks later.
It is worth noting that Joe Biden had to overcome a speech stutter, as did I when I was a child. He understands overcoming obstacles. No obstacle is more pressing that confronting mortality. In 2012 I nearly died and it gave me a sense of the preciousness of life and the time we have to make it count. Joe Biden has also endured personal challenges and hardships — the loss of a wife and children, yes, children in the plural. His resilience in the face of such struggle is inspiring.
Joe Biden’s kindness, care, empathy, and human compassion offer a contrast to Trump’s America.
But in pragmatic terms, with Joe Biden at the top of the ticket, I am certain we will flip the Texas House, gain congressional seats, and take back the United States Senate — starting right here with John Cornyn.
In terms of leadership, Joe Biden has the greatest experience of any candidate on government, how it works, how to achieve results. His plans hit home to me — particularly on healthcare, the safety net, and infrastructure. Our health system is broken and his plan gives a solution by ending high medication costs and giving us a Medicare option. He bolsters Social Security and its payments. Joe opposes charter schools and backs our teachers, which is important as my late grandmother and both my parents all taught in public education.
My community was hard hit by Hurricane Harvey. My home flooded for the first time. And crucially, Joe Biden has a long history of getting through large budget packages with major investments in infrastructure and flood programs.
So I stand with Joe Biden this election. These are serious — one would say dangerous — times. We cannot lose this race and with the wrong candidate, we are at risk of doing just that. Joe Biden has the skills and the coalition needed to lead us to a victory — and to save the republic.