(Editor's note: The following opinion column does not constitute an endorsement of any political party or candidate on the part of Newsmax.)
Referring to President Joe Biden’s deteriorating cognitive abilities, comedian Bill Maher, host of HBO‘s "Real Time," stated in one of his shows that he would vote for Biden’s "head in a jar with blue liquid" over Donald Trump if that was the only choice given.
He would also most certainly vote for the ineffective and word-salad maven, Vice President Kamala Harris, over the former president libs love to loathe.
Some on the right might take issue with Maher’s statement that Biden's turn toward senility would not deter him from voting to re-elect the incumbent.
I'll defend Maher the same way I'll defend Republicans who have said that they will vote for Donald Trump even if he’s declared a convicted felon via the questionable prosecutions initiated by his political opponents.
I understand why Democrats will hold their noses and vote for the doddering commander in chief, or the rudderless present vice president heading the ticket.
It’s because, to them, the alternative is far worse.
So why won’t liberals accept the fact that half of this country will support a flawed Donald Trump because they believe the alternative is so dangerous for our country and future generations.
Obviously, both sides think this is a crucial election with America’s future hanging in the balance. They’re correct.
This column has often opined that the biggest reason for voting for a particular presidential candidate is not so much the qualities of character of that individual, rather it's concern over the entire deep state apparatus that will be set up once that individual is elected.
You are not voting for Trump or Biden this November as much as you are voting for every bureaucrat who will be heading up every agency in the federal government.
You are voting for future judges, not only on the U.S. Supreme Court, but throughout the district court level in our nation.
You are voting for a party platform more than you’re voting for an individual.
Many Republicans may be perturbed by Trump‘s nastiness, which is often quite unpresidential, yet they will give priority to his policies. which they mostly agree with.
You can still vote for Trump because you prefer his controlled borders over Biden‘s open borders.
You prefer Trump’s strength globally compared to the perception of Biden’s frailty and weakness (see the Afghanistan pullout) that Vladimir Putin and Hamas parlayed into aggressive moves against their neighbors.
Trump may tweet vile things, but that seems less damaging than Biden’s begging of our political enemies to produce more fossil fuels while he shuts down energy production on our federal lands.
We may logically aspire toward Trump’s energy policies that encourage the harvesting of natural gas to bring energy prices to where they were years ago.
We are nostalgic for Trump’s economic policies that spurred investment and minimized regulations and tax increases over Biden’s over-regulation, tax hikes, and spending sprees causing economic pain.
We may hold our noses voting for Trump, but we know if he wins we can say goodbye to an inept Alejandro Mayorkas as the secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as well as partisan lawfare guru U.S. Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland.
Likewise, Democrats may overlook Biden’s decline because they want more liberal judges sprinkled throughout the system.
They may want more Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) injected into our schools and institutions.
They may hope for even more draconian climate measures that limit personal choices and increase the costs of traditional energy production.
They may want a platform, as proposed by Biden, that doubles the capital gains tax and taxes folks on unrealized capital gains.
If you want to make the case that the other side of the political spectrum’s policies are awful, or even dangerous, that’s fair game.
But, it’s nonsensical to attack either a liberal or a conservative for supporting a flawed standard bearer of their party who is far more likely to pursue the party’s platform than is the opposition.
So, Mr. Maher, go ahead and vote for Biden’s brain in a blue jar or the cringeworthy Kamala Harris.
Given that choice, many will be resigned to voting for the convicted felon, whose verdict will likely be reversed down the road.
Steve Levy is President of Common Sense Strategies, a political consulting firm. He served as Suffolk County Executive, as a NYS Assemblyman, and host of "The Steve Levy Radio Show." He is the author of “Solutions to America’s Problems” and “Bias in the Media.” www.SteveLevy.info, Twitter @SteveLevyNY, steve@commonsensestrategies.com