Former Bernie Sanders Virginia Co-Chair Elizabeth Guzmán Pens Op-Ed on Why She’s Endorsing Joe Biden
Delegate Elizabeth Guzmán, who formerly served as a co-chair of Senator Bernie Sanders’ campaign in Virginia and represents Virginia's 31st District in the Virginia House of Delegates, penned an op-ed in today’s Fauquier Times on why she’s endorsing Joe Biden for President and encouraging her fellow Virginians to do the same.
Fauquier Times: Yes, I supported Bernie Sanders. Here’s why I’m endorsing Joe Biden.
[Elizabeth Guzmán, 4/19/20]
You’ve heard this time and time again, but it bears repeating: This is the most important election of our lifetime.
As I write this, Virginians all over our state are staying home, hoping to avoid the COVID-19 pandemic that has already taken too many lives due, in part, to the failure of our president to act.
Americans suffering from cancer or diabetes -- not to mention coronavirus -- are worried that the president might succeed in taking away their access to health care.
And while schoolchildren are terrified that their school will be the next to be ravaged by gun violence, the president is cozying up to the NRA and allowing common sense gun safety legislation to gather dust on the shelf.
It’s no secret that I supported Sen. Bernie Sanders throughout the Democratic primary -- I was proud to be one of his Virginia co-chairs. In a field rich with candidates and ideas, I personally found Sen. Sanders’s vision for America to be the boldest for the working class.
Campaigning for Sen. Sanders in Virginia, I saw the enthusiasm of young people, old people, white people, brown people -- hordes of Virginians who were getting up and taking action to make this country a fairer, more equitable place for all Americans.
To all these people, I say this: Please do not lose that enthusiasm. It’s now time to turn that enthusiasm into action for the real goal at hand -- defeating Donald Trump seven short months from now in November. Joe Biden has been chosen as the Democratic nominee and we need to rally behind him to end the disastrous Trump presidency.
Though Sanders and Biden may disagree on certain tactics, they share the same goals: shaping a just America where everyone has access to health care and a quality education. An America where reproductive rights aren’t up for debate. An America where diversity is celebrated, not demonized. An America that rewards work, not just wealth. And an America that says corporate greed should not be above the interests of blue collar workers.
Biden has spent his entire professional career serving our nation in both the legislature and the executive branches. He has proven himself as a fighter to save America.
Biden wrote and passed the landmark Violence Against Women Act, which, to this day, protects survivors of abuse across the country. He wrote and shepherded the historic 1994 Assault Weapons Ban through Congress. As vice president, he was instrumental in passing the Affordable Care Act, which expanded health care to tens of millions of Americans and is currently protecting Americans with pre-existing conditions, young people under age 26, and so many more.
Once elected, Biden will fight to protect and build on the Affordable Care Act, expanding health care access to countless more Americans through a public option. He will build a global coalition to combat climate change, make historic investments in the green economy of our future, and reduce our reliance on dirty fossil fuels. He will dramatically lighten the burden of student debt that’s currently overwhelming students all across Virginia and the country. And, along with his diverse cabinet, he will fight for Latinas like myself, for undocumented people, for minority communities, and for vulnerable populations that have been tragically -- and often purposefully -- neglected during the Trump presidency.
I am proud to join Team Biden, and I implore my supporters to do the same.
Donald Trump doesn’t want you to support Joe Biden. He wants you to stay home. He wants you to lose your enthusiasm. Make no mistake, to sit out this general election is to help re-elect Donald Trump.
As Democrats, I know we are not going to allow that to happen. I will do what is needed to help get Joe Biden elected because we all have one common goal: to beat Donald Trump and elect a Democratic President in November.
Join me in supporting Joe Biden as our next president. Si se puede. Now let’s get to work.
