It’s not who; it’s what

In most weeks, our practice is to devote the commentaries on this page to local, regional and state issues and concerns, leaving national and international affairs to the multitude of commentators you find elsewhere.

But every now and then, certain national events touch all of us in a way that compels us to address those national issues that are consuming everyone’s conversations — at dinner tables, in restaurants, on golf courses, etc. This is one of those times.

For instance, we’re publishing the Sept. 9 commentary of renowned national economist and commentator Walter Williams on the subject of discrimination against people who are black. It provides great context for all that we’re watching and hearing about alleged “systemic racism.” His is a firsthand and factual perspective you are not likely to read or hear from other media.

Likewise, as we approach the Nov. 3 elections, we’ll attempt over the next few weeks to provide information you might not otherwise read or hear with an eye toward educating and coaxing readers to think about the choices they will make on their ballots.

In that vein, let’s start with the 110-page “Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force Recommendations.” This is the Democratic Party’s agenda if Joe Biden wins the presidency and the Democratic Party controls both houses of Congress.

Every voter should read this.

But beyond reading it, every voter should try to envision the totality — the overall picture — of what the Democrats want to force on all Americans. Think also, if all of this dream list is enacted, of the consequences on you, your freedoms, your family, your business, the national economy and the nation at large.

You have likely heard or read of the Biden-Sanders agenda before. It addresses six areas: the climate (“pursuing environmental justice”); criminal justice reforms; “building a stronger, fairer economy”; “providing a world-class education”; “achieving universal, affordable, quality health care”; and “creating a 21st century immigration system.”

The details in each one of these recommendations are what matters. And knowing what we all know about Bernie Sanders, the themes of the “Biden-Sanders Unity” vision for Americans is to expand exponentially the size of the federal government and, most ominously, the control and power of the federal government over all of us.

Not surprisingly, the party’s recommendations make no mention at the cost or how they will be financed. Who, for instance, will eat the cost of forgiving “all undergraduate tuition-related federal student debt”? Who’s going to pay for the installation of “500 million solar panels” and 60,000 wind turbines?

And how about this one: “Democrats will also make available on the marketplace a platinum-level, federally administered health insurance option with low fees and no deductibles, so that everyone will have access to this high-quality, low-cost plan. Low-income Americans will be automatically enrolled … at zero cost to them.”

Equally noticeable is the lack of any mention of the bedrock values and principles of liberty, individual freedom and free enterprise. You cannot find the words “freedom” or “liberty” anywhere in the recommendations. It is obvious the Democratic Party platform abhors capitalism and free enterprise.

When you read through this entire platform, if you embrace the Founders’ vision of a limited government, the Democratic Party’s agenda and what it would mean should alarm you. It should trigger in your mind that this election is not about for whom you are voting. It’s about for what you are voting and why. Clearly, the Biden-Sanders agenda is to expand the power of the federal government to control you and take away your liberty.