Posted on 10/23/2020 8:07:11 AM PDT by impimp
I know you dont want to hear this from me. And I guarantee I dont want to say it. But we are facing an unprecedented attack on the foundations of democracy itself. If you are a US citizen, anything less than a vote for Biden is a vote against democracy.
Thats right, Im saying a vote for Trump, a vote for a third-party candidate, or simply not voting at all -- theyre all the same, and they all mean:
I care more about my favorite issue than democracy. I believe Trump winning is more important than democracy. I am comfortable standing aside and allowing democracy to be methodically dismantled, in plain sight.
If the polls are accurate, theres a roughly 50% chance that you agree Trump needs to go. You know what to do: show up on November 3rd and vote for Biden. Or even better, dont wait until then: vote today. Go to Vote.org if you need help figuring out how.
The rest of this email is intended to address the concerns of those who disagree, and Ill try to take the most likely questions in turn:
Q: Why do you care so much about democracy?
Democracy is core to our business success, in a variety of ways. Internally, we are a famously flat organization -- nobody reports to anyone else, and advancement is the result of meeting well defined criteria as judged by the vote of those who have already advanced. How we compensate each other is left up to a team vote as well. Even our external business model depends on individual employees electing to adopt Expensify as individuals, and then campaigning internally to get it adopted companywide. At every layer, democracy is our core competitive advantage -- both as a company, and as a nation. But that advantage is only as strong as the clarity of our rules and the fairness of their application. Any attempt to disrupt the rules or apply them unfairly is a direct threat to the strength of our company, and the strength of our nation.
Q: What gives you the right to tell me what to do?
The first amendment. To be clear, you dont need to listen. But the first amendment exists to encourage people like you and me to find some way to talk about the issues that matter, set aside our differences, and find a common ground on which to collectively govern 331 million citizens. Yes democratic self-rule can be inconvenient. But a burden of democracy is that this is literally our job, so Im asking all of us to take it seriously.
Q: But youre a company, shouldnt you remain neutral?
Expensify depends on a functioning society and economy; not many expense reports get filed during a civil war. As CEO of this business, its my job to plot a course through any storm -- and all evidence suggests that another 4 (or as Trump has hinted -- 8, or more?) years of Trump leadership will damage our democracy to such an extent, Im obligated on behalf of shareholders to take any action I can to avoid it. I am confident our democracy (and Expensify) can survive a Biden presidency. I cant say the same about Trump. Its truly as simple as that.
Q: Dont you think youre exaggerating a bit?
I truly wish I was. I wouldnt be sending this email if this election were just about normal issues -- taxes, legislative priorities, healthcare, etc. But it isnt. This election is a referendum on what limits, if any, we place on our elected leaders to govern us in a fair and representative way. This election will decide if widespread voter suppression is an acceptable governing tactic.
Q: Doesnt everyone suppress votes?
Not like Trump. This is the most heavily litigated election in history, with over 300 lawsuits rushing through the courts before election day. And in every case, Biden is pushing to enable voters while Trump is pushing to suppress them. The trend couldnt be more clear: Biden wants democracy, Trump does not. A vote for Trump is to endorse voter suppression, it really is very basic. This isnt about party politics: if Biden were advocating for half of the voter suppression that Trump is actively doing, then I'd be fighting against Biden, too. This is bigger than politics as usual: this is about the very foundation of our nation.
Q: Isnt Trump just trying to prevent voter fraud?
Voter fraud is virtually nonexistent, as overwhelmingly shown by data showcased by the White House itself. That data comes from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank counting every single known case of voter fraud since 1948, which adds up to only 1,290 distinct votes over 78 years. In 2016 alone there were 138 million votes. There is just no credible argument that voter fraud is significant, even based on Trumps own data.
Q: Isnt Biden just using more widespread voting to get elected?
Absolutely. This is the heart of the issue. Biden believes that enabling more people to vote will help him win. Biden wins by promoting democracy; Trump wins by suppressing it. A vote for Biden is a vote for democracy.
Q: So what if Trump gets elected by voter suppression, alls fair right?
Well thats what were going to decide, on November 3rd. Do you want your elected official to win based on the merits of their ideas? Or based on the ruthlessness of their voter suppression? And if youre ok with just a little suppression -- where do you draw the line?
Q: Why send me this when the polls say Biden is going to win?
The polls said Trump was going to lose last time, and he didnt. But even if the polls can be trusted, that might still not be enough. Trump has stated repeatedly he will only honor an election that he personally feels is fair. So much depending on his personal judgement is worrying, because he has rejected the overwhelming expert consensus that voter fraud has been negligible historically, and has also said he believes it would be impossible to lose a fair election. Accordingly, the only way to ensure a peaceful transition of power is to ensure this election is an overwhelming, undeniable landslide in favor of Biden. Any excuse to question the election is an opportunity for Trump to refuse to leave the White House, plunging this country into a Constitutional crisis bordering on civil war. No matter how slight that risk might be, the consequences of it happening would be so catastrophic to society and the economy, we need to do all we can to prevent it.
So one final plea. As a fellow citizen, I fully support and respect your Constitutional right to disagree -- and as an avid supporter of democracy, I value that disagreement. Constructive, well-informed debate (hopefully using the most accurate, least biased news source available) is what makes this nation so exceptional.
But the Constitution is only as strong as the respect we give it. Im asking you to cherish it close to your heart, and demand that those you elect do the same.
-david Founder and CEO of Expensify
PS: Agree or disagree? Reply to this email to share your thoughts with Concierge, or hit me up on Twitter @dbarrett to discuss!
PPS: Want to do even more? Support the National Popular Vote to make every vote count equally toward the presidential election, even if you arent in one of the 12 states deciding this election.
PPPS: Are you annoyed that you received this as a non-US citizen? If you're lucky enough to live in a democracy, then I'd encourage you to protect it and be willing to do uncomfortable things -- like emailing millions of customers -- to defend it.
Sent by: Expensify, Inc. - 548 Market St #61434 - San Francisco, CA 94103 To unsubscribe, please click here
Never heard of it
Just another reason to hope for the big one in San Francisco.
I saw the tool’s Jerry McGuire moment email. They know their guy sh*t the bed in the debate and really lost the election last night. I just exported all my transactions and am looking for an alternative. I canceled my account.
I just heard that one of their customer has dropped them, because of this email.
There is a bit of sophistry in his screed.
And we get tired of saying, but bears repeating, that we are not a democracy. We are a constitutional republic.
I’d like to drink some of his tasty tears of despair on the evening of Nov 3...
Except we are a republic. A democracy is two foxes and one chicken voting on whats for lunch. Our founders were brilliant in forming a constitutional republic. Too bad our education powers dumb down the population so much
The American rich incorrectly think they are immune from federal wealth taxation but can be enriched further by federal income taxation inherently mainly paid by the middle class.
All of my team received it. I sold the company, so the decision on this is not mine, but I forwarded to our CEO along with a note about how wrong this is, no matter who you support, how I would lose half my customer base if I sent something like this, how no supplier should send this to my team, and a list of alternatives. He’s pissed. We’re likely going to get a change. Yes!
Sending this email was a very stupid, arrogant business move. It was probably made drunk or high in the aftermath of Biden’s horrible debate performance. Frankly, if I was one of the VCs that owns them, I’d fire Garrett.
Sounds to me like he has his pink pussy hat on too tight.
CEO? I don’t know what the company is, but my reply?
NUTS!
Not going to happen here. I’m a broken glass Republican, not impressed with the term “democracy”.
And The #ComDems can pound sand.
I’ll vote early walk-in next week. (I will be working the polls on election day.)
End Trans
I don’t know what Expensify does, but he effectively alienated half his potential customers.
I used Expensify as a tool for handling my expenses - take a photo of your receipts and it bundles them all together into a single PDF at the end of the week. It does more, but I don’t use any of those features.
You may notice that I described my interaction with Expensify in the past tense. That’s because I received the same email this morning and immediately cancelled my subscription.
They have every right to get up on their soapbox. I have every right to choose with whom I do business.
This idiot sends an email telling people in order to save our democracy you need to vote for Biden. When did the United States switch from a constitutional republic to a democracy?
Issue is that I am lazy and I lack problem solving ability when it comes to stuff like this. This is making it difficult for me to end my subscription. How do you do it?
+1 - I just voted with my checkbook.
They are also big supporters of Black Lives Matter.
What an idiot this CEO is. I mean colossal FFA blue ribbon certified imbecile. The relentless trolling and epic revenue loss. I expect the “I was hacked” story.
Log into your account (I did it from my laptop instead of my phone app) - go to account settings and cancel your subscription. It was easy.
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