This #HouseDivided should be #HouseUnited — BidenHarris2020
As we inch closer to Vice-President Biden’s selection and announcement of his vice-presidential running-mate, many rumors and guesses have greatly narrowed the list down to only a few candidates. The problem is that rather than speaking positively about or in support of one or all of the possible contenders, there have been a few ad hoc groups (all who are active Democrats) who are negatively pleading that one of the contenders not be selected, Senator Kamala Harris. That’s crap.
Without calling these groups of individuals out by name and without speaking negatively about certain members on the possibility list, as a Biden supporter, delegate, national endorser, and both a national finance and state steering committee member, I WILL SUPPORT whoever #TeamJoe selects and will fight like hell to help them win. And when we’re battling against a mad man who daily tells lies, makes things up as he goes, doesn’t believe in science and neglects to respect the serious nature of this pandemic, doesn’t think our elections should take place in November, doesn’t think there should be immigration or international diplomacy/relationships unless its with dictators or authoritarians, doesn’t believe in government backed school loans, doesn’t believe in the Affordable Care Act, continuously race-bates and ignites cultural insensitivity, and the list goes on, we MUST stick together and not discredit any possible contenders. That said, it’s perfectly fine to promote a candidate that you prefer.
As such, I think the best chance Democrats have to win is with a #BidenHarris ticket. Put simply, they compliment each other. So, let me quickly discredit some of the “concerns” the above-mentioned people have voiced — my strong belief and hope is that their “noise” has not clouded the judgement of the selection committee.
(1) Prior comments. I do not care that during the primary election there were negative words or statements exchanged amongst competitors during a debate(s) or in a sound bite that the media and other side inflated. Get over it. That’s part of a competition. That happens in every primary. And honestly, who’s still standing and will be the presumptive presidential nominee. Give it up.
(2) Inexperienced at the national level. Yes, Senator Harris has only been in the Senate for a short period of time and as a result may not be as well informed as others with more experience, but who cares when the top of the ticket has served in the Senate — including in leadership roles — as long as I’ve been alive and has served two-terms as Vice-President. In fact, maybe her still being in her first term is a good thing.
(3) Law enforcement background. Yes, Senator Harris was a prosecutor, district attorney, and a state’s Attorney General. As a fellow man of color and legally trained, I guess I can maybe understand — not agree — how those who have been impacted by the criminal justice system could think this is a turn-off. I get it, but in reality we need our fellow people of color to serve in these roles as they have similar or shared life experiences. Now if you were to say that her past work experience or positions contributed to the disenfranchisement and disinvestment of our community, then I’d agree. But that’s not the case. In fact, with so many men, and white men for that matter, serving in the same roles around the country, we should be able to agree that at a minimum, she did a very good job as a woman of color balancing her role in protecting society from bad actors while also advocating for job training programs over jail time and training programs for law enforcement. Criminal justice reform MUST take place as the criminal justice system as perpetuated institutional and systemic racism. Who better to take this head on than a woman of color?
(4) Other roles. Yes, if she stayed in the Senate she would continue to do a great job and could help lead much needed change. That’s true, but there’s other members that can fill that void and upon her vacancy, unless there’s a fluke another Democrat will represent CA. Yes, Senator Harris would do a fantastic job serving as our country’s Attorney General. That’s also true, but Democrats have to win the presidency first before they can think about cabinet members . Yes, Senator Harris would do a great job on the Supreme Court when a seat opened and would be our nation’s first black female Justice. That’s true too, and the powerful impact held by SCOTUS lasts generations, but again, Democrats have to win first and that should be the priority. This is a great example of why she should be the Vice-Presidential nominee because of her experience and versatility in serving. A vice-president should be able to do a variety of things and help balance and navigate a multitude of issues. Recognizing the need for these key positions to be filled by people of color, there are MANY other qualified people of color in this country that would do a great job in these roles. At a time when our country is teetering on a collapse of society, the role of the vice-president is that much more important.
(5) Not progressive “enough”. Honestly, I don’t want to get started on this because in my opinion it’s foolish. What’s considered “enough”? What one person deems progressive can be opposite to another. If anything, the party and its platform has overall become more progressive thanks to the likes of a multitude of citizens and numerous members of congress including, but not limited to Senators Sanders and Warren, and Representative Ocasio-Cortez. As such, we Democrats should not have intra-party fighting on who and/or what is progressive “enough” when the other side of the aisle generally thinks all Democrats and their issues are progressive. More importantly, we should put single issue matters aside and collectively unite against the incumbent. So, we, and I especially, do not care if my fellow Democrats think we should select a candidate because they individually think one possible candidate is more progressive than the other.
In all, to win we need a true compliment to Vice-President Biden. We need a woman of color who brings in new voters, including rallying and energizing our younger generations. We need a woman of color that can relate to and connect with both urban and suburban women. We need a woman of color who shares our lived experiences. We need a woman of color who has been tested in various roles in multiple levels of government. We need a woman of color who has successfully ran for public office. We need a woman of color who has the national policy chops and debate skills to take on the opponent. We need a woman of color that has the ability to criss-cross demographics. That woman, is Senator Kamala Harris.
