What if Democrats really wanted Kamala Harris all along, but didn't realize it until now?
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| Harris, speaking to 500 in New Hampshire |
A Guest Post today suggests just that: Dump Biden, replace him with Kamala Harris, and let's have a forward-looking Democratic Party.
Joe Biden won the nomination because with over twenty well qualified candidates, no one stood out, least of all Biden, the best known. He was "Old Fashioned Vanilla" in an ice cream display case filled with "French Vanilla," "Vanilla Cream," "Chocolate and Vanilla Swirl." There were too many good choices, generally sharing his Democratic vanilla politics, but newer.
The new candidates muddled the choices, wore each other out, and ran out of money. By the time the election got to South Carolina local leadership made a recommendation to go with "Old Fashioned Vanilla Biden." Biden won big.
That cleared the field for a showdown with the other big alternative flavor, Bernie Sanders' "Democratic Socialism Pepper." To the dismay of Bernie Sanders' supporters, the American public was not, after all, filled with voters waiting on the sidelines to expand the electorate and vote for "Democratic Socialism." Sander's had not sold his case beyond a base of young, white, college town and coastal progressives. His movement condemned heretics; it didn't add allies. Sanders frightened a majority of Democratic voters, so they chose the safer and familiar flavor, Biden.
Then many got buyer's remorse. Polls showed Trump's voters were enthusiastic about him,, while Biden's voters were only enthusiastic about replacing Trump. Biden was old fashioned, indeed, very 20th century. Many Democrats worry that he will be an easy target for Trump. Many Democrats have a deeper worry: that Biden is actually the wrong person for the job ahead.
The process that got us Biden was happenstance. Why not another process, put into place now, one that gives the country what it actually needs?
Thad Guyer is an attorney who represents whistle blowing employees. Like me, in the fall of 2016, against all consensus, he predicted Trump would win. His prediction was based on past electoral data. Readers may be surprised by his proposal, but those who dismiss Guyer do so at the risk of ignoring a track record of being right, against the consensus.
[Speaking for myself, I am satisfied that Biden is a "transitional" figure, president for a while. America needs a time out from the Trump era of high drama. We need to re-establish the credibility of our political norms and institutions, including the institution of how we elect a president. But then I would hope Biden would step away gracefully.]
Guest Post by Thad Guyer
“Step 1 of Offload Biden is Done and Done!
As I have argued before, it is unacceptable that a feeble old white man put into the position as our presumptive nominee by institutional racism, should be the officially selected nominee of the Democratic Party. The process that swept aside all the women and people of color as not being as “electable” as good old white Joe was inherently a racist and sexist process. That process was implicitly based on the cry that “blacks and women aren’t electable, only a senile old white man is”. This is utterly disgusting, disheartening and racist reasoning at this juncture of history in 2020.
Tuesday August 11, 2020 should be recorded as a historic day, and mark the first step toward removing Joe Biden from the ticket. Forcing him, squeezing him, threatening him to name a black woman as VP was step one. Yes, step 1 is done and done! On to step 2, which is replacing Biden with Kamala Harris, and then to step 3, selecting the female vice presidential nominee of Senator’s Harris’ choice. Elizabeth Warren will be the likely pick.
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| August, 2019. Not young. |
Biden is not yet the nominee, we have not even had the convention, so offloading Biden is entirely possible and completely necessary as a matter of urgent racial and social justice. Indeed, we are not going to have anything like a “convention”, so there will not be that hard to break dynamic of face-to-face deal making, horse trading in hotel rooms, and unholy promises by and for the institutionalized political class. It will be a Zoom process, virtual and virtuous. Under the rules of regular order of the Democratic Party, if Biden does not get the nomination on the first vote, all delegates are released and can vote how they want. Under the Covid 19 pandemic rules in the face of the national emergency of Trump getting reelected, and a country convulsing on white supremacy, the rules of regular order, those rules of systemic racism, well, they must be discarded. Biden should be rejected on the first vote, and Senator Harris should be selected on the second vote.
Let’s break the grip of institutional racism within our party. Offload Biden now!"
7 comments:
I disagree. Biden represents normal, and if there's anything people want right now, it's going back to normal. Harris represents the progressive future. Let her run in 4 years when people get used to the idea of a black woman in command. It's a winning formula. In fact, it's the only winning formula.
If Harris is nominated for president at the convention, she will lose. It's too early for that. Let Biden run a campaign on "back to normal" and he will sweep the election. Then Harris can slide in later on her own merits.
Isn’t vanilla the most popular flavor? Biden is the safe choice and safe is what is needed in contrast to bombastic Trump. Biden may not outlive his four year term so Harris might become the president by default. I’m guessing the American public will be voting with that possibility in mind. They certainly did with Sarah Palin as possible president. Moderate sounds good to me even though I support democratic socialism. You know, health care for all Americans. Maybe with a democratic landslide that might happen health care for all Americans becomes possible. Harris makes that landslide more likely.
Democrats.....PLEASE dump Biden and select Harris and Warren as your ticket. They'd be lucky to get 40% of the vote. Kamala Harris is one of the most hateful, toxic, and opportunistic politicians in America, and once the voters get to know her, then they'll hate her. She is one evil, nasty woman. Harris has lousy polling numbers in California, and she came in 10th place in the democratic primaries. Thad Guyer (who I respect) says that the Dems should eliminate systematic racism. Isn't it blatantly racist and sexist to choose a candidate based solely upon their gender and race? That's what the Dems just did with Harris. She wouldn't have been selected if she weren't black. Race counts and competency doesn't.
IMHO....the Dems would do better in an election with Biden at the top of the ticket than Harris. Harris will get destroyed. She's an empty suit on the wrong side of most issues. She wants Unlimited H1B visa for East Indians, The Green New Deal, and open borders. That won't fly with the voters.
Ha! Ha! Ha!
Anyway....
Looking back on the Democratic primary it seems to me that it boiled down to two dynamics: 1. Bernie and 2. not a woman. For various reasons none of the other men were acceptable and the VP filled the void.
Unfortunately, his candidacy excited no one. I had to dissuade my own family members from voting third party. Hopefully, Sen. Harris will help with disaffected younger voters and Democrats will squeak through, but I don't see a landslide, at least not yet.
What Thad is missing is that Biden was chosen by black voters, who had their chance to pick Harris and instead went in a different direction.
Well, I have to agree the establishment Dems are all about identity politics...let's just focus on shiny objects race and women by all means, corporate media. Whatever you do...don't talk about systemic POVERTY, racism's sibling, or the predatory capitalism that is on steroids during a PANDEMIC! Don't talk about how the "professional class" is really more qualified to run the show, as they blatantly and arrogantly will display at the convention, than the common folk, the "rabble"...that would be...well...too populist, too democratic.
Look at the establishment, old, tired, neoliberal line up leading off the convention; they've even invited Kasisch, for cryin' out loud.
Andy Seles
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