 |
| Abrams |
The polls show Biden winning big.
Trump hasn't really gone to work yet making voters want to hold their noses. It's coming: "Sleepy Joe."
Joe Biden is Beta.
Biden may well be elected president. He is popular compared to Trump because Trump is currently unpopular. Biden has a brand--good, old, decent Joe. By election day voters will think that Biden is corrupt, mentally infirm, a racist, a rapist, a plagiarist, a socialist, and dying. Especially that: Biden is an old 76.
And one more thing. Joe seems less like a leader than a legislator. He is "beta." Joe, the great helper. The guy who helps the leader get things done.
Pundits say the VP choice never really matters, but this time it does. Trump will succeed in having every potential-Biden voter do what I did at each of the events where I saw him up close. I looked to see just how infirm he was. Because I was looking for it, I found something to worry about. He's not doddering, but not exactly strong, either. Trump will make sure everyone else looks for frailty, and finds it. There is no good choice for VP. Trump's campaign will find whoever he chooses disgusting, corrupt, terrible. That is inevitable, so it frees Biden to do what he wants.
What if Biden picked Stacey Abrams? She is noteworthy for being ambitious and forceful. Pushy. Forthright. Smart. Liberal but not crazy. Most important, she comes across as alpha. She gives energy and a sense of forward progress to the ticket.
I consider her a plausible pick.
Thad Guyer goes one step further. What do alpha people do? They take charge. And more than that. Take over. People say that Biden may be picking the first female president. Guyer says that should take place sooner rather than later.
Guyer is sheltering in Florida for the duration of the virus. He is an attorney who represents whistleblower employees.
Guest Post by Thad Guyer
 |
| Thad Guyer |
"If you want to do something about the pandemic and racial inequality or honor George Floyd, then you not only must vote against Trump, but you have to get Biden out. The last thing Democrats need to be showing to the sick and oppressed people of color is that we Democrats think Joe Biden is the best we can do for taking a stand. It is embarrassing!
Stacey Abrams is in a position to force Joe Biden to select her as the VP and thereby as the likely first black woman president not long there after. She should do it.
It is hard to believe there could be a candidate more boring and Caucasian then George Bush, but Biden wins that dubious distinction hands-down. And not just because Bush has Hispanics in his family. Condoleza Rice was already a close friend and confidant of the Bush family since the 80s long before being Secretary of State. Bush was known for that close relationship to the point of jokes that they acted as husband and wife. Biden has no visible close black or Hispanic friends, just political alliances. As the New York Times warned today: "Democrats Worry About the Whiteness of Biden's Inner Circle". (NYT June 5, 2020).
Stacey Abrams has been so forward in seeking the VP nomination that she is criticized as "campaigning" for the spot. She attracts not just media attention but adoration and inspiration. Were she to publicly demand that Biden name her as the VP it would be viewed as a brash but heroic display of leadership and racially equality for Biden's boring and lackluster campaign. Were she to do it tomorrow, protestors already in the streets would loudly embrace it.
From the start Biden has telegraphed a limited physical shelf-life in suggesting he would only keep the position for one term and carry a woman over the finish line for the presidency. In fact many Democrats worry he might not even make it to the election to deliver on the nomination prerequisite for that "great white hope" sounding promise.
If she hasn't done so already, Stacy Abrams should give Joe Biden the fait compli that she will be his running mate. He is a mere placeholder for racial and gender progress. If he refuses or dithers, she should take it from him and ironically speak to America from the symbolic top of the ticket. Joe Biden can't be the best we can do for people of color in the year of the pandemic and racial justice upheaval."
3 comments:
This is exactly my point. Biden should announce the VP pick now, stop all the speculation and handicapping, and get on with the frickin' campaign.
Because of Biden's "limited shelf life", people will also be looking at the qualifications of the VP to take over if somehow Joe falters.
I love Stacey Abrams, but polls have showed Liz Warren as a favorite, due to her ability to step into the office if necessary. I know the arguments against leaving her seat to the republican governor. I think the risk is worth it. Also, Joe is not now hurting for the black vote, regardless of who he picks for VP.
If I were advising Trump, I'd recommend he name Nikki Haley his VP choice right now because "Pence needs to manage America's return to a great economy" or some such thing. And then I'd get her going on the campaign. This move would create all kinds of consternation among Democrats. So, because of those thoughts, Rick is totally correct: Biden, get going on your pick and proceed!"
Post a Comment