Cooler Heads!

Let me begin by saying that Joe Biden is a man I admire, both for the way he lives his life and the way he has served his nation over the many decades. Politics in America has become an increasingly dirty and downright dangerous affair, and I have no scales on my eyes about what might have had to be done under his leadership. He is not a perfect man by any means, nor is he a perfect President, but his fundamental goodness is evident, if only one is willing to see it. He is not an angel. But the other side offers us a demon. 

Now Joe has withdrawn and has thrown his support to Vice President Kamala Harris. If this choice had to be made then, this is the only really acceptable way in my mind.  I have endorsed her candidacy officially. My fury at the Democratic Party for abandoning the President has cooled, though the facts of the betrayal seem all too evident. Politics is hardball and Joe has been a player long enough to understand the game. In my loyalty to Joe, I pledged to leave the Party if they shoved him aside. They did. I'm not. Here's why. 

To leave the Party now is to send the message that a black woman is an unacceptable candidate to me. That is hardly the case. I applaud that choice and will vote for her and her running mate at the earliest opportunity. When I cast that vote, I will wish I had one last chance to vote for Joe Biden, but I'll take solace in that I'm voting for his choice for President. I'm staying a Democrat, because that's what I think Joe Biden would want me to do. I won't abandon Joe. 

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Passing The Torch!

It seems I might have a new date for the prom this year. President Joe Biden has bowed to the pressure from his own party and stepped down as a candidate for re-election. He has passed his torch to his VP Kamala Harris. Let there be no doubt, I will vote for Kamala Harris. 

But will my former party? 

The Democrats now have an open convention coming up. With Biden standing down, there is no one who can formally claim the title until the convention decides to confer it. Technically neither could Biden, but he was the presumptive nominee with more than enough committed delegates to lock the nomination. Kamala's campaign claims to have more than enough. She has abundant and enthusiastic endorsements. But as I understand it anyone who can gather three hundred delegates can lay claim to the nomination. They won't win it in all likelihood, but they can run.

If perchance Kamala's poll numbers dip lower than Joe's will the party once again call for the candidate to step down? Doubtful in the extreme, but there will be voices who will still ring out. Having sacked the only politician who has defeated the other side, the Dems are left with choosing to support the first black woman for President. They must, to almost quote Lady Macbeth, "screw their courage to the sticking place". 

I'm all for it. 

But the United States is still a nation racked by racism, and the juice which gives life to the terror on the other side has a Democratic face as well. Will that face, that outdated and feckless face show itself now that there is an opportunity. In passing the torch in this unprecedented way, have the Dems allowed the same fire that consumed the Republican Party to perhaps spread to their side. 

And then there's the simple fact she's a woman. The United States is one of the few Western states not to have been led by a woman at some time. It a shameful fact we need to put behind us. Women in the U.S. have already had some rights sheared away by the noxious Supreme Court. Could Kamala be their retribution? 

Is Kamala Harris the powerful black woman who can claim the candidacy and control the convention and move forward with the gusto needed to win the day against the Fascist forces arrayed on the other side? 

I sincerely hope so. 

Maybe sooner than later I will sincerely believe so. 

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