Are Democrats turning on Biden because of age or VP Kamala Harris becoming the president?
Are Democrats turning on Biden because of age or VP Kamala Harris becoming the president?
Journalist Roland Martin gives his take on why Democrats don't want VP Kamala Harris as the incumbent president
Update on July 21: President Joe Biden backs Vice President Kamala Harris as the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee. Although I feel a way about the Democrats who all seem to forget there’s only a three-year difference between Trump and Biden, along with them appearing to bully him out of his nomination, I hope Biden quit on his own terms — or coronavirus being a worldwide Hater in Chief. Regardless of my views on how he came to this decision, all of my plans are canceled the millisecond my 2016 wish comes true and Harris debates Trump!
Recommended Read: “Kamala Harris smashes fundraising record with stunning $81 million haul over 24 hours”
ORIGINAL POST: July 18, 2024
A couple of years ago, I was in an ongoing fued with four homeowners in my condo association. Those four homeowners were so fed up with me as the condo association president that they held a secret meeting to have me removed.
The problem is they held a condo board meeting without following the bylaws — and didn’t invite me to the meeting nor tell me the location, a requirement before you can oust someone. They also had no meeting minutes, so there was no proof of a quorum. A law firm got involved, which informed these four that they could not legally remove me. Election time came around, I had no interest in running again but was talked into putting my name on the ballot again, and I lost fair and square.
Losing a volunteer role is not something to crawl into the fetal position about. I shrugged my shoulders and went about my life. Two years later, two of the four secret-meeting holders asked me personally to return to the board during the next election. Three other owners privately pulled me to the side and also insisted I rejoin — two of which consistently voted for me while the other one claimed he “forgot” who he voted for. Even in a basement full of owners, in which I was asked to rejoin again by a sixth owner, I’d wiped my hands of the entire experience. I gazed off at the ceiling until a new board was confirmed. In Janet Jackson’s voice, “You don’t know what you got ‘til it’s gone.”
I felt that way when former President Barack H. Obama served his two four-year terms, and I’ll definitely feel that way if current President Joe Biden loses the 2024 presidential election. Regardless of the popular vote, Americans didn’t get to see what Hillary Clinton had to offer as commander in chief. (Reminder: African-Americans were the largest group to vote for Clinton, with an 89% total and 94% of which were African-American women. We knew what 2016-20 would become.)
Recommended Read: “48 hours after Biden wins, black women get shunned — again ~ Eva Longoria, know your stats before you dismiss black women”
Although Biden won 90% of the vote among African-American women and 79% of African-American men in 2020, it didn’t seem like former presidential running mate (and now Vice President) Kamala Harris could pull off these stats among any group if she’d been the final candidate on the presidential ballot instead of him. With more than 20,000 supporters in Oakland, California at her first campaign, and consistently large crowds in Iowa and South Carolina, she did pretty well at first but her poll numbers started dwindling early. Still, Biden tapped her as the VP so she still came along for this wild ride at the White House.
Amendment 25: In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
-Source: Cornell Law School
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Fast forward four years. As the current vice president, if something were to happen to Biden (other than coronavirus rearing its ugly head again), she’d become the incumbent president. And people tend to stay with an incumbent president, according to NPR.
"Incumbents have the following advantages," said Allan Lichtman, a presidential historian at American University, to NPR. "Name recognition; national attention, fundraising and campaign bases; control over the instruments of government; successful campaign experience; a presumption of success; and voters' inertia and risk-aversion."
I can see why Republicans don’t want Harris to become the incumbent president. As far as I’m aware, none of them are exactly cheerleaders for her. But it’s the tone of Democrats who are largely dismissing her that bothers me. It reminds me way too much of the tactics used for that “secret owner meeting” I dealt with.
Fun fact: There was one person complaining that I may have a “mental health condition,” so I really had something in common with Biden. Apparently, when I was re-asked to join the board, my “mental health condition” must’ve repaired itself — no psychology appointment needed. And the person who said I had a “mental health condition” is currently being sued by another condo association that has a restraining order against him. Karma wins!
Recommended Read ~ Amazon
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What’s up with Dems opposing other Dems?
There are a horrendous amount of mainstream news outlets salivating over this clickbait momentum about Biden’s health. It’s even more frustrating than all those “Clinton email” articles I had to edit during my newsroom days. There are a select few Democrats (and some celebrities I don’t care enough about to name-check) who are absolutely obsessed with kicking Biden out of the race. They’re blaming it on Biden’s age, then switching to undiagnosed mental and physical “health” conditions, then it’s him not being world’s best orator on a debate stage.
It’s hard to ignore the fact that they don’t just want Biden out; they want Harris out too. He’s 81; she’s 59. She has no notable “health” conditions they could complain about, not even that mediocre diabetes argument that a few are using in regard to Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
Recommended Read: “Stop telling Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to retire ~ Short-term memories have voters blaming Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg instead of 11-month GOP block against Merrick Garland”
So what’s their bone to pick with leaving Biden on the Democratic presidential ticket (the deadline for another candidate to join has passed, folks) and allowing Harris to become the incumbent president if something happens to him? Journalist Roland Martin has his own ideas. Check them out.
After watching these two videos, what do you think? Is it really that certain Democrats want someone new in 2028? Or, is their real issue that they just don’t like Harris and are trying everything possible to make sure she does not become the incumbent president?
Did you enjoy this post? You’re also welcome to check out my Substack columns “Black Girl In a Doggone World,” “BlackTechLogy,” “Homegrown Tales,” “I Do See Color,” “One Black Woman’s Vote,” “Tickled,” “We Need To Talk” and “Window Shopping” too. Subscribe to this newsletter for the weekly posts every Wednesday.
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