After an many months, weeks, days, and hours of speculation, Joe Biden finally picked his running mate: Kamala Harris!
What’s that you ask? How do I feel about it? Whelmed, I guess. Not over, not under, just ok. I feel like this during every election season. (Gawd, why is the election process so long in this country?)
Anyway, it was kind of a given. When she dropped out of the race, there were already rumblings that she would be his running mate. I don’t hate it, and I am definitely voting for them (more on that in the later days) but I’ve always been a Warren (Elizabeth) gal, so a small part of me is disappointed that she wasn’t picked, but the rest of me is happy he chose a younger person of color. First in history as VP candidate. I’ll take it, especially compared to what is in office right now.
This will be an important election, just as important as 2016 (don’t get me started on that whole debacle). Unfortunately, I am seeing the same drivel that I saw when Hillary was running.
Gems such as:
- I don’t like her/him
- He wrote the crime bill
- She put numerous innocent people in jail
- I’m voting 3rd party
- Both parties are the same
- They aren’t progressives
I can’t tell you the fury I get seeing all of that. There’s more, but I’ll stick the popular options. Here are my rebuttals to each of those complaints.
- Just in case people didn’t realize it, there are over 300 million people in this country and over 100 Million registered voters. Having someone in high office that EVERYONE will like or agree with is disingenuous.
- There is a lot that could be said about this. I am a person who believes that people know when they make mistakes. At the creation of this crime bill, I think Joe and every other senator thought it was a good idea. Bernie Sanders stated he had problems with the bill but voted in favor because of the Violence Against Women Act. Also, I don’t know if they knew the type of repercussions the bill would have. I believe they saw it as a way to get violent criminals off of the street but that’s not what was happening. We see, just by watching videos today, how police target more POC (People of color) then anyone else. So, was that Biden and Clintons intention? To purposely create a bill to incarcerate more POC? I don’t think so.
- Another long explanation. Or not. Did she put people in jail? Yes. Was this her job? Yes.
- What is a 3rd party in America? Non-Existent
- Have you taken a look at the policies and priorities of each party? One wants to take away women’s rights. The other wants women to have choices. One wants to move back in time, the other wants to see progress. I’ll let you figure it out.
- Progressive is more of a modern term. The most progressive person that ran for president is Bernie. He’s not everyone’s cup of tea. And let’s face it, as progressive as some think America is, it is not. It is slow moving and you can’t push people into their beliefs. They have to be coerced unfortunately. That will take time. We just had a black man as President in over 200 years of America’s inception. I’m not saying wait forever, but good things do come to those who wait.
I sort of got off track. Anyway, this is a historical moment. Despite some issues of the past (which we all have) there is a lot to look forward to if we do this right. Joe and Kamala are not our saviors. We still have to fight for what’s best in this country. We can’t just vote and say, “Welp, my job here is done.” That’s the problem we had with President Obama. I think people were happy to have a black man in office and got complacent. You have to ask and sometimes demand what you want. Especially as black people, we have to make people listen. No one has heard us yet, but with all the protests happening right now, maybe this is the time to say it!
