(Now that Joe Biden has bowed out and endorsed VP Kamala Harris we republish this story, originally published in the December 2022 issue of Black Westchester Newspaper)
The world is fixated on whether Joe Biden should run for reelection –particularly since he just celebrated his 80th birthday. The argument always begins with whether he is physically or mentally fit to run and all the media agree that he is fit today, but there are many who are concerned that at 82 years it will be asking too much of him. Still, during the COVID – 19 crisis and the war in Ukraine, his administration managed to get a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package and a $1.9 trillion relief package passed. The Biden Administration has appointed 41 federal judges, many of whom are women and people of color. He suspended federal executions. He rejoined the international Paris Climate Accord and signed an executive order that overturned the ban on openly transgender members in the U.S (United States) military.
When Biden took office, the unemployment rate was at 6.3 %; currently, it is 3.6%, an impressive record in my book. With that said, there is a growing inflation rate – a surge of over 13%, a 30 – year high, while wages rose just 8%. Americans are paying more for groceries; their 401(k) has decreased; and, as of November 25, 2022, the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage is 7.32% – up from 5.5% in August. The immigration issue continues to be unresolved with both the left and right sides of the political aisle dissatisfied. After 3 years in office, some respond with a nod to the question of whether Biden should run in the 2024 election, but others say no. Biden himself has refused to answer the question definitively.
My question as a democrat is, if not Biden, then who? The most obvious answer is Vice President Kamala Harris. When the pundits explore the issue of a Harris candidacy for the presidency, many arguments against a run are raised. Some posit that she is dishonest; to which, I call on them to show me an honest politician. Others point out that she did not make it to Iowa in the 2020 primary. However, when we look back at the top 3 democratic candidates who made it to Iowa – Pete Buttigieg with 26.2% of the votes, Bernie Sanders with 26.1%, and Elizabeth Warren with 18.06 – it should be noted that Biden came in fourth with 18.06%. Similarly, he ranked fifth in New Hampshire.
It was not until South Carolina that the Biden campaign got revived thanks to Representative Jim Clyburn’s endorsement –otherwise known as the kingmaker in South Carolina. Is America ready for a female president? Whenever a woman runs for president in the United States, she is often seen as challenging the sociopolitical order and as a result, demonized. The first woman to do so in this country was Victoria Woodhull, an advocate, and a businessperson who owned a weekly newspaper and a brokerage firm. Woodhull ran in 1872 as a member of the Equal Rights Party fifty years before white women could vote. The first Black woman to run for President was Shirley Chisholm in 1972, one hundred years after Woodhull. By this time, Representative Chisholm had spent four years in Congress as the first Black congressperson. While she got support from Black women, Chisholm was not supported by Black men, white men, or white women. Since Woodhull and Chisholm, several women have run for President including Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, and Kamala Harris. All four of these women and others, such as Stacey Abrams, may want to run as the democratic presidential candidate in 2024.
However, given that Kamala Harris is currently serving as the Vice President, why isn’t the democratic party putting its full force behind Harris? There are many reasons. Some people question her competency. Others claim she is not a natural-born citizen because her parents were not born in the United States. Is any of this true? After all she would be running against Donald Trump. When Trump ran for President and won in 2016, he was not as qualified or competent as Harris, who was a district attorney, California’s attorney general, and senator prior to her current position as Vice President. Regarding her citizenship, from my understanding, the constitution stipulates that to be president you must be a natural-born citizen which means you must be born in the United States and its territories; Kamala was born in California. America, it is time to come into the light and adopt an intersectional framework and move beyond racism and misogyny and join the rest of the world such as Great Britain, Germany, India, Chile, Switzerland, and several other countries with female heads of state. Do not get me wrong, I do not contend that Vice President Harris is perfect but who is? If all women and people of color were held to the same standard as white men, many of the female candidates above would be considered overqualified for the job of the presidency. We need to work together for a better future. Calling all the kingmakers – or rather queenmakers – to give Kamala a chance. Support her, endorse her, and vote for her. The stakes are too high, not to do so!
How can local people get involved in the Harris For President campaign?
John Howard