Biden-Abrams Duo to White House

2020 Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden vowed to choose a woman as his running mate, and per the recommendation of Congressman James Clyburn (D-SC), that person will be an African American female and most likely will be Stacey Abrams, former Democratic minority leader in the Georgia House of Representatives and the 2018 gubernatorial candidate.

Clyburn threw Biden a life preserver while he was drowning in the Democratic primaries, and his endorsement propelled him to his commanding lead. This decision was a result of his late wife’s (Ms. Emily Clyburn’s) strong support of Biden’s political policies and personal comportment. Somewhere in heaven, she is smiling about his forthcoming historic choice.

There has been much discussion among a cross-section of women’s groups that have long advocated for a Democratic woman to be on the Democratic ticket. These debates only intensified after Hillary Clinton’s narrow loss to Donald Trump in 2016. As the first female to head a party in a presidential election, her defeat was devastating for the nation’s majority voting group.

In the current scenario, several females were in the mix for the presidential nomination and for selection as vice president. Six women ran in the presidential primaries: Marianne Williamson (a best-selling author), Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) and four sitting U.S. Senators: Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

When the presidential field narrowed to two—Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT)–the focus immediately turned to the number two spot. The conventional wisdom was that the vice presidential candidate needed to be a black female since African American women are the most reliable voting constituency in the Democratic base and their votes are primarily responsible for Biden’s frontrunner status.

Among the women that were most aggressively promoted for the vice presidential slot are Sens. Harris, Klobuchar, and Warren and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI). Also mentioned were Congresswoman Val Demings (D-FL); Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM); Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH); and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV). They all look like America.

Harris carries baggage from her time as a San Francisco city attorney and California attorney general for her unfair prosecution of hundreds of African American and Latinx men, her controversial decision to prosecute parents of truant children, and her appeal of a California court ruling that had declared the death penalty unconstitutional. Trump’s minions would contrast these results with their administration’s pro-minority programs in the First Step Act.

Amy Klobuchar is little known outside of Minnesota and is basically a clone of Biden. Elizabeth Warren, who has been heralded as the voice of progressive and college-educated white women, did not carry them in the Massachusetts primary, the state she represents, where she came in third behind Biden and Bernie. Gov. Whitmer has shown modest interest in joining the Biden ticket.

But the most widely supported contender for the position, especially among black women, is Stacey Abrams. She developed a national cross-racial following after her extraordinary 2018 run to become Georgia’s governor. Abrams nearly won, despite her opponent (who was the sitting Secretary of State and who supervised the voting process) vigorously employing racist voter suppression tactics in plain sight.

Since her defeat, Abrams has given a well-received response to President Trump’s 2019 State of the Union Address. She has also created the Fair Fight initiative to end voter suppression and ensure fair elections. As a result, Abrams has gained street-level credibility nationwide, particularly in battleground states which Biden will need to win to claim victory.

Thus, she will be a significant asset in Biden’s effort to defeat Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Having already traveled the nation in her crusade for voter equity, Abrams will be able to hit the ground running. And she has the experience to push back effectively against the illegal and vicious strategies the Trump campaign will use to ensure his reelection.

Biden needs to formally announce his appointment of Abrams as his running mate soon so as to quell any concerns about his intentions and to further mobilize and solidify his backing from female voters. He likewise needs to continue treating Bernie Sanders with the utmost respect while he extends his lead in delegates. It is imperative that he do so in order to be able to reach out to Bernie’s supporters.

The Biden campaign must also prepare for the nastiest and most dishonest presidential campaign in American presidential election history. Voter purges are already underway in Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, and North Carolina, along with legalized voter suppression tactics in Republican-controlled state legislatures. The political gloves are off, and this fight will be bare knuckled.

Abrams, a political warrior, will prove to be an invaluable asset in Biden’s battle for the soul of the nation. She is inspiring and has been able to reach voters across the spectrum. Biden and Abrams are the A-team for the Democratic Party and for all Americans. The two of them can remove the ‘Trump coronavirus’ from the White House and begin to heal our country.

Hopefully, Bernie will end his campaign soon so that we, all together, can “get on with it.”