At least two supporters of former Vice President Joe Biden are obviously very angry at Senator Kamala Harris because she challenged Mr. Biden on his comments as he reminisced about his warmhearted relationship with two segregationist senators during his speech at the Jesse Jackson Rainbow PUSH Coalition. According to an article in POLITICO by Carla Marinucci and Natasha Korecki, when one Biden supporter, Lee White, was asked about Senator Harris’ challenge he said; “She played low ball, which was out of character. And he didn’t expect it, nor did I. She should not have gone that route. She’s much too intelligent, she’s been able to be successful thus far, why do you have to do that.” Another Biden supporter from California, which is Senator Harris’ home state put it in harsher terms when he said; “It’s going to bite her in the ass. Very early on there was a buzz… Biden-Kamala is the dream ticket, the best of both worlds.” After this week, “That s—t ain’t happening.”
Every reasonable Democrat – and everyone else, knows that Joe Biden is not a racist and that he has fought hard for civil rights during his entire career as a politician. Having said that, It has been proven time-and-again that politics is a tough game that tends to get into, and far too often, beyond the grey areas of what some Americans find to be beyond the pale; that is why so many of them find politics distasteful and refuse to follow it. I don’t know if some consider what Senator Harris did to Mr. Biden to be an unfair attack that was beyond the pale; I certainly don’t think that it was: and I respect the previously mentioned Biden supporters’ right to say that she “played low ball” and that “it’s going to bite her in the ass.” But what I do know is that what she did exposed Mr. Biden, whom I greatly admire and believe to be a man of principle and integrity, as a person who might struggle to deal with the current Donald J. Trump of the United States of America, Mr. Donald J. Trump, in a one-on-one debate and defeat him.
I am still closely watching and weighing all of the primary candidates in an effort to determine which one of them can best handle Mr. Trump, a man with no moral compass and who has no bottom when it comes to how low a human being can go when it comes to winning and/or getting their way. After the most recent Democratic debate if the choice to be the Democratic nominee boiled down to Senator Harris or Mr. Biden, I would be compelled to give Senator Harris the edge over Mr. Biden. I would give the edge to Senator Harris because she demonstrated some very sharp and unique skills in taking Mr. Biden apart in this debate. And even if he did not expect her to come after him in the manner that she did he should have been able to think on his feet and avoid or, at least, greatly mitigate the amount of damage that she would be able to do to him. He did not do that and he made matters worse in the way that he tried to defend himself. If he was taken by surprise by the way that Senator Harris attacked him, what would happen if he were face-to-face with Mr. Trump who has no boundaries and no bottom as regards how low he can go when he plays “low ball?”
Not only did Senator Harris manage to throw Joe Biden off balance in her attack on him during the Debate but she used these same skills previously in taking down United States Attorney General William Barr when she questioned him during his testimony to the senate: she left him confused and virtually speechless during his responses to her questions. And it was not because he did not understand the questions that she asked him. Instead, it was because with the skill and precision with which she asked these questions he was unable to effectively be evasive and obfuscate in his responses. These are precisely the kind of skills that the candidate who will eventually face Mr. Trump will need. During a debate they will need to remain focused and cut through the bluster of a bloviating imposter and conman who, according to records, has lied over 10, 000 times thus far during his time in office and force him to deal with facts and the truth. Not “alternative facts” or Trump facts, which exist only inside his private bubble of Trump World; but real facts and real truth that exists in the real world.
The Democratic primaries have really only just begun so there is still plenty of time for all of the other candidates to have the opportunity to demonstrate their skills so that voting Americans can decide who among them have what it takes to confront Mr. Trump in debates and defeat him in the 2020 general election. Once we decide who those candidates are we can then select the very best one and throw all of our support behind them and do everything within our power to help them defeat Mr. Trump. It is impossible to overemphasize how important it is to defeat Mr. Trump for numerous reasons.
Among those reasons why it is so important to defeat Mr. Trump are; 1) He has completely ignored the emoluments clause in the Constitution. 2) He has refused to present his income tax returns to the appropriate organizations and personnel for review so that they can assure the American people that all is well which will allow them to be comfortable and confident that he is protecting the country’s interest first rather than his own personal interest. 3) He has ignored the traditions regarding nepotism. 4) He has openly obstructed justice on many occasions and defied congressional subpoenas for materials. 5) He has instructed those who are and were a part of his administration to defy subpoenas. 6) He has caused and/or allowed children of immigrants to be separated from their parents and then placed those parents and children in detention facilities (cages) under inhumane conditions on America’s southern border. 7) He has done many other things that are unbecoming of a Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America including his current apparent attempt to ignore a U.S. Supreme Court ruling by way of an Executive Order. The bottom line is that he has already done what might be irreparable damage to America including ruin her reputation around the world in the eyes of our allies and enemies.
With Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell by his side enabling him in everything that he does no matter how lawless or crass, the Republicans in congress and the senate remaining silent at all costs and refusing to hold him to account Mr. Trump is conducting himself as if he is invincible. With each thing that he does for which he is not held accountable he becomes more bold in thumbing his nose at the rule of law and all American institutions that will not bow down to him and kiss his ring. Let there be no doubt that Mr. Trump is not alone in these atrocities. He and all of those Republicans in congress who continue to support him and wink at the way that he is conducting himself should and must be held to account. We can assure that they are through our vote. So always remember, whether you are a Democrat, Republican or Independent, your vote is the most important one of all…unless you don’t use it! If you value our democracy as we now know it and want to preserve it for posterity, be sure to do your civic duty and vote!
Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line