Joe Biden and Race

In a past blog post, I noted the boost that Illinois Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth could give to the campaign of Joe Biden if she is named his vice presidential candidate. This is what I called the Illinois political template.

Besides impressive personal credentials, an obvious three year grooming process by the Democratic elites, and her service in the US Senate, I believe she will fulfill Biden’s racial requirement in a much more subtle way. After a recent comment he made on the nationally syndicated US program the Breakfast Club, this might not be a bad idea.

After all, one can’t keep Joe in the basement on his couch with his mouth duct taped shut forever. However, as a former 1988 delegate for former Democratic presidential candidate Jesse Jackson, I think I can tell you that the insolence Biden’s gaffe reveals is telling. Basically, he represents what white Democratic liberals really feel.

I really feel terrible for my African American friends. Basically, they are between a rock and a hard place. In light of the George Floyd incident and the slaughtering of EMS tech Breonna Taylor in her own home, I have no idea how such horrors are tolerated at all. Certainly, George Floyd’s death in broad daylight on video was a last straw. One can see then why African Americans might fall into the Democratic camp by default. While not a Trump supporter, I wish to provide some light for the gray zone in between the two presidential candidates.

However, let’s remember where the Black Lives Matter Movement came from. Trayvon Benjamin Martin was a 17-year-old African-American from Miami Gardens, Florida, who was fatally shot in Sanford, Florida by George Zimmerman in 2013. Martin had gone with his father on a visit to his father’s fiancée at her townhouse at The Retreat at Twin Lakes in Sanford.  The movement got further impetus from the killing of Eric Garner. On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner died in the New York City borough of Staten Island after Daniel Pantaleo, a New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer, put him in a choke hold while arresting him. This was despite choke holds being banned in NYPD since 1993. Like George Floyd’s death, it was captured on video. As in the Floyd death, Mr. Garner begged for mercy and said he could not breathe.

The above incidents happened under Barack Obama’s watch. There were no federal investigations that I know of, let alone federal charges for civil rights violations or murder.

I will never and cannot in good conscience preach about the indignities my African American friends suffer every day in America. However, as a white male, I can say one thing — white Democrats will only tolerate a minority as president or vice president who is no darker than Barack Obama. Otherwise, they would have worked harder for Jesse Jackson, whatever you think of his policies. In other words, corporate sell outs like Nancy Pelosi only care about winning elections and not helping the African American community.

Actions speak louder than words and betray our innermost feelings. While I like Tammy Duckworth (after all I was commissioned with her and know her personally), she is widely seen as a safe pick. This is another reason I think she will be the female minority that will be Joe Biden’s running mate. She is as dark as you will get from the Democratic elites.