Yes, Kamala Harris Can Break The Glass Ceiling
"Joe Biden had the audacity to select a Black woman as his running mate," said Senator Kamala Harris.
"Joe Biden had the audacity to select a Black woman as his running mate," said Senator Kamala Harris in a speech on August 14. She took the words out of most of the naysayers' mouths and left them slack-jawed. This is the beginning of an uphill battle of sexism, racism, and probably a little socialism, that will make up the fight between the democrats and republicans.
The Trump campaign was disorganized before the announcement of Harris as Biden's running mate. Now they are stumbling over themselves trying to find the best way to discredit Harris without looking racist or sexist. On the day of the announcement, Trump used the phrase "nasty," his go-to name for Hilary Clinton back in 2016. However, no one believes his old tactics are going to work this time.
Earlier this week, I read an article in the Orlando Sentinel titled "Pandemic Inequality Help Spur America's 1st Female Recession" by Chabeli Carrazani. It gave me pause because the statistics in it are frightening. I read that more women's jobs were sacrificed from the pandemic than men. Of course, it is obvious once I thought of all the mothers that are the primary caregivers. Yet, how hard it must have been for the single moms to make that choice to stay home and sacrifice their positions in companies was something most men would never consider.
According to the article, this year female unemployment broke into double digits, the worst since 1948. That is a sobering piece of information. According to the article, "Mothers in 2020's pandemic has reduced their work hours four to five times more than fathers to care of children in a nation that hasn't created a strong caregiving foundation. When the economy crumbled, women fell hard."
So why do I think Kamala Harris is the right pick?
She has the strength no other candidate had. In my voting lifetime, there have been a few women on the ticket running for president or vice president. My first memory of a female candidate in a leading party was Geraldine Ferraro. It was 1984 and Walter Mondale was the Democratic presidential candidate. And even though it was meant to energize the women's movement, that campaign had no flair, no spark that should have ignited the race that fell short. Most didn't care for Mondale and Ferraro even though was a very qualified candidate for the position the county was not interested in seeing what she could do for them.
In the 2008 presidential campaign, Senator John McCain selected Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin as his running mate. The Republicans took a chance with this outspoken woman whose life was covered in controversy and the public ate it up like it up and she became a reality TV star that kept most people glued to the news to see what outrageous topic she was going to utter. Her breaking point in the campaign was her conversation with Katie Couric on the CBS Evening News. Most of America will agree that McCain would have been a good president, but his choice for vice president kept him out of the office.
In 2016, Hilary Clinton ran for president and won the popular vote. So, we do know it is possible to put a female in the White House, but because of the electoral college, it was not a success. Of course, for most women, it has always been this way. Besides Hilary's choices not to adequately campaign in some key battleground states, her personality, and past political positions haunted her far more than she was willing to admit. Maybe if she was humbled enough to recognize them and use them to her advantage, we might not be in this nightmare we are all living in right now.
However, like the TV personality of the 2008 campaign, Trump gave those hungry for name-calling, back-stabbing, and down-right conspiracy theorists a reason for their existence. Shock reality TV has been playing in our news cycles since 2015. I say we cancel the show and move on to living a normal life again.
Now, many believe Harris is the wrong choice. She didn't fare well in her bid for president. But the entire 20-plus candidates are all backing her with a punch now. Even Sanders is giving up his positions in the left wing to bring the independents into the fold and put her in the office. Moreover, I believe that Joe Biden will make an excellent president at this time. He can bring people together. That is what is most important because we aren't united in anything these days. We need unity and respect for our fellow man and a Biden and Harris ticket is the one.
