Properly Subversive/Sherman R. Frederick
A piece in Slate is the first to say what will no doubt become a topic of import as a Biden decision looms for the 2024 election: Should Joe Biden replace California’s favorite daughter VP Kamala Harris?
It’s a legit line of inquiry, even fans of the veep must admit.
In the first place, Joe Biden would be very old at the end of a second term. Needing the VP to step up is a very real concern.
Second, Harris has so far presented herself as, shall we say, less than qualified for the job. The Slate writer minces no words:
“It’s not just that Harris was a bad presidential candidate. She was a bad vice-presidential one, too. I will never forget how clumsily she struggled to respond to what should have been an easy, predictable question from Norah O’Donnell in a 60 Minutes interview a few weeks before the 2020 election. Asked whether she would push Biden to the left and bring a ‘socialist or progressive perspective’ to the White House, Harris first answered with a ‘no.’
She continued, audibly annoyed:
“‘It is the perspective of a woman who grew up a Black child in America, who was also a prosecutor, who also has a mother who arrived here at the age of 19 from India, who also, you know, likes hip-hop.’
“This is the response of a candidate who, when pressed to the point of discomfort on matters of policy, instinctively pivots to her biography. That might have flown in the 2020 election, which was rightfully sold as an emergency situation in which everyone needed to band together to protect the country from incumbent Donald Trump. But in 2024, the landscape is going to look much different. I suspect voters will be less enchanted by vague gestures in the direction of unity and normalcy. They will also be less willing to forgive a candidate who can’t provide a clear, consistent message.”
Pollsters are no doubt measuring how much of a help (or drag) Harris would be on a second Biden run.
I’m not advocating one way or the other. I’m just playing back the argument.
SAN ANSELMO AND THE CLIMATE
Marin’s Rep. Jared Huffman went to Egypt for the United Nations Climate Change Conference. He reported that he “saw how the reality of our worsening climate crisis is changing the conversation on a global scale.”
Sir, did you forget that San Anselmo added all gas-powered garden tools to its ban on gas powered leaf blowers as of Jan. 1? Climate stability can’t be far behind.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Mary Jane Burke who said her farewells to public education service in Marin last week quoted Winnie the Pooh author A.A. Milne:
“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”
Nice touch, MJB. Well done.
IF YOU LIVE LONG ENOUGH
You will read stuff like this:
“BAMBERG, Germany – A driver in Germany had his license taken away after he appeared to have fallen asleep behind the wheel of his Tesla which was on autopilot and lead police on a chase.
“On Dec. 29 at about 12 p.m. local time, police spotted a Tesla driving down Autobahn 70 leaving Bamberg, Germany, and heading toward Bayreuth, according to a news release from Bavarian police.”
ONE MORE THING
– Prayers for my husband who got me nothing for our anniversary when I specifically told him I wanted nothing for our anniversary.
– I learned in Sunday School that when God took all of the dinosaurs to heaven, it was called the Velocirapture.
– Doctors say that for each piece of bacon you eat, 9 minutes is taken off your lifespan. If true, I died just before the Gold Rush.
— I resent being accused of Lolly gagging when clearly I was only dilly dallying.
And, we’re off to a decent start in 2023. Let’s do our best this year to avoid soreheads, laugh a little, and always question authority.
(“Properly Subversive” is a commentary written by Sherman R. Frederick for Marinscope Community Newspapers, the “mother ship” of the Novato Advance, San Rafael News-Pointer, Mill Valley Herald, Ross Valley Reporter, Twin City Times and the Sausalito Marin Scope. Mr. Frederick is an award-winning journalist and co-founder of Battle Born Media, a news organization dedicated to the preservation of community newspapers. You can reach him by email at shermfrederick@gmail.com.)
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