Wow! What a whirlwind of news this past week. This morning I listened to the Ezra Klein Podcast and had to chuckle when he said his head was spinning with all that has happened in the presidential race since Sunday.
He’s not alone.
There are many of us scrambling to keep up with the momentum, momentum that appears to be all going in the right direction for the Democrats.
First, I want to say how proud I am of President Biden for having the courage to put his personal desires and plans aside and make that decision to step out of the race to pave the way for another candidate to head the ticket in November. Good for him!!!! That just proves that he is really the man of integrity so many of us have admired and respected through the years.
Joe Biden has never been an “act.”
Sure he’s a politician and all politicians act at some point in their public lives to win and keep political office, but there has always been a genuineness about Joe that has underscored so much of what he has done.
And let’s face it, he’s done a tremendous amount of good for all of us in the 50+ years of public service. He is a true statesman!
Thank you President Biden!!
On Monday, Kamala Harris swiftly became that other candidate to lead the Dems to victory, and since then the excitement and hope in the party has exploded, along with her fund-raising, which has set a record for a single day of donations.
Then she spoke in Wisconsin where the response was electric, and she quickly gained the support of delegates across the country to solidify her place as The Candidate.
By Wednesday, speculation and polling began for who would have the other spot on the ticket, and it became clear that Pete Buttigieg is a favored choice. Polls being released in the past couple of days indicate he has more support among voters than any of the other contenders.
And for anyone who says he shouldn’t be considered because he’s gay… well, shame on you.
As a country we’ve proven that we can overcome racial and gender limitations. Granted, it’s not a perfect system yet, as people of color and women still have higher hurdles in their way than white men, but progress has been made.
We had a Black president in 2008 and 2012. And if elections were truly determined by popular vote, we would’ve had a woman president in 2016.
We cannot go backwards.
We need to go forward and say that members of the LGBQT+ community have all the rights to political office as anyone else. Especially when they have the intelligence, integrity, and political acuity that Pete has. Not to mention a deeply ingrained strength of character that effective statesmen need to have.
There is a clip on Twitter showing part of an interview Pete did during which he was asked how he’d respond to this comment from Franklin Graham, “Being gay is something to be repentant of. Not something to be flaunted, praised, or politicized.”
To that Pete said, “We all have a lot to repent for.” There was a pause during which there was some applause while he gave a lot of thought to the rest of the response. “In my marriage I have a lot to repent for. Moments when I’ve not been as caring as I should be. Moments when I’ve been selfish. Moments when I’ve said a harsh word I wish I could take back.”
After another thoughtful pause, he finished, “But one thing I should absolutely not be repentant for in the context of my marriage is the fact that I’m in love with my husband.”
Straight or gay, wouldn’t it be great if we could all say that every day?
Some pundits have wondered aloud whether all of us closer to the end of our lives than the beginning, would have hard feelings about Joe dropping out and be reluctant to cast our vote for someone else other than Trump.
To that I say, don’t make assumptions about us.
I am all in for Kamala Harris and whomever she picks as a running mate and so are many of my peers. It is sad to see the end of a long era of public service when Joe Biden steps down in January, but it is also exciting to see where a new group of leaders at the helm can take us.
BTW, I’m still not a card-carrying member of the Democratic Party. I’ve always been more independent, and if you’ve followed my blog for long, you know that I think we as a country need to move to a more inclusive approach to politics. Neither party has had my respect for some time, as a party, even though there are people within each of them that I do admire and respect.
It’s always been about the person, not the party.
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That’s all from me for today folks. After a little over two weeks without a washing machine, the new one finally arrived today. My weekend is going to involve a lot of laundry. It’s been years since I’ve had to do more than a load or two a week. It’ll be interesting how this marathon will go for me this weekend. π Whatever the weekend hold for you, I hope it includes fun and family and friends. Be happy! Be Safe!