After stringing along the party faithful and the friendly media in a manner more expected of President Donald Trump, Joe Biden has finally announced who will be on his ticket as potential VP. That she would be a woman of color was a given, but that Kamala Harris -- a woman who epitomizes the broken criminal justice system in the United States -- would be a wise choice in the era of Black Lives Matter could spell trouble for an already embattled campaign.
A proven fundraiser who ticks all the right diversity boxes, Harris brings a lot to the table in terms of pleasing those who rate intersectionality as a key job descriptor. However, her track record of prosecuting and imprisoning young black men may not play well for a nation that seems in thrall to the idea of disbanding the police.
Perhaps in an effort to cast off her history as a leading prosecutor, Harris has recently embraced many of the far-left doctrines now gaining traction. These new ideals may play well to voters who are looking for confirmation rather than track records. This new progressive persona could prove a bonus to the California senator if dire predictions and polling of Biden’s ability to last a full four years (should he win in November) come to pass.
The latest polling from Rasmussen suggests that 49% of Democratic Party voters do not believe that Biden would complete four years in office and that his running mate would assume the mantle. And here’s the rub: That appears to have been the plan all along.
From the beginning of the nomination contest, all those on the radical side of the left-leaning spectrum stood aside to allow Biden his shot at the White House. Being at least a moderate and known quality, he has a fighting chance of winning, but his clear cognitive decline and failing memory mean he could not possibly complete his term. Enter Harris.
Her politics are well-known. She is a representative of a set of platforms that were unpalatable to primary voters, and therefore unpopular outside of a small but vocal minority. The party could not stack her deck and expect to have any chance against Trump in the all-important battleground states. So they went for Plan B.
The presidency of the United States is more than just about who sits in the Oval Office; it defines the direction, the thrust, and the washback into culture. A far-left progressive could not get directly elected, so those who wish to alter the fabric of the nation need their change agent in place by another mode. And if that means using a tired, overstretched, aging politician as their Trojan Horse, then so be it.
Harris offers much to the Biden campaign. From bringing in the disaffected Bernie Bros to enjoying a diverse pedigree, she may just be the perfect buffer to a presidential candidate who appears reluctant to leave his carefully crafted basement studio. The only question remaining is whether the moderate Dems who believe Biden will survive his potential first term intact are willing to take the chance that their own party may have left them behind.
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Read more from Mark Angelides.
