Congressional Black Caucus Pitches Harris-Biden Ticket
Polling has consistently suggested that former Vice President Joe Biden is the Democratic front-runner. Not much has changed since Biden’s decision to officially enter the race — his numbers have only gone up. But in a crowded and seemingly progressive field of candidates, the fact that Biden — a veteran politician — is an older white man is considered, by some, to be a disadvantage.
The former vice president’s voting record has come into question as well, especially in the context of race. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, Biden voted for Wall Street deregulation and NAFTA, as well as for the Iraq war. Biden also voted for a slew of tough-on-crime bills, which some experts say disproportionately affected the black community.
Furthermore, Biden praised notorious segregationist Strom Thurmond as “one of my closest friends,” and opposed busing desegregation during the early days of his career. The former vice president supported the war on drugs, a stance which critics claim has also disproportionately affected the African-American community.
For instance, a 2018 study published in The Journal of Drug Issues revealed that the “overwhelming increase in incarceration, attributed to the drug war, has disproportionately impacted black communities.”
Nevertheless, Biden is still the front-runner, leading in virtually all polls, according to RealClearPolitics. But race could become an issue for the former vice president in 2020. In order to stay atop of the polls — and perhaps counteract the perceptions about his voting record as it pertains to race — Biden could pick a person of color as his potential running mate. This is an opinion apparently shared by the Congressional Black Caucus.
The fight over Joe Biden’s yet-to-be released climate plan is a sign of the central role global warming is shaping up to play as an issue in the Democratic primary https://t.co/mlnwPGvCGH
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 12, 2019
“The Congressional Black Caucus may have found an answer to its Joe Biden dilemma: Vice President Kamala Harris,” Politico reports.
According to the publication, key members of the caucus are pitching a Harris-Biden ticket in an attempt to beat Trump in 2020.
“That would be a dream ticket for me, a dream ticket! If she is not the nominee, that would be a dream ticket for this country,” said Representative Lacy Clay. A dozen members of the Congressional Black Caucus echoed the sentiment, suggesting that a Harris-Biden ticket would be the Democrats’ best bet against Trump.
As Politico notes, some lawmakers see Harris as everything Biden is not: young, a woman, a person of color, and someone who enjoys support from young voters.
Furthermore, as the publication reports, one of the main reasons for Hillary Clinton’s defeat in 2016 is thought to be low turnout from those who voted for Barack Obama in 2008 through 2012. The Democrats are looking to boost the black turnout as well, which is why picking Kamala Harris could solidify Biden’s standing with the black community, according to lawmakers.
“I think he’s going to look to balance his ticket so that the ticket itself is more appealing… I think it would make sense and it wouldn’t surprise me if he picked a woman of color,” Representative Anthony Brown stated.
