By Lafe Tolliver, Esq
Guest Column
In my last column on this volatile issue of whether President Joe Biden should continue his run for a second White House term, I left it up in the air when I said: “to be continued.”
Well, that date with destiny is nigh upon us and with some misgivings, I am now saying, “Good old Joe…he’s got to go!”
History will give Joe Biden strong marks for his four-year presidency and how he did admirable work in bringing the economy back and standing up to Putin and Putin’s favorite budding dictator, Donald Trump.
But, after 50 years of public service, Joe Biden needs to take a hard reality check and take his well-deserved kudos, bouquet of flowers and call it a day.
Aging takes no prisoners, and it can deftly deal from top of the deck or from the bottom of the deck and whatever hand you get, you have to play it.
Joe Biden played his cards and won but now he is tempting fate by walking a tightrope of being seen as a spoiler that could lead to disastrous results if the consummate conman and fraudster Donald Trump gets back in office.
The fact that Joe Biden beat Donald Trump before is no guarantee that a repeat prize fight would not lead to a different outcome. That is something Joe Biden should not risk and place the Democratic Party in the unenviable position of telling Joe Biden that he needs to vacate the premises, for the good of the country.
To date, the media has not been hounding Donald Trump for his mental blunders and nonsensical answers to basic questions; and nor do they harp on the fact that Trump is a convicted felon.
Let this sink in: Too many Americans believe that a convicted felon, adjudged rapist, con artist, serial liar who mocks the lives of deceased military personnel and who is in hock to the citizens of New York for his tax cheat schemes, that such conduct is OK for a person to be president? Are you kidding me!
Such voters are in La-La land if they believe that the MAGA’s dreary plan for America as seen in Project 2025 (read the abridged version online) would make America great again. Pure unadulterated hokum.
Sadly, both major political parties painted themselves into these no win corners when they consistently failed to open up the process of candidate selection but allow such selections to be determined by the fat-cat party bosses.
Unless Biden releases his delegates at the convention, he will be the nominee.
In a sane world, neither an 81-year-old person or a 78-year-old person would be allowed to be their party’s nominee. It just does not make any sense any way you slice it.
And as for Vice President Kamala Harris being called off the bench to sub for Joe Biden, that is a losing ticket, in my opinion, because White America is not going to put a Black woman (in this country, she is Black regardless of her ethnic background) in the White House…not yet at least.
If you think the racist “birther” issue done against Obama was wild, if Kamala Harris is the nominee, the Klan will be riding its high kicking horse against her.
Biden is in denial as to his mental and physical capacities to endure another strenuous four years of being president. His grand ego is blocking his common sense and the advice of others who tell him, “Joe, you gotta go!”
In the event that Donald Trump gets the White House and the Democrats can not control either the House of the Senate…. WATCH OUT!
If that happens, you will witness such civic unrest and draconian measures as never before because Trump will vent his spleen on revenge and changing the vast administrative state of the federal government into his own fiefdom.
In the event that Joe Biden does ride out the current political storm about he not stepping aside and wins the White House, hopefully the down ballot voters will vote Democratic so that Biden can “pack the Supreme Court” to neutralize its co-opted GOP majority that has demonstrated MAGA tendencies.
In the event of a Biden win, I suggest the following plan of action: Joe Biden serves only for two years and then resign and allow Kamala Harris to be president for the remaining two years. This will give her some on the job training; and allow her to build up some political currency within the Democratic Party and foreign leaders.
With two years serving as president, Kamala Harris can show off her chops and ease the fears of White America that she is not a California radical but would be a center line Democrat.
Would MAGA America and White Christian Nationalists howl and bay to the moon if the court is packed and if Kamala Harris is president for two years?
Of course they would but let them bark and gnash their teeth. They need to have a no-nonsense Black woman exercise power over them for their own good!
In the final analysis, every voting age Black American needs to check on their voting status so as to avoid any surprises at the polls and pull the lever for Joe Biden or whoever is the standard bearer.
Contact Lafe Tolliver at tolliver@juno.com