I have been spending a lot of time thinking about Biden's VP choices.

I have been spending a lot of time thinking about Biden's VP choices. Mainly because it's a lot more healthier than ruminating on the insanity of whether we should reopen the economy because black lives are expendable. I believe with Biden's age that he is a one term president and for him it's the Super Bowl ring that he longs for and needs to retire with. And for this race it a very desirable and maybe more than a bench warmer position. I've read many of the autobiographies and interview s written in the Atlantic and New York Magazine.

So, what is important to me?

1.       I agree that we need people who can push for a Roosevelt New Deal to get things moving, bring back banking legislation, and break up the monopolies.

2.       I agree with RBG that laws cannot be pasted before their time and the BLM movement seems spotlighted 'white privilege' and police violence.

3.       I agree that the young people feel a disenfranchisement with the political system and the economy, want a younger and liberal VP who will fight for their issues: student debt, jobs, gun safety, race and gender issues.

4.       I agree that Medicare for All time is NOW! And people finally see that we all need a safety net, probably more so than ever before.

5.       I agree that climate change is real and not a figment of scientific imagination and data.

6.       I agree that Democratic Socialism has worked in Germany, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands and we need to evolve.

And so without further ado!  My top five choices are!

1.       Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth

·         Pros: The Illinois senator has an incredible story to tell. She's an Army helicopter pilot and Iraqi  veteran who lost both of her legs when a helicopter she was piloting in Iraq in 2004 was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade. She's the first disabled woman and American citizen born in Thailand with a Thai mother to be elected to the Senate. And she had a baby at 50, the first senator to give birth in office. She grew up in poverty, sacrifice, hunger and humility.

She will jump into the mud and sling it with the "cadet bone spur" and  "I will not be lectured about what our military needs by a five-deferment draft dodger,".

·         Cons: She is clearly in the moderate camp. "I don't think you can go too far to the left and still win the Midwest," she said after the 2018 elections. That cuts two ways — she might appeal to the middle, but likely wouldn't fire up the base.

1.        

2.       California Sen. Kamala Harris

·         Pros: The California senator is thought to have an inside track for a host of reasons. She ran for president, which means she's been vetted on the national stage; she's black, which would satisfy those who are urging Biden to pick a black woman; and there's a personal connection . She was close with Biden's son, Beau.  As Attorney Generals of their state they refused the settlement between five major banks regarding foreclosure abuse claims and fought on. 

The former prosecutor and state attorney general has a reputation as an incise questioner and being able to make a clear argument. Envisioning her holding her own in a debate with Vice President Pence is not difficult.

·         Cons: She doesn't necessarily fire up the progressive left, which doesn't love some of her past positions on criminal justice; she doesn't give any regional advantage — a ticket with an East Coast former senator and another from California doesn't exactly dispel the notion of Democrats not caring about the middle of the country; and it's not clear Harris has appeal to the middle of the electorate in places like the Upper Midwest.

3.       Stacey Abrams

·         Pros: I read her autobiography, "Lead from the Outside". It's a testament to her brilliance, ambition, tenacity, and sleepless work ethic; gradulating (BA) Spelman College, (MPA) University of Texas at Austin  and (JD) Yale University. The former Georgia gubernatorial candidate fires up progressives. For them, her close loss there in 2018 symbolizes what happens when the vote, especially of minorities, is suppressed. She's an outspoken African American, and unafraid to make the case. The argument for Abrams goes that if the country is as polarized as it seems, and Clinton struggled to get out the base at the margins, Abrams might be able to help. She tripled turnout among Latinos and Asian Americans in the Georgia governor’s race. The 40 percent jump in African American turnout was the highest such bump in state history.

·         Cons: But Abrams also presents potential risk. She's not currently an elected official, and she hasn't been vetted on a national stage. Things like her having owed more than $50,000 in back taxes are sure to come up. She had the opportunity to run for president, and for one of two open Senate seats in Georgia this cycle, and she passed.

She's also rankled some with what looks like open lobbying for the job. That irritated some in the old guard, including Rep. William Clay of Missouri, who called her lobbying offensive. "You can't show up at the winner's window with loser's tickets and demand anything," he said.

4.       Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and 2020 presidential candidate

·         Pros: Democrats and the progressive left love Warren. She tops polls for who Democrats want Biden to pick and probably the most vetted. She knows the issues as well or better than anyone and would certainly be ready to govern. A Warren pick would indicate Biden wants to embrace the left and some of Warren's (and Bernie Sanders') policies and political approach. Warren would not be someone who sits back as vice president — she'd want a portfolio and to get to work on the things important to her right away.

·         Cons:  Warren has had problem with people of color and Trump would love to belittle 'Pocahontas' as a distraction for his base. And she does nothing to appeal to the middle, has no regional advantage, and isn't a woman of color. I think that the senate needs her there to push for economic and citizen rights bills that she has sponsored and she chairs many import committees.

5.       Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

·         Pros: If  any politician has the Joe Fraiser fighting spirit, it's the Michigan governor. She  has been thrust onto the national scene and into controversy: fixing Flint's pipes after the  toxic water crisis, the Edenville Dam  breaking and flooding; students sued for constitutional right to literacy and  reparations; BLM riots in Lansing, Grand Rapids and Detroit; and  her stay-at-home rulings during the pandemic, all causing economic free fall and historic financial crisis. Guilty of the verdict that she listens to her staff and scientific community, and handled crisis after crisis with competence. Crisis management experience is the most desired quality in a Biden VP.

·         Cons: But the controversy doesn't necessarily help Whitmer's chances. Michigan has seen some of the most fervent protests, with armed men taking to the state capitol, and Trump has tweeted, "Liberate Michigan." If she's seen as divisive and polarizing, that could hurt her chances of being selected. What's more, it's difficult to pluck a governor, who is currently dealing with a crisis, out of that post, and she would have to be taken out of her current role in handling the pandemic to be on the ticket.