Amy Goodman, Democracy Now! Two commentators, one a active progressive. Each a black female. This struck me, Aimee Allison speaking, with Briahna Joy Gray, the former Bernie campaign spokesperson now expressing views of her own after Bernie solidly endorsed Biden being the other voice, and less supportive of Harris.
Allison speaking, a full four paragraph quote:
Let me just tell you and be very clear: Black women and women of color were never confused about who Donald Trump is. We voted in record numbers against him in 2016, and we will, despite the fact that we face a lot of challenges voting and getting our votes counted. What he says does not matter.
The issue, though, with We’ve Got Your Back [an organization with Allison in leadership] is bigger than party. It’s bigger than Trump. It’s that this country, although the base of the Democratic Party in recent polls has demonstrated that they want a Black woman in leadership — and so now we have a Black woman at the top of the ticket, a woman of color at the top of the ticket — despite that, racist and sexist comments dismissing the readiness of many of the women of color, particularly Black women, who were being vetted for VP, already had started. And it wasn’t just from Republicans. It also came from quarters like former Senator Chris Dodd. So, what we have to do is be vigilant. We learned a lot from the attacks on Hillary Clinton as a white woman running for president. We know that the racist and sexist attacks are going to continue fast and furious against Senator Harris and other women who are standing for leadership.
So, what we ask from the media is to focus on the issues, is to not tolerate headlines like they had in L.A. Times, which is likening Kamala Harris to receiving a rose on the island and silly things like that. We don’t want any conversation about her hair or her clothes. What are the issues? What are we trying to do with this country? What are the essential values of the political game? What is the plan? And when we take the conversation, particularly for women of color, away from characterizing the personal attributes and dismissing women of color with words like “ambitious” and holding women of color to a different standard, we actually get a better political result.
So, in all, what we’re doing, as women of color and broadly, is we’re leading a larger movement to create political space for women of color to lead — not just Senator Harris, but women of color everywhere. We are the fastest-growing voting bloc. We are the most underrepresented at every level of government. And for us to be able to assert ourselves in a multiracial democracy, we have to push back hard against racism and sexist attacks, and celebrate and uplift our ability and willingness to govern.
The opinion here - Progressives are the most underrepresented party bloc - while of mixed identity they go unheard on the issues; not an identity specific/exclusive bloc, not in that sense. Tilted toward the young, and on issues, tilted left.
Allison's assertion that black women will vote in large numbers is doubtlessly true. As in 2016. When it was not enough. The young are not being enchanted by Joe Biden, and they are not being mobilized, energized or really accorded attention. Effort to drive age wedge politics, where age diversity needs to be heard and countered. Young women, independent of race, have to be worried about college debt. Solidarity comes because elderly are also worried about federal funding cuts.
Some in politics and funding it would not mind a wholesale gutting of Social Security or trimming of Medicare, while tuition charges climb precipitously - so that the two age groups ideally should be allies in spirit and on policy. Not two sole players in a zero sum game.
Cut Pentagon spending, free up funds for what people in poll after poll want - economic security, non-crony contracting, fair federal taxing and needed spending decisions tempered with restraint and caution. Attention to people's needs, over corporate aims and desires. Hearing the will of the governed over the voices and investments made by oligarchs. Utopia.
And back to Allison's keying on "issues." There she is dead right, but Biden is on record, having said to wealthy people at an early Biden closed door fundraiser "nothing will fundamentally change." Biden could have chosen a bright young activist black woman, such as Gray, on the ticket, but he is owned by his donors and frozen into conservative positions with his key transition person saying, don't expect much because Trump's run deficits.
Austerity with retained or boosted military budgeting was his virtual convention message with Repubicans Powell and Kasich having an extended voice. Precommitment against change, "fundamentally" or in any other sense, renders the second spot yet more irrelevant than otherwise. Especially with Joe in his acceptance speech disarming all the death's door/senile stuff.
Biden and Trump are close in age - Harris younger than Pence. Young voters would have trouble trying to guess an age difference, Biden to Trump, existed at all.
Harris has not earned an embrace from the young.
Biden, Trump, and Pence will never get any such embrace.
Back to the featured content, Democracy Now! co-host Juan Gonzales speaking:
I wanted to ask both of you about the — we’ve heard the preliminary lineup for the Democratic convention next week. And your sense of the focus of the Democratic Party being largely the Obamas, the Clintons, and, of course, Jill Biden and Joe Biden as the main speakers at the key hours when all the national networks are tuned in? I’m wondering your response to the big tent of the party, why, for instance, Bernie Sanders is not being given a more prominent speaking role in this convention. Is that signaling something to that same expanded Democratic base?
You can take it from there via the DN website.
__________UPDATE_________
More Kamala Harris analysis, Vox. LATimes. And the question remains, Biden or Trump. Pence and Harris are a side issue.
FURTHER: GreenState.