James Barraford
Staff Writer
On April 14, President Barack Obama officially endorsed his former vice president, Joe Biden, as the Democratic presidential nominee.
On April 13, Sen. Bernie Sanders endorsed Biden on a live-streamed event.
Sanders called upon citizens from across the political spectrum to stand behind Biden to remove “the most dangerous president in the modern history of this country.”
With Biden now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, what does that mean for the election going forward?
When I heard the news that Sanders had dropped out of the race, a muted sadness came over me. After young people failed to show up and vote for Sanders in the primary, and with most establishment Democrats endorsing Biden, it was an uphill battle.
Yet it feels as if a momentous opportunity has been squandered to change the course of history in the United States.
I know much of his policies would be a real challenge. With a Republican majority in the Senate, Medicare-for-all may not happen. However, I believe Sanders could have motivated working class people of all stripes to organize and pressure career politicians into major concessions.
What Sanders offered was eloquent and spoke to the anger of Americans compared to the rabid, reality TV antics of President Donald Trump. Sanders can walk into a Fox News Town Hall and turn the tables on the hosts to rousing applause.
I doubt Biden could do the same.
I am genuinely afraid Biden may be experiencing serious cognitive decline. That has been my concern since his first debate. He was largely silent compared to his strong performance against Sarah Palin in 2008 or Paul Ryan in 2012 during the vice presidential debates.
Particularly in 2012, Biden’s dominating temperament could go toe-to-toe with Trump. The Biden of 2020 will not stand a chance.
During the June 27, 2019 democratic debates, Sen. Kamala Harris attacked Biden on his failure to expand busing policies to the federal level and for working with segregationist politicians. Biden was austered and filibustered by Harris and concluded his defense with, “Anyways, my time’s up. I’m sorry.”
Joe Biden has always been prone to charming gaffes. But, his recent faux pas do not seem like his usual gaffes. He struggles to maintain linear speech.
I fear that Biden may have some sort of developing condition like Alzheimer’s or dementia.
Biden on one occasion forgot President Obama’s name.
While discussing the Russian annexation of Crimea, Biden said, “He’s [Trump] saying that it was President ... my boss ... it was his fault.”
Biden also called a 21-year-old college student a “lying dog-faced pony-soldier” because he did not like her civil line of questioning.
This leads to the major issue. If Sanders’ could not motivate young voters in the primaries, how do we expect Biden to get them out to vote in November?
“And so, the younger generation now tells me how tough things are – give me a break! No no, I have no empathy for it. Give me a break. Because here’s the deal, guys – we decided we were going to change the world, and we did,” Biden said at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles on Jan. 10, 2018.
While many have taken his statement out of context the quote still irks me. As the young should respect our elders and the roads they paved for us, our elders should not dismiss our struggles. More than anything, the young crave guidance.
I fear that Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan would be dead on arrival.
Reasonable gun reform would be dead on arrival.
Climate change reform would be dead on arrival.
Many young people feel as if the DNC would rather have Trump than Sanders. One way to combat this would be to nominate Nina Turner, national co-chair of the Sanders Campaign, as the Democratic candidate for vice president.
She is eloquent, intelligent, and a fighter.
This would be an olive branch showing young people that you have heard us loud and clear.
However, I doubt the Democratic establishment has the wherewithal to see beyond their corporate donors.
I pray this is not the case.
People who voted for the third-party candidate in the 2016 election were blamed for Trump getting into office.
I will vote for Biden if he is the nominee. Frankly, the only reason I am is to avoid being scapegoated if Trump is re-elected.