For Kamala Harris, a time of choosing

Will I vote for the Democrat presidential ticket?

So it is done.

On this day, another history-shaking decision has been made. An incumbent president, President Joe Biden, has bowed to the pressure of his colleagues and many voters and announced he will not seek reelection.

After the first debate against former President Donald Trump, it became clear that President Biden’s previous strength and vigor have seeped away with the passage of time. It is to be expected. The presidency takes a visible toll on every man who has held the position. They enter the office with all the ardor of a suitor in the Spring of his existence, but leave with the weathered look of Winter’s cold decay.

Entering the office to serve his first term, Biden was already balancing on the cusp of his Autumn years, as it was. Could he survive another term and the heavy price the office exacts? For many, his shaky debate performance was such that the doubts were alarming. Biden would be 82 upon entering office for that second term. Though not a certainty, the very real chance was that he would not make it to the end of the term.

It was this fear that shook Democrats to their core. With Donald Trump’s bravado – no matter how fake and contrived – standing in stark contrast to Biden’s obvious frailty, they saw defeat on the horizon, and they ran with that concern.

As a politically homeless evangelical Conservative voter, I have no dog in this hunt. I do, however, see the danger of a second Trump presidency. He is the most corrupt, foul, unqualified man to ever hold any political office. He must be stopped. His enablers must be squashed. We cannot afford the authoritarian nightmare that the MAGAdonians wish to inflict on us. It is unamerican and unconstitutional in absolutely every respect. They wish for a monarchy that capitulates to our geopolitical foes and otherwise serves only to elevate the gilded toad and his spawn to a place of ungodly idolatry.

Upon announcing his exit from the race, Biden has thrown his endorsement to his vice president, Kamala Harris. This was always going to be the logical choice. To skip over her, ignore her would alienate large swaths of Democrat voters, who tend to lean to identity over experience or qualifications.

She is a woman – in the traditional sense (but they apparently wont hold that against her). She is African-American. She will only be 60 years old on election day, making her nearly two decades younger than her opponent, Trump. Other than those attributes, she’s not burdened with the “Hillary Syndrome.” In other words, she’s likable.

I mean, to be honest, I find her a bit goofy. Sometimes her word salad causes small brain bleeds that I may not comfortably weather for the next four years. Compared to the insane ramblings of batteries and sharks, windmills, and the-thing-with-the-lots-of-the-things that serve as “political genius” with the MAGA set, however, who can complain?

The burden now is upon VP Harris to choose her running mate wisely. Unlike Trump, whose sole requirement for a vice presidential pick was lack of any discernible spine and the kind of amoral crotch sniffing that comes with being a good dog.

Way to go, JD Vance. Have a Scooby snack, you gutless gimp, and try not to soil the carpets on the campaign trail.

I’ve heard a few names floated as potential running mates for Harris. Ultimately, it will be her choice, but if Democrats are thinking this is their opportunity to ramrod through every radical, far-left agenda item on their wish list, then they are not reading the room.

Moderation, outreach to undecided and independent voters will be the key to wresting victory from the jaws of defeat. While Trump himself is leaning further left than the architects of his Final Solution, his ticket is still a non-starter with those voters who remain on the fence.

The nation is weary of radicals from both sides. We need a group of dedicated uniters, who will put our country over their party goals. At the very least, we need some grownups back in office. A Harris-Adam Kinzinger ticket would be quite acceptable, but we know that’s not going to happen, so the next best thing would be to consider those Democrat members of Congress who are known for their moderate stances.

The ”Mod Squad,” or Moderate Democrats PAC, is a group of ten Democrats who manage to get things done without using a bullhorn to blast their liberal credo into the brain pan of the nation. Could Harris’ VP pick be one of these individuals?

Senator Mark Warner would be a strong option. He brings the south and the East Coast into play, as a former governor of Virginia. He has a record of reaching across the aisle to get things done and his record of achievement in the state is impressive.

He’s a businessman and a tech investor, making sound choices in technology and start-up tech companies that served the constituents of Virginia well.

He was also an early target for the MAGA faithful in 2016. As he spoke out against Trump, Fox News and others on the right attempted to find dirt on him that would sully his reputation.

They found nothing.

Montana Senator Jon Tester is a working farmer in Congress. There’s something about coming to work on the Senate floor with dirt under your fingernails that gives an air of legitimacy, when you say you’re working for the farmers, the country folks, the ones who put the food on our tables. You contrast that with Harris’ California prosecutor background and you can appeal to a lot of voters.

Senator Martin Heinrich, the senior senator from New Mexico is an engineer, by trade, and had experience in politics at the community and state level, before advancing to the federal level. He wants a secure border, has ties to the military community and supports a strong American fighting force. Could he bring an extra layer of pizazz to the Democrat ticket?

There are more to examine, but I’ll stop here. This is still so fresh, and our countrymen on the left have to gain their bearings and determine if this is a change they’re ready to make. What we know for certain is that no matter who Harris chooses, this will be a battle right up until they count the very last ballot cast on election day.

Will I vote for the Democrat presidential ticket?

I’ve never voted for a Democrat president in my adult life. It would take a lot for me to do that, now. What I’m stressing, however, is that these are our choices, until the voting public of the United States gets tired of the duopoly and breaks those chains.

What you can be sure of, with no shade of doubt, is that I will not be responsible for inflicting the curse of Donald Trump upon his fragile republic.

Bad policy we can survive. Authoritarian takeover, we cannot.

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