When I was ten and twelve years old, I used to think about ‘what if my father dies?’ I wasn’t obsessed with the thought, but it did create uncomfortable feelings that rippled through me deep. Still, I would think it through, know that I had Aunts and Uncles and brothers and the like to help me navigate such a personal tragedy. In essence, I calmed myself because I had prepared myself for the worst possible news — both parents dead in a car crash — and knew I would survive okay.
I think The presidents’ problem with age is less his problem and more ours, as far as where the collect head exists. I mean, Joe Biden is a bop till you drop kind of guy who figures slowing the tempo of the bop might make things last a bit longer … and he’s so damn good at getting people together … that he ought to stick with it. I mean look at what the guy has accomplished!
But, what — full horror alert — happens if he drops dead or suffers a Woodrow Wilson type of stroke. Well, we know. The 25th Amendment, which wasn’t exactly followed as recently as Jan 7, 2021, sets forth a process for the transfer of power, literally to the vice president with the Speaker of the House being third in line.
And the one thing everyone says about Joe is that he is loyal to the constitution, so there is hope that there can be a better precedent set than that of 45 on how the 25th Amendment is implemented. (Where is the creative energy that has Trump pointing a gold-plated Colt 45 not at his temple, but ours — the Capitol) .
With that thought in mind, let me propose that we concoct a primary selection method for vice president.
I mean the Lord knows that letting the GOP do its dance for the nomination is panning out to be little more than a pander by the Indian (not native American) guy who is prancing about trying to get that role in a second Trump administration. And the display of disfunction they manifest is almost enough to have Rosanne do a gut-emptying spew on the kitchen table.
Expanding the primary to the vice presidential pick is really not a slap at Vice President Harris — really — the need for the effort is strictly media attention on the subject of fucking governance … which would be the policy topics that are in play in such a vice presidential contest.
I mean the media is getting everything they want out of the current contest including being able to take a near total bye on policy and the future — other than the rib that if elected, Trump will empower party members to rob and steal from democrats like the Nazi’s did the Jews in pre-WWII Europe. After all, fascism is little more than organized crime stealing from the ‘outs’ as they annihilate the ‘outs’ which means they’re always looking for more new ‘outs’ from which they can rob and murder. Why? Because they’re criminals organized to subvert the law to self-serving purposes.
So what I’m proposing is giving Joe a bye on the nomination but with the primaries modified to make the nomination for the vice-presidency or, in the event of the untimely passing of the incumbent president, the nomination for the presidency.
We need not only the discussion of the issues but the exercise of focusing our thinking on a future far beyond the thugs from Mar-a-largo.
The main thing recommending this kind of expansion of democracy — seemingly upending the tradition of a pres/vp team for two terms — is simply in the old days, when both parties were playing to the middle, it really mattered little which forum ideas appeared as the effort was to appeal to the broadest audience. With the GOP off the deep end on policy and its leaderships embrace of fascism, the GOP is incapable of formulating responsible plans to address the issues of the majority; opting instead for ‘we’ll cut your taxes and we’ll let you steal from your neighbor while we steal from your grandkids.
Explaining how solving the climate crisis that is the cause of a major extinction event for all sorts of life while maintaining equity and a better life is the path to the future.
The problem is our willingness to procrastinate coupled with the cash payments from those who benefit from dumping their pollution on the planets commons has put us behind the eight-ball.
I think the bottom line is that when Grover Norquist promised to shrink government so much it could be drowned in a bathtub, we all didn’t realize his real agenda was to build a bathtub big enough to drown all of us.
Literally, the only that can save us from the climate catastrophe is government, given increasingly catastrophic conditions coupled with the corruption of insincere men grabbing all they can, they’re acting like this is a sinking ship.
It may be, but as Ben Franklin so noted, those who give up freedom for security, deserve neither.
What too many have confused is freedom and responsibility; the latter ideally restraining the former based on just plain good, common sense when it comes to making decisions for mankind.
If you’re having a hard time following this, consider that Elon Musk’s solution to all this is to take flight and go to Mars. People are going to have to sacrifice more than that late afternoon latte.
But instead, we must listen to infernal ravings over mundane crap that makes no sense in the one-sided, GOP dominated talk around their choice for the top office.
If we’re wise, what we want to do is keep Joe but throw open the door who will be second in line to the Presidency. Kamala Harris could do this by announcing for president and telling folks that whomever wins this race for president will serve as Vice President for up to four more years.