WASHINGTON: It will be a Biden-Harris Democratic ticket again in 2024. US President Joe Biden affirmed on Wednesday that he will run for a second White House term, with vice-president Kamala Harris as his running mate, setting at rest for now raging speculation in the media and political circles of changes at the top, including among some Democrats.
Asked at a White House press conference whether he was satisfied with Harris’ work leading the voting rights effort and whether he will commit to putting her on the ticket once again, Biden simply said, “Yes and yes.” Asked to elaborate, he said, “There’s no need to,” before adding, “She’s going to be my running mate, number one. And number two, I did put her in charge. I think she’s doing a good job.”
The sharp endorsement of Harris, and his own assertion on the eve of his first year in office anniversary that he has “over-performed,” cooled for now chatter in the political circuit about Harris’ and his own political future amid dismal approval rating. Speculation has extended to talk of drafting Hillary Clinton to run again in 2024, with a moderate Republican running mate like Congresswoman Li Cheney, to unify a deeply divided country facing an upsurge of nativism.
Biden’s remarks came at a marathon two-hour long news conference just hours before Senate Republicans blocked a s bill aimed at expanding voting rights that is seen as a challenge to white primacy. Getting the bill to the Senate floor would have needed 60 votes to overturn a filibuster, an archaic convention that allows a minority of 40+ Senators to block any legislation. Democrats failed to keep even their own flock of 50 together, losing the vote 48-52 after two of their own Senators Republican-dominated states against the party line.
Critics of the filibuster have argued that it perpetuates racism in the United States, endowing thinly-populated mostly white-majority states with disproportionate power and influence. Illustrative of this is the fact that the 48 Democratic Senators who voted to overturn the filibuster convention, represent 182 million Americans, 34 million than 148 million Americans that the 52 Senators who voted to retain it represent.
“Let’s be clear: By refusing to end the filibuster, Manchin and Sinema (Democratic Senators) are giving Republicans the green light to cheat their way to victory in 2022, 2024, and every election thereafter,” a leading Democratic operative raged amid cries of betrayal in the party. Republican gloated about beating back “one of the most radical efforts” in the history of the United States Senate to change a convention that essentially enables white primacy, allowing a shrinking white demographic to win against the majority popular vote.
Republicans have also argued that Democrats have used the filibuster when it suits them, but Democrats counter that they have never done it during what some say is literally a life or death moment for the nation. White primacist Republicans fear that if voting rights are expanded, Democrats will simply corral more non-white voters to get a permanent stranglehold on power, eclipsing white dominance of America.
Biden had tasked Harris with shepherding the voting rights legislation and she came to the Senate to preside over what turned out to be a failed effort to change the status quo. “History will remember this moment—and so will the American people. The United States Senate must do everything in its power to protect the right to vote,” she tweeted shortly after the vote, as Democrat sought other means, including executive decree, to expand voting rights
Asked at a White House press conference whether he was satisfied with Harris’ work leading the voting rights effort and whether he will commit to putting her on the ticket once again, Biden simply said, “Yes and yes.” Asked to elaborate, he said, “There’s no need to,” before adding, “She’s going to be my running mate, number one. And number two, I did put her in charge. I think she’s doing a good job.”
The sharp endorsement of Harris, and his own assertion on the eve of his first year in office anniversary that he has “over-performed,” cooled for now chatter in the political circuit about Harris’ and his own political future amid dismal approval rating. Speculation has extended to talk of drafting Hillary Clinton to run again in 2024, with a moderate Republican running mate like Congresswoman Li Cheney, to unify a deeply divided country facing an upsurge of nativism.
Biden’s remarks came at a marathon two-hour long news conference just hours before Senate Republicans blocked a s bill aimed at expanding voting rights that is seen as a challenge to white primacy. Getting the bill to the Senate floor would have needed 60 votes to overturn a filibuster, an archaic convention that allows a minority of 40+ Senators to block any legislation. Democrats failed to keep even their own flock of 50 together, losing the vote 48-52 after two of their own Senators Republican-dominated states against the party line.
Critics of the filibuster have argued that it perpetuates racism in the United States, endowing thinly-populated mostly white-majority states with disproportionate power and influence. Illustrative of this is the fact that the 48 Democratic Senators who voted to overturn the filibuster convention, represent 182 million Americans, 34 million than 148 million Americans that the 52 Senators who voted to retain it represent.
“Let’s be clear: By refusing to end the filibuster, Manchin and Sinema (Democratic Senators) are giving Republicans the green light to cheat their way to victory in 2022, 2024, and every election thereafter,” a leading Democratic operative raged amid cries of betrayal in the party. Republican gloated about beating back “one of the most radical efforts” in the history of the United States Senate to change a convention that essentially enables white primacy, allowing a shrinking white demographic to win against the majority popular vote.
Republicans have also argued that Democrats have used the filibuster when it suits them, but Democrats counter that they have never done it during what some say is literally a life or death moment for the nation. White primacist Republicans fear that if voting rights are expanded, Democrats will simply corral more non-white voters to get a permanent stranglehold on power, eclipsing white dominance of America.
Biden had tasked Harris with shepherding the voting rights legislation and she came to the Senate to preside over what turned out to be a failed effort to change the status quo. “History will remember this moment—and so will the American people. The United States Senate must do everything in its power to protect the right to vote,” she tweeted shortly after the vote, as Democrat sought other means, including executive decree, to expand voting rights