The Editorial Board of Tucson’s daily newspaper the Arizona Daily Star has published their US Presidential endorsement for 2020, as former Vice President Joe Biden. Biden was in this position for 8 years under 44th US President Barack Obama, and Biden was formerly a US Senator from Delaware for 36 years. The endorsement is in today’s print edition, page A6.
There were many candidates running in the Arizona PPE, Presidential Preference Election slated for March 17, but now left are only Vermont US Senator Bernie Sanders, who ran for President in 2016, and Hawaiian US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. There will be a debate between these candidates in Phoenix on March 15 (see our Calendar listing), but Gabbard’s appearance is doubtful due to debate rules.
The other candidates have publicly withdrawn prior to today, based on the Democratic primary/caucus results in Iowa, NH, Nevada, S. Carolina, and Super Tuesday (14 states including Texas and California, and American Samoa).
Vote wisely on or before March 17. Early voting began on Feb. 19, so likely many voters have cast ballots for those no longer running. As of Super Tuesday, 44,000 ballots had been returned in Pima County.
Well, the AZ Daily Star backed the right candidate, with former VP/Senator Joe Biden winning the AZ PPE yesterday — with 43.11% of the vote. 42.9% of Arizona’s registered Dems voted in the PPE.https://results.arizona.vote/#/featured/28/0
Joe Biden is not my favorite by a long shot but this tweet humbled me. This woman explains what Joe Biden means to African Americans and, yes, it it about Barack Obama. Everyone should read this.
https://twitter.com/lloki08/status/1236493650189680641
This is better, here’s the text of that tweet:
“Let me explain something to you about Joe Biden and why some of the shit that he’s done in his past doesn’t matter. This old rich white man played second fiddle to a black man. Not just any black man, but a younger black man, a smart black man. Not just for a day. Not 1, not 2 but eight years. He took his cues from this black man who had more power than him and was virtually unknown when he took the presidency, and Joe Biden had been around forever. He was willing and proud to be his wing man. Not once did he try to undermine him, this black man. Instead Joe walked in lockstep with him, he respected him, he loved and trusted him. He was lead by him and he learned from him. And Joe did not have a problem with it. You tell me what 40+ year “establishment” white politician has ever done that. Joe Biden is cut from a different cloth. And black folks understand that and for good reason. He has shown it. This is what showing up and being an ally looks like. When black people say they know Joe, this is how we know.”
– Laurie Goff”
Wow. Perspective is some heavy s—.
Yeah, it’s quite moving. But, unfortunately, it’s always a bad idea to vote based on one’s emotional attachments. Biden was a loyal VP to Obama, but his legislative history has not favored black people or served them well. History matters, leopards don’t change their spots, and Obama won’t be there this time (assuming Biden wins.)
Take The Journey With Bernie!
Bernie is popular here in Arizona, having just attracted 10,000 people at a rally in Phoenix. I heard him here in Reid Park in October, 2015 (when he was running for President in 2016) and he energized the crowd. Should be interesting to see what happens in 2 weeks, as early ballots are coming in right now. People are still saying “Feel the Bern”.