Kamala Harris: Joe Biden’s new right-hand woman holds key to future – Jim Duffy

The US election has far-reaching consequences for the UK but now there is hope on the horizon, writes Jim Duffy

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and running mate Kamala Harris make their first campaign appearance together at a news conference in Wilmington, Delaware. (Picture: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The US Presidential Election is scheduled for Tuesday 3 November 2020. That’s just three months away. In case you are not properly focused on it yet, this could be potentially one of the biggest Presidential elections in the last 100 years. It will mark a turning point in how we live our lives. In short, this particular election could make or break the way government and politics are done, while transforming democracy to autocracy. Will you vote for Donald Trump or Joe Biden?

What the last five months have clearly demonstrated to us is that the current class of politicians are pretty hopeless. They probably always have been, but it has taken a pandemic to highlight just how poor they are.

Looking inwards at the Westminster government, can any of you truly put your hand on your heart and say that Boris Johnson is a leader? Where is he actually? One might be right in asserting that this is a guy who wanted the title, but not the responsibility. Perhaps for him it was more about toppling his fellow Bullingdon Club chum, David Cameron, than being a proper prime minister. Brexit is a side game folks. It always has been. It was simply a political ploy to pin a political strategy on. And perhaps now it’s as clear as day to see.

The United Kingdom is well past its best. We have fallen harder in our economy than our closest neighbours. We cannot manage the English Channel and as for one nation and in it together, it really is a shambles with the Brits doing what they want in pubs and at beaches. It is not a wannabe Winston Churchill character we need, it is a true leader who can steer the ship through these dangerous times. I’m afraid the Bullingdon Brexiteer that is Boris Johnson can have as many strategists as he wishes inside No 10, it will not make any difference as he simply has not got a grip on how to lead. But he has got Donald Trump to prop him up.

There is no doubt in my mind that if Donald Trump wins a second term, then the United Kingdom will lurch violently to the right. It actually feels like that is all No 10 is waiting for. And in today’s fractured global, geo-political world, being so close to America with Donald Trump in office for another four years is fraught with danger. Think about it for a minute. We cannot even work out a simple plan with France to manage immigration on a small channel of water, yet we want to do business with a superpower seven hours away by aeroplane?

Let’s look at the good old USA. Federal agents “cleaning up” Portland, Oregon. Rioting and looting in the plush shopping districts of Chicago. Coronavirus literally unmanageable. A fiscal deficit that is bigger than a Nimitz class aircraft carrier. The rich getting awfully richer, while the poor are not making forward progress. And a former First Lady admitting that the whole thing is getting her down to a feeling of “depression” level.

A United States of America that has never been so un-united since the Civil Wars. With a President, like or not, who I believe would change the constitution in a heartbeat to keep him in power for another ten years. And this is what the UK wants to cosy up to post Brexit? It’s no wonder Europe is nervous.

But, there could be light on the horizon. Joe Biden I have no real allegiance to or any hankering to vote for. I honestly believe that he and Obama were ineffectual and are partly to blame for what is in the White House now. That aside, Biden this week made a bold decision to bring on Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate for November. Rather than vote for two pasty old men with dubious pasts, I can now see hope for Americans as a bright light has just shone through.

But, be ready and watch closely. This lady is about to be picked apart and sneered at by Republicans, the White House and many who do not want a female of colour potentially as President if 77-year-old Joe takes unwell.

Kamala is about to be turned upside down and inside out by the quiet forces lurking in today’s America. Why? Because this appointment will most definitely scare the living daylights out of Trump. In short, this is his worst nightmare.

Kamala has not yet been stained and scarred by any time in the White House. Many would say that was what held back Hilary Clinton. She was not “fresh” enough. She had too much baggage. Whereas Kamala is not an apple rotting at the bottom of the barrel, she is fresh on top of the tree.

As for her policies, her political beliefs, her voting record or where she went to college, it really doesn’t matter at this time. What matters is she is the antithesis of Donald Trump and that is what America and the UK needs right now.

So, there it is. One woman who holds the keys to a different future for the USA. A fairer USA? A more together, aligned USA? Probably. But she may never get a chance to prove what she can do. As where we are just now in politics is a very dangerous place. A president who, if he loses office, could end up spending years in court, a prime minister who has pegged his dreams to the other and a fractured pandemic-ridden world struggling to cope, never mind deal with these two creatures.

The next three months are crucial for us all. Keep an open mind and act accordingly. Your freedoms could be at stake.