Senator Tammy Duckworth may not be a Surprising VP pick
Source: ABC 7 Eyewitness News
As America holds its breath in anticipation for the 2020 Presidential Election this November, it’s imperative that Joe Biden, the most likely Democratic presidential nomination, will pick a running mate who, in a time where new perspectives are necessary, is representative of the country’s diversity and patriotism.
The former vice president was able to win the 1,991 delegates needed to secure the Democratic nomination, made easier after his only remaining adversary, Senator Bernie Sanders, ended his campaign in April. As Biden waits to formally accept the nomination at the Democratic National Convention in August, the current buzz surrounding his campaign is regarding who will be selected as a running mate.
While Biden remains tight-lipped about who he plans to choose, he’s described a (very) short list of criteria that the individual should fulfill. According to Biden, the vice presidential nominee should:
Be “simpatico” regarding important issues, sharing similar philosophical views. However, if the individual’s views aren’t congruent with Biden’s own, then they must...
...Be someone who is prepared to take on the responsibility of Vice President and, if the situation calls for it, President of the United States. (Given that Biden is 77-years-old, this piece of criteria seems all the more necessary.)
Of course, this wouldn’t make Biden’s VP selection process any easier, if not for one thing: Biden made it clear that by early August, he would choose a “woman of color” as his vice presidential nominee, preparing a racially-diverse list of potential candidates. This ruled out several contenders: Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who withdrew herself from the VP consideration process, said that a woman of color should be chosen for the position. While Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) remain in the process, the rest of the short list consist solely of women of color. Currently, Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA), fresh from her recent run in the 2020 presidential race, remains the favorite to win the vice presidential nomination, due not only to her political experience, but her status as a potential answer to rallying calls for Biden to select a Black woman as his vice president.
Source: Los Angeles Times
However, a new candidate emerged onto political commentators’ radars as recently as last week: Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill). Duckworth, a veteran of the Iraq War, double-amputee, and a Purple Heart recipient, made headlines for criticizing President Trump for, among other things, his divisive speech at Mount Rushmore. In an interview with State of the Union, Duckworth said:
"What really struck me about the speech that the President gave at Mount Rushmore was that he spent more time worried about honoring dead Confederates than he did talking about the lives of the 130,000 Americans who lost their lives to Covid-19 or by warning Russia off of the bounty they're putting on American's heads. I mean his priorities are all wrong here. He should be talking about what we're going to do to overcome this pandemic. What are we going to do to push Russia back? And instead he had no time for that."
Source: The Washington Post
A vocal critic of President Trump, especially for his treatment of American troops and veterans, Duckworth is often forced by those on the far-right to reaffirm her love of the United States. In response, she not only asserts that she is a patriotic servant of the American people, but that there are flaws in blind patriotism. For example, after calling for a “national dialogue” about taking down statues of George Washington, Duckworth was accused of being a “coward” and a “fraud” by Tucker Carlson, a Fox News TV host, as well as by President Trump’s campaign for using her platform to “villainize America’s founding.” In a New York Times op-ed, Duckworth refutes these claims, stating:
"But while I would risk my own safety to protect a statue of [George Washington’s] from harm, I'll fight to my last breath to defend every American's freedom to have his or her own opinion about Washington's flawed history. What some on the other side don't seem to understand is that we can honor our founders while acknowledging their serious faults, including the undeniable fact that many of them enslaved Black Americans."
Duckworth’s relevance in Biden’s VP search shouldn’t come as a surprise; way before her public discourse with President Trump, Duckworth had a history of being a politically-moderate trailblazer. Not only is she the first disabled person to serve in Congress, but in 2018, Duckworth became the first U.S. Senator to give birth while holding office. She is also outspoken about her views on maternity leave for working women, and defending the rights of veterans.
For Biden, Duckworth securing the vice presidential nomination would be a political asset, not only because she’s a woman of color, but because she would have the broadest appeal amongst Democrats and voters alike. Roughly 70% of Democrats say that it’s important for Biden to choose a vice president who’s a woman of color, and, likewise, 59% of Democratic primary voters believe that having a woman of color would benefit Biden’s campaign. Duckworth’s experience as a veteran, status as a working mother, knowledge on foreign affairs, and her nonpartisan, often open minded views regarding the U.S. military would reinforce Biden’s platform of “service and sacrifice”, while also keeping him ahead of President Trump in the polls. Ultimately, Duckworth might be the safest bet for Biden to successfully pull through in the 2020 election.