Should Joe Biden win the election in November against President Donald Trump, and something happens to him, then Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) will become the President of the United States.
Usually, running mates are something of an afterthought for many voters, an assurance that if something happens to the President, that the Vice President is reasonably qualified to take over.
But in the case of Kamala Harris, there is legitimate concern that Joe Biden is in such poor health that he would not finish his first term of office.
An Aug.6-Aug.9 poll by Rasmussen Reports found that a whopping 59 percent of likely voters believe that Biden is unlikely to finish a four-year term in office. That includes 73 percent of Republicans, 49 percent of Democrats and 57 percent of unaffiliated voters.
At 77 years old (he turns 78 on Nov. 20), Biden would be the oldest person ever elected to be President — and clearly voters have noticed.
President Donald Trump has certainly noticed. His campaign is currently running an ad comparing the Biden of today with the Biden from just a few years ago, contrasting the energetic Biden of yesteryear with the meandering Biden of today who, when not using a teleprompter, appears unaware of important facts and cannot complete sentences.
The ad asks, “Did something happen to Joe Biden?”
And so too have journalists noticed. On Aug. 5, Biden told CBS News reporter Erol Barnett when he asked Biden “Have you taken a cognitive test?” that “No, I haven’t taken a test. Why the hell would I take a test? C’mon, man. That’s like saying to you before you got on this program, would you take a test whether you’re taking cocaine or not? What you do you think, huh? Are you a junkie?”
Clearly, Biden was offended by the question, but it needs to be asked. Will he make it to 2024? The truth is, the American people have to accept the very real possibility that Biden may not be mentally nor physically fit to discharge the duties of the President under the Constitution.
Which means we have to give Kamala Harris heightened consideration as his running mate.
That includes Harris locking arms with U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in support of legislation to implement the Green New Deal, ban petroleum, coal and natural gas in an utterly insane bid to get to zero net carbon emissions by 2030.
“Climate change is an existential threat—it’s critical we act now to achieve a cleaner, safer, and healthier future. But it is not enough to simply cut emissions and end our reliance on fossil fuels. We must ensure that communities already contending with unsafe drinking water, toxic air, and lack of economic opportunity are not left behind,” said Harris in a statement.
“We need a Green New Deal based in climate and environmental justice, which means building a clean economy that protects communities that have been neglected by policymakers for far too long. I’m proud to work with Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez on this comprehensive proposal, and I’m hopeful that it brings a Green New Deal closer to reality.”
Under the Green New Deal, 62 percent of the electric grid would need to be replaced within ten years with so-called renewable energy, as the plan calls for eliminating coal and natural gas electricity generation.
All consumption of natural gas and petroleum for home heating in the winter and making hot water would have to cease and all homes would have to somehow be refitted with electric heat generation and boilers.
Every car and truck in America that runs on petroleum would have to be replaced with electric vehicles. It would be the end of the internal combustion engine.
Every building in America would have to be upgraded or replaced to be net-zero carbon emitting.
Then there is Harris’ push for Medicare for All she pushed in her own bid for the Democratic nomination. Biden for his part says he supports “a public health insurance option like Medicare.” It’s all socialized medicine to the American people.
The Harris Medicare for All plan would, like the Green New Deal, phase in over ten years, leading to the end of private, employer-based insurance for most Americans.
And finally, the American people should know that Harris supported cutting $150 million from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) budget and taking the police force below 10,000 for the first time in more than a decade.
“I applaud Eric Garcetti for doing what he’s done,” Harris told ABC’s Good Morning America host George Stephanopoulos in June, adding, “Right now, what we’re seeing in America is many cities spend over one-third of their entire city budget on policing but meanwhile we’ve been defunding public schools for years in America.”
Harris explained, “We’ve got to re-examine what we’re doing with American taxpayer dollars and ask the question: are we getting the right return on our investment? Are we actually creating healthy and safe communities? That’s a legitimate conversation and it requires a really critical evaluation.”
What would America look like in ten years if Kamala Harris became President? A Soviet-style ten-year plan. A “green” economy dead in the water that cannot create jobs to sustain the American people. Top-heavy socialized medicine. And local communities in flames because police were not allowed to do their jobs.
Kamala Harris is a radical. And if Joe Biden wins in November, she just might become President. Watch out.
Robert Romano is the Vice President of Public Policy at Americans for Limited Government.
