Meet Karen Bass

July 26, 2020 / Kurt F. Stone

There are now less than 100 days to go until the most crucial presidential election in American history. Many polls show that the Biden/? ticket will beat the poo out of Trump/Pence; a few speculate that Trump/Pence will squeak past Biden/? due to some kind of “November miracle.” Behind closed doors, the White House is straining to find a last-minute strategy which goes beyond what we’ve come to expect: name-calling, bluster, lies and the latest . . . “Law ‘n Order.” With less than 100 days to go, no one knows for sure how the Republican National Convention will work and precisely where ‘45 will give his acceptance speech to party loyalists. On the Democratic side of the aisle, the big question mark is who Joe Biden will select as his running mate. All we know for certain at this point is that his selection will be a woman.

Back at the dawn of time, the person who came in second in the presidential election would automatically become V.P. That is why Thomas Jefferson (the nation’s 1st Secretary of State) became our 2nd V.P under President John Adams) and then after 36 ballots by the House of Representatives, our 3rd POTUS (with the loser, former New York Senator Aaron Burr, becoming our 3rd V.P. Eventually, the choice of who would run on a party’s national ticket for Vice President became the obligation of national delegates, party leaders or the candidate himself. Under these latter circumstances, the choice almost always was for political reasons - based either on a need to balance a ticket strategically or geographically. In any event, part of the consideration would be that the Vice President be able to take over for the Chief Executive/Commander-in-Chief role should the need arise. (Frequently it didn’t work out so well; Andrew Johnson had the grave misfortune of stepping into the shoes of the nation’s best - and tallest - president, Abraham Lincoln. Ouch!)

Former Vice President Biden’s selection will no doubt be predominantly based on matters of political strategy. Progressives have been pushing for Massachusetts ’Senator Elizabeth Warren; someone who can satisfy the party’s progressive wing and presumably keep them from sitting on their hands. And, unquestionably, she is ready to step in on a moment’s notice. However, it is by now obvious that she will not be Vice President Biden’s choice. How so? Mostly, because he has adopted many of Senator Warren’s progressive policies. Then too, a teaming of Biden and Warren brings neither racial nor generational diversity to the ticket, and would be a gift to the Republicans who would continually remind their base of the perils of electing “Left-wing Socialists,” continually referring to the Vice Presidential candidate as “Pocahontas,” and not having to waste any time doing opposition research - they already know every “negative” there is know about her.

Others being seriously considered 99 days out are Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Florida Representative Val Demmings, California Senator Kamala Harris, and former Obama National Security Adviser/UN Ambassador Susan Rice. It should be noted that 4 are women of color. Then too there are Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and helicopter pilot who lost both legs in combat while serving in Iraq, and California Representative Karen Bass, whom prior to her election to the House a decade ago, served as Speaker of the California Assembly . . . making her the second-most powerful politician in the world’s 7th largest economy.

Keep your eye on Representative Bass. She brings so much to the national political table. Besides being an African American woman with solid progressive credentials, she is a much respected member of both the House Judiciary Committee and Foreign Affairs, and chairs the House Black Caucus. Karen Bass is a native Angelino, having been born nearly 67 years ago to a working-class family (her father was a postal worker; her mother a housewife). She was raised in the predominantly Jewish Fairfax area of L.A. and graduated from Hamilton High School (known to locals as “Hammy”), a majority Jewish public school. Professionally, she is a physician’s assistant, and earned a Master’s Degree in social work from U.S.C.

(BTW: many have not heard about her. For my Jewish friends, it is likely that your first question will be about her bona fides vis-à-vis Israel. It should be noted that she, along with 115 of her Congressional colleagues [all Democrats] signed a letter opposing unilateral annexation of the West Bank; otherwise, she has been a strong supporter of the Jewish State.

So what does Karen Bass bring to the table? First and foremost, she is a leader who is both strong and highly knowledgeable about health issues, has a great deal of experience in international relations (both as Speaker of the California Assembly and a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee), is passionate and . . . this might not at first blush sound like a positive . . . is not that well known to the opposition. There is very little that can be said or done on the part of the Trump campaign to suddenly make her an “enemy of the people.” They are likely far behind in their opposition research on her, which means that they don’t have a vile nickname for her. Let’s face it: while Vice President Biden is running away with the map, ‘45 is shooting himself in the foot (or mouth) 7 days a week.

The best advice for the Biden team is to take comes either from Hippocrates (“First, do no harm”) or Napoleon Bonaparte (“Never interrupt your enemy when he is making mistake after mistake”). With Karen Bass on the ticket, Uncle Joe can just be himself: experienced to the nth degree, decent, humane, compassionate and one of the people.

And so, get ready to meet Karen Bass; a balanced ticket all unto herself.

99 days to go . . .

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