Many of us Dems breathed a collective sigh of relief when Joe Biden stepped down from the presidential campaign last week. I have to admit feeling excitement over the new match between Kamala the Cop and Donald the Felon.
She is already doing one thing Biden was no longer capable of doing: making the case that Trump the Divider and Trump the Bitter Old Man (“I will be your retribution”) is a bad fit with the nation’s zeitgeist. As Kamala said recently, “I know Donald Trump’s type.”
Democrats are showing uncharacteristic unity, but the green shoots sprouting from the ground will need watering. The $85 million in small donations that came in the first day of her Presidential campaign is a start. And an opening salvo against Elon Musk’s pledged (but delivered?) $45 million a month to Trump.
Kamala heading to Milwaukee as her first campaign stop is another good omen. Biden won Wisconsin by 20,000 votes in 2020, which came down to a few votes per Milwaukee ward. Turnout there and a college town like Madison could be the difference.
But as my friend and retired committeewoman for the Democratic Party in Oak Park, Jerry Delaney, might say, the door knocking and phone calls (in Wisconsin and Michigan) need to begin. Now!
Jack Crowe
Oak Park