Regarding Kathleen Parker's March 17 Sunday opinion column, “For the sake of the country, Harris should step down”:
I completely disagree with Ms. Parker's scathing assessment of Kamala D. Harris' performance as Vice President. Ms. Parker painted a picture of an incompetent person who should stand aside. I think President Biden will be lucky to hold that ticket, but Vice President Harris has grown into her job in a remarkable way. She's great at speaking passionately about things worth fighting for, like reproductive rights and voting rights.
But it's not just her speech. She shows up to make a difference. Harris traveled to the southern border to call for action to improve conditions in immigrants' home countries as a way to address the root causes of immigration. When it comes to women's reproductive freedom, she fights hard for women whose rights are stripped away and whose health is at risk. She has just visited a family planning clinic. She visited the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, to commemorate the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when civil rights marchers including the great John Lewis were attacked. There is currently an ongoing voter suppression campaign that Harris is trying to fight. I don't understand what Mr. Parker is against. Mr. Harris has been and continues to be a major contributor to ticket acquisition. She is strong, passionate, and effective in fighting for change.
Joanie Grossfeld, Kensington
Kathleen Parker wrote that Vice President Harris was “elected because she is Black and a woman. This equates to job security.” However, a large, long-term study of new employees found that the biggest difference in employee turnover rates was between white and black women. Black women were also more likely to quit their jobs as companies became whiter. Additionally, the unemployment rate for black women was 4.4% in February, compared to 3.2% for white women.
What I'm trying to say is that being black and being a woman is not a combination that equates to job security, but rather the same precarious conditions that have existed in America for quite some time. .
Lawrence Bentley, Westford, Massachusetts
Although I was mildly perplexed by the various vague criticisms of Vice President Harris, I was drawn to Kathleen Parker's March 17 column. We wanted to better understand all the negative opinions about the first female vice president and determine whether such complaints are simply overblown or rooted in substance. .
Parker credited Harris with her impressive resume, reputation as a tough prosecutor, centrist leanings and telegenic direction in her campaign. Harris' first substantive criticism was of a former presidential candidate criticizing her during her nomination battle with Joe Biden, a violation that any rival would commit. Parker later denounced the vice president's performance as border czar as a “disastrous failure” and claimed that Harris' overall performance during her tenure had been “disappointing” and that President Biden was “not at her best.” Any honest person knows that there is no such thing.” ” And she backed it all up with nothing more than the results of a poll that reflected a snapshot of public opinion at that moment, rather than a dispassionate assessment of officials' work. Parker's main complaints seemed to be about Harris' “insane and ramblings” and “laughing out of nowhere.” And despite these criticisms, Parker's solution to this supposed underachiever is that, if Biden is re-elected, he will take her into her very complicated position as attorney general. It was meant to bring me down.
As she pondered Parker's ridiculous suggestion, “laughter just came out of nowhere.” Her persuasion efforts here were “disappointing,” if not a “disastrous failure.” But “any honest person probably knows” that the chorus of slander will continue.
Marvin Solberg, Edgewater, Maryland
Kathleen Parker has argued that Joe Biden's “history-making” choice of Kamala D. Harris as vice president could spell his downfall in 2024. Ms. Parker took issue with the racist and sexist rhetoric of those who seek to strip women of their hard-earned status. Power. What's next? Do you call on women elected to Congress to relinquish their seats?
Vice President Harris should not stand aside when it comes to standing up for women. To cite just one example, her comments during a visit to a women's clinic in Minnesota provided a powerful overview of the administration's policies. We need Ms. Harris' voice and her presence.
Inequalities in women's pay and government representation also persist. In the 118th Congress, only about 150 of the 540 members were women. According to the Pew Research Center, as of 2022, white women earned 83 cents for every dollar earned by men, while Black women earned 70 percent less than white men, and Hispanic women earned 65 percent less. I was only making a percentage.
Just as Geraldine Ferraro's run for vice president made me realize as a young girl that my possibilities were limitless, Harris' election as vice president was groundbreaking and inspired many. An inspiration to young women. Vote for Biden vs. Harris this November to protect women's rights and female political leadership.
Christine Battista-Frazee, MacLean
Kathleen Parker was right. Democrats need a new vice presidential candidate.
Vice President Harris is a wonderful person. But frankly, this election year, as opposed to 2020, she's not going to get on the Democratic ticket, or get many, if any, votes. Harris must be aware of this, but she may be hesitant to step down because she doesn't have a strong candidate to replace her.
This is the answer. As radical as it may seem, Liz Cheney would make a great vice president for Biden. President Biden can bring most Democrats to the table, and Cheney can bring not only “old-school” Republicans but also independents. The only people left behind by such a Biden-Cheney ticket would be Republicans loyal to Donald Trump.
Will Mr. Cheney run as a Democratic candidate? Her first reaction will probably be, “It has nothing to do with your life.” However, she will need to overcome any doubts to throw her hat into the ring. That may be the only way to save the country from another Trump disaster. After all, she's already working hard to keep Trump and his supporters out of the White House and Congress.
Many Democrats this year will vote against Mr. Trump, not Mr. Biden. Cheney is the most anti-Trump member of the Republican Party as long as it exists. Many people in both parties are likely to support a Biden-Cheney ticket, which would ultimately provide an opportunity to reunite most Americans. More than that, the combination of Biden and Cheney would be a superpower on both the international and domestic stages. It's time to think outside the box.
Regarding David Ignatius' March 20 op-ed, “Liz Cheney's high-risk, high-reward plan for 2024,” it's worth noting the following statement from former Congresswoman Liz Cheney: Every fiber of my body fought against the Republican presidential candidate. ”
I have some sympathy for Mr. Ignatius's respect for Mr. Cheney's position and leadership regarding the 2024 presidential campaign, but I am also entitled to that. Cheney was instrumental in Donald Trump's nomination and election as the 45th president in 2016, his administration's legitimacy, and his near-reelection in 2020. It was only in the aftermath of the last election that he finally began to move away from acting in purely partisan interests. This includes giving bipartisan credibility to the Congressional investigation into the shameful events of January 6, 2021.
These events were not the result of the 45th president's actions, which were unthinkable before that day. Rather, they were manifestations of qualities that have always been essential to Mr. Trump's public and private life. We must applaud leaders who always uphold democracy and the rule of law over partisan politics and self-interest.
Daniel J. Mustico, Cabin John
David Ignatius was spot on about former Congresswoman Liz Cheney's efforts to tout Donald Trump's many flaws. But Cheney shouldn't waste time getting her message across to states that President Biden will easily win. She needs to focus on battleground states like Georgia, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. If Cheney can convince voters enough, the public won't have to put up with Trump again.
As David Ignatius said, I am most grateful to Liz Cheney for her efforts to spread the word about the dangers of another President Trump term. But for Cheney and others who talk about the dangers of Trump's presidency, it's time to do more.
they need to take the next step. That means supporting President Biden and campaigning for him. It's not enough to just say “no” to Donald Trump by refusing to support him, not voting, or voting for a third-party candidate instead. It will show others that. They must commit to doing the only thing necessary to ensure Trump doesn't win in November: voting for Biden. They can do it while declaring their allegiance to traditional conservative principles and being disappointed in voting Democratic, but they have to do it. They must set an example for others. They will not appear as guardrails in the next Trump administration. Their current job is to ensure that guardrails are not needed.
