Former Georgia statehouse leader Stacey Abrams (shown) has been actively lobbying to become presumptive Democrat nominee Joe Biden’s pick for his vice presidential running mate in 2020. According to at least one Biden campaign insider, she shouldn’t waste any more time, as she’s not considered a serious candidate for the job.
On ABC’s The View, Abrams let it be known that she’s willing and able to accept the job if offered. Asked by Whoopie Goldberg if she would accept a VP offer, Abrams said: “It would be doing a disservice to every woman of color, every woman of ambition, every child who wants to think beyond their known space for me to pretend to say no or to pretend, ‘Oh, no, I don’t want it.’ Of course I want it. Of course I want to serve America. Of course I want to be a patriot and do this work. And so, I’d say yes.”
Abrams first came to national prominence in 2018 when she lost the Georgia gubernatorial election to Brian Kemp. Abrams never conceded the election and she and her surrogates viciously accused Kemp and the Republicans of widespread voter suppression — a charge they could not prove.
Abrams was then allowed the opportunity to deliver the Democrats’ response to President Trump’s 2019 State of the Union speech. This high level attention led to speculation that Abrams was ready to be a player on the national political scene.
Not so, an unnamed Biden surrogate told the Washington Post. “No one takes Stacey seriously. And her public campaigning for the job seems more like a hostage negotiation than an actual attempt to get the job,” the insider reportedly said. “Biden is an old school guy and always will be. Picking Stacey would be like picking Palin. He doesn’t need to throw a Hail Mary. He wants a good governing partner.”
Biden’s age and his seeming cognitive decline would argue for a running mate that is ready to hit the ground running. And the anonymous insider believes that Abrams would not be ready to lead immediately.
“Stacey isn’t ready on day one. Even she knows that and it’s why she’s engaging in this dance. She might get perfunctorily better, but she’s not a serious pick for him. And her campaign is viewed as much as promotion for her book as it is for being chosen as Biden’s VP,” the insider concluded.
Abrams has already shown her capacity for loyalty to Biden by defending him in his battle to move beyond Tara Reade’s accusation that Biden sexually assaulted her in 2019.
While feigning support for the #MeToo movement, Abrams proved that she could be a sycophant for Biden when she told CNN that she ultimately didn’t believe Reade’s account of what happened. “I believe that women deserve to be heard and I believe that they need to be listened to, but I also believe that those allegations have to be investigated by credible sources,” Abrams said.
“The New York Times did a deep investigation and they found that the accusation was not credible. I believe Joe Biden,” Abrams concluded.
But even the New York Times doesn’t claim that its investigation cleared Biden, with a spokesperson saying, “Our investigation made no conclusions either way.”
Abrams has also suggested, in a self-serving way, that a “woman of color” could help Biden bring in votes in November, because of — coronavirus.
“I believe a woman of color could help Vice President Biden turn out voters who want to see themselves reflected in the ticket itself,” Abrams said in late April. “And I think that, particularly, given how vicious this pandemic has been to the black community, to the Latino community, and to the Native American community, it’s going to be critical that someone on the ticket can speak to their experiences and also speak to their particular needs when it comes to recovery.”
Abram’s ability to self-promote with such a straight face is almost — dare I say — Trumpian. But if you believe Biden’s insider, it’s not working for her. If anything, it’s annoying the campaign and other female Democrats looking at gaining the VP nod.
But with the black vote becoming less and less certain for Democrats, Biden might consider making a grand gesture with his VP pick to keep African-Americans on the Democrat plantation. And Abrams stands ready to take the job if needed.
Photo of Stacey Abrams: Screenshot from YouTube video
James Murphy is a freelance journalist who writes on a variety of subjects, with a primary focus on the ongoing anthropogenic climate-change hoax and cultural issues. He can be reached at [email protected]
