Et Tu, My most loyal friends

                                   “Et Tu, my most loyal friends?”

       On Sunday the 21^st of July, 2024, President Joseph R. Biden dropped out of the race for President, having been pushed off the political cliff by his most loyal and true friends in the democratic party.

         Afterwards, tributes to Joe Biden poured in from many of these same loyal and true friends. While listening to their effusive praise of Biden, a line from “Julius Caesar” comes to mind.  "I come to bury Caesar not to praise him" says Marc Antony. He says he's come to bury Caesar, as if to resolve the death, then not to praise him, but question why such measures were taken. These two ideas contradict themselves, but seemingly go together.

          Although I have been a registered Republican for 25 years and have indeed worked as a Republican political operative in a number of elections, I voted for Joe Biden in 2020. I had planned to vote for him in the 2024 election.

         The “why” is easy enough. Joe Biden is a good and decent man who I think did a good job in resurrecting a crashed economy from the debacle of the Covid plague. He also re-established the American presence as a prime sponsor of the NATO alliance. His infrastructure bill will fund thousands of local construction projects throughout the nation. In short, his foot prints will linger in history well past many of his detractors.

         And although President Biden dropped the ball on a few issues, his overall performance as President, when compared to that of Donald Trump, is that he is a far superior choice in this election. Many of us are committed “never Trumpers” who would vote for Goofy, Donald Duck or Howdy Doody, before we considered voting for former President Trump.

        Biden, who shares the heritage of contentious Celts with me, was calm, measured and deliberative after being pushed off the cliff. He stood tall in the saddle and said, “I support Vice President Kamala Harris for President. I urge all democratic voters to get behind her candidacy.” I would have not been so generous of spirit as the kindly President Biden.

       As for Kamala Harris? I think that she is an intelligent, capable political operative, whom I look forward to seeing tangle with some of the rascals who think her an easy mark. This woman has got spine. This woman doesn’t back off in the face of male aggression. This woman is capable of running the country.

      Raised in an immigrant family, Kamala Harris completed her education with a Law Degree. She became California’s attorney general and later was elected to the United States Senate from California. This woman knows how to run for office and take on all comers. She certainly has my vote.

     Supposedly, the DNCC is running polls to tests Harris’s viability against “The Donald.” I have not seen any of these figures, so I cannot accurately assess her chances in the race. I do know that it will cost a boat load of money to carry this one off. All of those Hollywood types, who were instrumental in pushing Biden off the cliff, will have to come up with a lot of cash if they want to carry this election off. Like most electoral campaigns, if you win, you are a brilliant thinker and risk taker. If you lose, you are a bum.

        I urge any who listen to me and faith in my judgement to vote for Kamala Harris in the coming election.

                                                  -30-

                                            (585 words)

                                       Joseph Xavier Martin 

                                               7/21/24