glenn.townes@njurbannews.com
As I watched the vice presidential debate on Wednesday night between vice president Mike Pence and senator Kamala Harris, I let out a hysterical yell and scream of uproarious laughter—probably much to the chagrin of my next door neighbors–after a big ole’ fly planted itself on the head of Mike Pence! The timing was perfect!! The black as a blueberry horse fly landed on the vice president’s snow white hair and pumpkin-sized head just as he was responding to a question regarding the on-going issue of systemic racism in America. As someone pointed out to me, the fly was probably Pence’s only black friend. I took it a step further, mused and asked–what is it they say about flies always being attracted to bullshi*? After my momentary lapse into mass hysteria that included rolling around on the floor and laughing my ass off (LMAO), I regained my composure, pumped up the volume on the T.V., and continued to scribble notes on a pad.
As expected, Harris was on point. The tough as nails, Black woman prosecutor with an edge and a slight attitude emerged with a tempered, yet undeniable vengeance. From the onset and before, it was clear that Harris was perched to pounce Pence into pebbles. While she may not have totally obliterated a stiff and stuffy VEEP, she definitely landed some major blows that staggered him and his agenda. For example, Harris slammed him about the Trump Administrations well documented and sorry response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the hundreds of thousands deaths. “The president called it a hoax,” Harris said. “He lied to the American people and downplayed the virus, even after he knew about the severity of the virus,” she said. Pence, in a feeble attempt to counteract Harris’ solid and fact based point, contended that the swine flu pandemic of 2009 was just as serious and deadly as COVID-19. His argument fell flat and with a dull thud, as the numbers alone dismissed his attempted rationalization–12,500 deaths in the U.S., from swine flu with a global deaths ranging anywhere between 151,000 to 575,000. COVID-19 deaths in the U.S., stands at approximately, 212,000 and growing, with the number of deaths globally topping 1.06 million in a much shorter period of time.
One area that Pence may have scored a point or two was on the issue of the Supreme Court (SCOTUS). When asked if the Biden/Harris administration would increase the number of Supreme Court Justices’ and “stack” the courts with liberal or liberal leaning judges, Harris pivoted and ultimately did not answer the question. However, she managed to momentarily shift the focus and raised a seldom raised point when she said, “Let’s look at stacking. Donald Trump has not appointed one African-American judge since he’s been in office.” Harris is correct, as the Senate has confirmed about 218 judges nominated by Trump—and not one is African American. Yet, another example of the diversity-challenged initiatives of the Trump administration.
At any rate, I enjoyed the debate between Harris and Pence. The event was far more professional and “presidential like” than the embarrassing and disgraceful spectacle America witnessed last week between Biden and Trump. Given the alleged and recent COVID-19 diagnosis of Trump and the laundry list of WH staffers and others supposedly stricken with the virus, it remains to be seen if another debate between Biden and Trump will occur. Either way, all eyes, or should I say, all flies will be watching!!