A Call for Democratic Unity
Let’s not bury the lead here. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are the Democratic voters’ choice who won the primary, making them the best candidates in the race. As a delegate at the Democratic National Convention this August, I am sticking with them because they are who I and the Democratic people voted for, and who we need to focus on to defeat Trump this November. The Biden-Harris team beat Trump once, and they can beat him again.
Prior to the race beginning, we were aware of the President’s age and his lifelong public battle with a slight stutter. These aspects should not be used against him. In any other context, disqualifying someone based on these characteristics is discriminatory.
If anyone wanted to challenge the Biden-Harris ticket, the primary was the time to do so, but no one did because President Biden’s record speaks for itself:
President Biden led a life-saving COVID-19 vaccine campaign, addressed gun violence with the bipartisan Safer Communities Act, and reduced health care costs through the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act. He supported manufacturing and innovation with the CHIPS and Science Act, passed a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package for public works improvements, and committed $369 billion to climate change initiatives. He oversaw the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, made efforts toward student loan forgiveness, reduced child poverty through historic social welfare measures, and implemented a prescription drug price cap for seniors.
As some Democrats call for President Biden’s replacement, I stand firm against this distraction from what we need to focus on, which is getting the Biden-Harris team elected. If any President cannot complete their term, that is what the Vice President is there for, and Kamala Harris is very capable of stepping in. Ignoring Harris, a qualified Black and Asian woman, for potential replacement if needed reflects subliminal racism and sexism, which is wrong. Especially considering that Black women are the backbone of the Democratic Party, and VP Harris is literally next in line.
If Trump wins, he himself has said he will be a dictator, and after the attempted coup d’etat on January 6th where the capitol police officer, military veteran, and New Jersey native Brian Sicknick lost his life, I believe him. If elected again, Trump will appoint more conservative federalist Supreme Court Justices, and Project 2025, organized by his previous administration, will dismantle unionized labor, free speech, the right to religion, immigration, affirmative action, and more, turning our country into a military state.
Yet, Democrats are debating whether Joe Biden is too old after one debate, while Republicans are sticking by their candidate, a convicted felon and an anti-democratic leader.
Discussing a change in candidates now risks another Trump victory, endangering our democracy and the freedoms we cherish. As Democrats, we must unite, use our time wisely, and put Principles over Politics.
As a delegate for President Joe Biden, one of the most successful presidents in our history, I know the very notion of age and a stutter does not “trump” the threat of a pledged dictator fueled by racism.
Britnee N. Timberlake has represented the 34th Legislative District in the New Jersey Senate since January 2024, when she became New Jersey’s youngest state senator. Before she took office in the senate, Timberlake represented the 34th District in the New Jersey General Assembly from January 29, 2018.
RAH!
Thank you, Senator Timberlake, for being the voice of reason. My LTE on Biden’s stuttering ran in this week’s Star Ledger (below).
There’s no denying it: The June 27 presidential debate was bad. However, what I saw from President Joe Biden was a lifelong stutterer experiencing a severe relapse.
In my 30-plus years as an educator in New Jersey public schools, I had a few students who were stutterers. The same slack mouth, drooping head and “deer caught in the headlights” expressions Biden exhibited reminded me of them.
Is it possible Biden was actually dealing with an episode of this communication disorder that night?
I’m not a doctor; however, I did find what some people who are stutterers had to say enlightening. They identified with Biden’s debate performance, and interpreted what happened to him as manifestations of stuttering that they had also experienced.
Stuttering does not affect one’s ability to think, reason, and make decisions, it merely hinders the ability to communicate clearly and effectively.
Biden’s presidential record backs that up. A Forbes article from March, “The American Economy and People are much better off than four years ago,” gives specifics on this.
Biden’s stuttering and debate fumbles paled in comparison to the bullying and nearly nonstop lies of former President Donald Trump, who’s also been convicted on 34 felony counts and found liable for sexual abuse.
My fact sources for this LTE:
https://niemanreports.org/articles/biden-stutter/
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/bidens-stutter-how-a-childhood-battle-shaped-his-approach-to-life-and-politics/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/christianweller/2024/03/22/the-economy-is-much-stronger-than-four-years-ago/
PS– please include this if you publish my comment, thank you for your kind consideration.
https://www.upworthy.com/people-familiar-with-stuttering-explain-bidens-extraordinary-performance-in-debate
I have never seen in my 80 years the Democrats divided before , in the past they stayed together on everything , take for example how could every Democrat vote (100%) for men who think they are woman can compete in woman sports even though they knew their vote would let them dress and shower with women .
Another example is many Democrat politicians are Christians and Catholics ( including the president) yet they all agree on a Democrat platform about abortion that is abortion on demand in all three trimesters payed for by the government.
Now because they think they will lose their “phony bologna jobs” ( excerpt taken from Blazing Saddles ) they forgo their constant warning of losing democracy and replace the man 15 million of their fellow Democrats voted for this past primary election .
The president did a fine job last night, and I am impressed by the points made by Britney Timberlake’s commentary on the press conference.
Her essay is fact based, and focused on what is best for Democracy regardless of party.
Wow!!!!!! What a bunch of Left-Wing, Communist Biden sycophants!!!!! Even the Mainstream Media ripped Biden last night for calling President Zelenskyy, President Putin, and Vice-President Harris, Vice-President Trump. I guess all of you respondents here drank the Democrat-Socialist Kool-Aid, before the NATO conference & subsequent Presser, and then took your LSD pills after the conference & Presser.
As for Dee Douthat citing an October 2020 Upworthy article (Upworthy is a left-wing media outlier that promotes Marxist shills), that Biden is a stuttering idiot, body language and neuropsychological experts have said that Biden didn’t have stuttering problems when he was a U.S. Senator for 50 years, or when he was Vice-President for Barack Insane Obama.
Thomas Jefferson..I suggest you spend time with actual marxists, with communists. They are a separate group from the Americans who vote Democrat.
I assume republicans do not all support the far right Nazi saluting, racist, anti women bro types.
I do think your endless middle school name calling for anyone you dislike is an embarrassment.
Ever since my asset–who hides behind the name of Thomas Jefferson–got a taste for my high-end Siberian leather boots, he has become insatiable in his quest to carry out his mission. But I have told him before to rein in this name calling and rhetoric, otherwise people won’t take him seriously and achieve the objectives I have set out for him via the Kremlin. I have the Medal for Glorious Internet Trolling, Keyboard Warrior 1st Class waiting for him on his return to Moscow. Keep up the good work, comrade, but try not to over-do it for plausibility reasons!
You Democrat-Communists have not reined in your name calling and vile rhetoric. You’re party is going down in flames. It is finished!!!!! The Democrat-Communist Party under Biden-Obama-Clinton is a 3rd world dictatorship that has been exposed.
Your Democrat-Communist Party (a 3rd world government) has now led to the attempted assassination of President Trump. Biden-Obama-Clinton ordered the hit–and MISSED!!!!! The attempted assassin was a kid who was at school when BlackRock, the giant leftist investment company, showed up at his school. BlackRock’s CEO, Tom Donilon, is the brother of Biden’s senior advisor, Mike Donilon. How did this kid know what building to climb to use as the point of reference to shoot at Trump???? And, was there second shooter, or more???
And, then there’s Federal Judge Aileen Cannon’s dismissal of the Mar-a-Lago documents case this morning. She dismissed the case on grounds of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s tampering with evidence, and the major factor that Jack Smith was unlawfully appointed Special Counsel by the Executive Branch, instead of being properly appointed by Congress.
Excellent work, comrade “Jefferson”! I will upgrade your to Medal for Glorious Internet Trolling, Keyboard Warrior 1st Class to Glorious Order of Putin, Knight Cyber Warrior! Your zeal is not unrecognised, comrade, and makes us proud! You write a lot of words, each more angry than the next, showing yourself to be the most extraordinary of my cyber foot soldiers. It brings a manly tear to my eye and I will raise a shot of vodka to you. But please be careful, do not give yourself a heart attack for your ardent keyboard battling for my cause before you can return home to pick up your award! Once you do, I will consider putting your talents to use in the frontlines of our heroic mission to make Ukraine Russian again! на здоро́вье!