Letter to the Editor: Price of Loyalty

I am pleased that The Philadelphia Inquirer published the following letter this morning, December 20th, 2024

To the editor:

I wince every time I read that Kamala Harris is responsible for the enormous Democratic defeat in November. In the most confusing of times, she ably carried the mantle and stressed that we have more in common than the issues that divide us. However, what was not faced by those managing her campaign was that for years the Democratic Party has been losing touch — taking for granted the millions of constituents it had relied upon.  

The reasons for this are extremely complicated and will be closely analyzed. To me, leadership existed in a bubble of assurance that they were undoubtedly the best and the brightest and wanted no input from those of us in the trenches who tried mightily to communicate with them about the support they were losing. 

What unsettles me most is that Harris is being largely castigated for not abandoning her loyalty and throwing President Joe Biden under the bus. In essence, she is being scapegoated when she should be deeply thanked for her example of character, her enormous effort, and her devotion to each of us and the rule of law. My dream is that before Biden leaves office he will award Harris the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The ceremony would take place before Jan. 20 and serve as a reminder that until that time, and although he doesn’t seem to realize it, Donald Trump is not our president.

Published in The Philadelphia Inquirer December 20, 2024