Opinion: Turning the page to a better future for all  

In this op-ed, lifelong public servant Steve Cickay from Bucks County shares his surprise and optimism after President Biden quit the race and endorsed Kamala Harris, foreseeing a hopeful path to a historic victory amidst rising support and donations.

My wife and I were visiting our smart adorable granddaughter who lives in Massachusetts last weekend. Early Sunday afternoon I left her house in Belmont to walk my pitbull Bentley, but I first stopped for coffee at a Panera in Somerville. On my way out, I noticed a group of five seniors my age, two men and three women. 

I had been upset for about three weeks with the incessant public badgering of our excellent President Biden by the press, the pundits, and the donors. At the very least, such conversations should have been held privately with the winner of the primaries. The voters were telling me a different message. I had gone doorknocking the week before and every Democrat I spoke to told me of their unwavering support for the honorable man of character who defeated Trump in 2020. On a whim I decided to measure the political temperature in deep blue Massachusetts as well.

I approached the group smiling and asked if they wouldn’t mind participating in a very unscientific political survey. They agreeably laughed when I asked them if they were Democrats and all said of course. I then asked them if they thought President Biden should quit the race. Immediately four said absolutely not. One man, however, said that he thought Joe should do what was best for the country, but that the decision was totally up to him. I thanked them and then talked about politics a bit more and of course about my wonderful granddaughter. 

I returned to Bentley in the air-conditioned van and turned on the radio. When I left the parking lot I thought I heard that President Biden had quit the race. I must have misheard the news I said to Bentley, but then I heard it again more clearly. He was gone. I called my wife and told her the sad news and we quietly expressed our shock and sadness to each other.

What I was also disturbed about was the rumor that Kamala Harris would not be supported by the donor class to replace Joe on the ticket. The “experts” worried that a woman of color on the ticket would be a losing proposition. I worried that the donors and pundits might exert their influence to reject her as well and of course, totally lose the Black vote, thereby ensuring a Trump presidency. I was also fuming over the fact that over 14 million people had voted for Joe (my wife and I included) and now those votes were meaningless. I wondered what my five new friends were thinking now. Bentley and I went on a long quiet walk.

But when we returned to my van, I heard on the radio that Joe had endorsed Kamala and suddenly I felt a glimmer of hope. Joe was not deserting the wise, capable woman of color he had selected to be his Vice President. In his moment of powerlessness, he had risen again and fought, using the power of his endorsement, for the woman he believed would protect our democracy and the freedoms under attack by MAGA.

@keystonenewsroom

Retired Public Servant Steve Cickay from Newtown, PA shares how excited he is for the prospect of a Harris presidency, and what it means to him as a father with daughters. #USPolitics #PAPolitics #Pennsylvania #Pennsylvanialife #NewtownPA #Newtown #Kamala #KamalaHarris #HarrisWalz

♬ original sound – Keystone Newsroom

As the hours passed and more and more endorsements rolled in for Kamala, my spirits lifted even more. There would not be endless video clips played in October of Joe’s poor debate performance and suddenly the oldest man in the race was the guy who babbled about Hannibal Lecter and sharks. The double-haters would have only one old man to hate. The felon would have to face an articulate, intelligent nineteen-year-younger woman prosecutor for the next 100 days. The man convicted of sexual assault had just picked a running mate who asserted women who were physically abused by their husbands should never get divorced. I thought to myself what a wonderful way to lose women’s votes these two misogynists have given themselves.

Then Kamala spoke and her youthful forward, not backward, looking vision seemed to be a breath of fresh air. Then the People responded. People who had never donated before suddenly made thousands of small donations and within a day, Kamala had broken fundraising records with over 80 million dollars in the bank. 

My sadness had turned into joyous optimism because I could see the win for Joe, proud of his protege, as he left the political stage and the win for Kamala, eager to lead our country into a better future for all, as she entered the political stage with a spring in her step while Beyonce sang in the background. 

I too had turned the page on the recent past of the last three weeks of public attacks on a President who had done so much for this country. It was time not to dwell in the past, but to work hard to make a better future come to pass for our country and for all Americans.

Joe called into one of Kamala’s rallies. He spoke words of encouragement and praise to his young protege. Their mutual joy and respect for each other floated through the air. I then remembered the joy I felt when I learned that Barack Obama had won the presidency in 2008. I believed our nation was finally turning a corner against its racist past by electing a Black man to the highest office in the land. 

Now I was suddenly optimistic that once again, I would feel that joy in November when our nation elects the first Black woman and first woman of Indian descent to lead us into a brighter future and definitely not to the dark backlash days of the Trump era. She will be the strong, compassionate, unifying voice for the dreams of a younger generation, not the tired, selfish, divisive voice of an angry old man, his grievances and his yearning for ”the good old days” of racism and misogyny.   

More donations (my wife ordered us two Kamala T-shirts) and more endorsements rolled in. Suddenly Kamala had enough pledges of delegates to make her the presumptive nominee. The feared Democratic chaos had evaporated into thin air. 

Yes, Joe had made another great decision, not for himself, but for our country. History would be kind to this man who had selflessly given over 50 years of his life to public service. History was again about to be made by the many young volunteers who will soon be mobilized to ensure the dark forces of MAGA are defeated in November so that the promise of freedom and opportunity for all can be realized under the wise and compassionate leadership of the next President of the United States, Kamala Harris, a leader who will defend our democracy and our freedoms for my cherished granddaughter for years to come.

Thank you Joe, thank you Kamala. Now let’s all go win this thing.