"He/She/They are better than the terrible person Trump had in the position before" is NOT a rationale for being complacent about any cabinet picks by in the incoming Biden administration. In fact that attitude could lead to major electoral backlash in 2022 and 2024
Unless they are demonstrably corrupt or have a history of breaking the law, I generally feel that an incoming administration should be able to pick their team. The public has the right to see the White House rise or fail with their full squad.
There were Trump picks that were TERRIBLE, Betsy DeVos being a prime example. But he had a right to pick her, and Democrats at least put up a fight because they knew she'd be terrible
buzzfeednews.com/article/jhause…
Biden is in a unique situation that requires a level of scrutiny that perhaps many don't realize. Like Obama before him, who knew as the first Black man in the White House he had to pick wisely because he would be under immense scrutiny, Biden needs to be equally careful
The United States barely beat back the end of any semblance of free and fair elections 6 weeks ago by voting Biden in and Trump out. But Trump remains a destabilizing force, and his followers will only get more aggressive once the new administration gets in
The Biden administration has to move QUICKLY, because they really have only about 2 years to make major improvements in American lives. Patronage appointments in crucial cabinet positions aren't going to beat back the allure of Trump's authoritarianism for many
Moreover, simply "Trusting" the incoming administration to do the right thing will lead us to the same complacency that made it easier for Trump like candidates to paint themselves as radical reformers instead of the obvious crooks that they were

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More from @DrJasonJohnson

14 Dec
Polling has consistently showed that African Americans are more skeptical of taking the #Covid_19 vaccine than other groups of people in America, but the reasons for this aren't just based on "older" instances of poor medical care. A thread.... fiercepharma.com/marketing/blac…
Yes there were the #TuskegeeUniversity Experiments with syphilis (1932- 1972) where African Americans were denied care so that a majority white healthcare system could 'learn' about the disease, but you don't have to go back that far en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_…
In the early 90's Maryland's government had serious discussions about forcing black women and girls on public assistance to take the birth control implant Norplant. Many took or were coerced into doing so without full understanding of the implications thecrimson.com/article/1993/2…
Read 6 tweets
11 Nov
Democrats have often failed to address the needs of their most important base of voters : African Americans, so when organic black centered movements like #BlackLivesMatter and #DefundThePolice arise Dems fail to act which makes it easier for Republicans to define the issue
Remember "progressive" candidates like Sanders and moderates like Clinton were essentially saying "All Lives Matter" throughout much of the 2016 campaign
vox.com/2015/7/20/9001…
So when even the 'progressive' wing of the party ignores or dismisses discussions of reparations and #BlackLivesMatter for YEARS and now in 2020 #DefundThePolice it's not hard to see why there are challenges engaging young black voters and activists
Read 8 tweets
2 Nov
The amount of violence and intimidation going on before election day is enough of a sign that Trumpism can't be defeated at the ballot box, but it's the small examples of intimidation that aren't caught by the news that concern me as well : A story from a friend in Nashville....
Friend of mine texted to tell me that for weeks in her suburban Nashville neighborhood two white men in a pick-up truck have been driving through the community and taking #BlackLivesMatter and #BidenHarris signs off of people's yards
At first I doubted this, thinking "Maybe this was just a few jerks who were taking down signs" but she showed me several screenshots of her community bulletin board of people photographing these men driving through and taking down signs.
Read 7 tweets
30 Oct
Go out and vote everybody #Vote started my drop of early ballot journey 👍🏾
The one reason to take off your mask? Licking the envelope with your vote #MaytheVoteBeWithYou #VOTE
Get your friends absentee ballots to the polls if you can!!!
Read 4 tweets
28 Oct
Started watching #kobraKai - Less than 3 minutes in and Johnny's character is throwing racist comments at his Latino neighbor. Is there a point to this? Because the "Racist white guy who eventually reforms" is a really tired trope I don't care to invest my limited TV time in
Finished 1st #kobraKai episode. Johnny is an angry white guy spouting racist one liners at a teenage Hispanic neighbor (Miguel) who for some reason doesn't tell him to kick rocks or cuss him out. Then this same kid accepts help from this old racist because ? Plot convenience?
#kobraKai isn't TERRIBLE but the lone Hispanic and African American (the nurse) characters in the 1st episode are repeatedly yelled at and disparaged. I guess I'm supposed to stick with Johnny until he learns the error of his ways? Maybe EP2 is better
Read 9 tweets
20 Oct
I had my first experience like this a few weeks ago. It was.... Jarring
In the years since Trump got into office there have been tons of podcasts, think pieces & threads by black people talking about how this presidency has exposed white people whom they considered to be 'friends' as latent bigots or at least tolerant of Trump's bigotry.
I had NEVER had this experience. My white friends are politically engaged and while some may be conservatives or Republicans I had never had the experience of their politics causing me to re-evaluate the relationship. Until last week....
Read 12 tweets

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