The rant we’re hearing now from Republican critics of Vice President Kamala Harris is that she was a “DEI hire” made by President Biden as a form of affirmative action.

What utter nonsense!

What does DEI stand for? Diversity, equity and inclusion. Right-wing educators want to rid public education of DEI references, contending that they are “woke policies” that need to be expunged from public education.

More trash!

Let us ponder vice presidential picks dating back to, oh, 1960. You will learn, as I have learned, that DEI has existed in that process for far longer than anyone case to remember.

John F. Kennedy picked Lyndon Johnson to be vice president because LBJ would help the ticket do well in the South; LBJ also was a master legislator, whereas JFK had little experience. In 1968, Richard Nixon picked Spiro Agnew because Nixon thought he needed help luring the “ethnic voters” to his cause. In 1976, Jimmy Carter selected Walter Mondale to diversify the ticket geographically and because Mondale also had keen legislative instincts.

In 1980, Ronald Reagan tapped George H.W. Bush because of his deep foreign policy experience; Reagan had little of it. Bush then turned in 1988 to Dan Quayle to lure the younger voters of America. In 2000, George W. Bush needed foreign policy help, so he turned to Dick Cheney. In 2008, Barack Obama selected Joe Biden because Biden also had years of foreign policy experience that was lacking in the background of the young presidential hopeful.

Now we have Kamala Harris running for president. GOP critics are accusing her of being a DEI hire. Why? She’s the first Black American, and first American of South Asian descent to serve as VP. Every example I have cited in this blog post is symbolic of a DEI hire in one form or another.