While Harris is the subject of heavy criticism from some corners of the left — the same folks who embraced a phrase seeded by right-wing trolls, "Kamala is a cop" — the reality is that Harris makes a lot of sense as a running mate for Biden.
Even though she bowed out of the Democratic presidential race relatively early, in December of 2019, that was due more to fundraising woes than bad polling. She's known for her talents at attacking political opponents, which is something Biden experienced directly when Harris famously smoked him over his past comments praising himself as a friend and negotiating partner of segregationist senators in the '70s. Her performance in various Senate Judiciary Committee hearings, particularly during the questioning of Brett Kavanaugh in his Supreme Court confirmation hearing, has endeared Harris to the organized and engaged female voters — those sometimes derided as "wine moms" — who won the 2018 midterms for Democrats and are absolutely critical to any Biden win in 2020.
In addition, Harris, as a senator from one of the safest blue states in the country, will be replaced — should she become vice president — not just another Democrat, but probably another rising star in the party, just as she was when she ran for Senate. And that matters, if there's any hope for the Democratic Party going into the future. Keeping power means not pulling popular politicians from swing-state seats, like Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan. Refilling the party pipeline also means giving opportunities to up-and-coming politicians in bastion of blue like California.
Harris' abilities as a prosecutor, which she deployed in her criticisms of Biden and in her questioning of witnesses before the Judiciary Committee, are exactly the sort of thing one wants in a running mate."
"More to the point, there's not much downside to Harris — and that matters a whole hell of a lot. Despite the heavy media attention to the running-mate selection, the evidence is clear that the vice-presidential nominee does little, if anything, to bolster the candidate's chances with any particular voting demographic.
by Cody Fenwick | August 12, 2020 - 8:24am | permalink
Former Vice President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that Sen. Kamala Harris would be his running mate, and by early evening, President Donald Trump had already labeled her “nasty.”
But before getting into what Trump said to attack Harris personally, it’s worth recalling how former President Barack Obama reacted to Mitt Romney’s choice of Paul Ryan as a running mate back in 2012:
Just yesterday, my opponent chose his running mate, the ideological leader of Republicans in Congress. Mr Paul Ryan. I want to congratulate Mr. Ryan. I know him, I welcome him to the race.Obama didn’t hold back about criticizing the severe economic policies Ryan is known for, but his attack was laser-focused on the policy disagreements.
He is a decent man, he is a family man, he is an articulate spokesman for Governor Romney’s vision but it is a vision that I fundamentally disagree with.
That wasn’t that tack Trump took with Harris. He immediately tweeted a video calling her “phony,” painting her as a radical leftist, and shortly took to the White House briefing room, where he attacked her personally.
With no sense of irony, the record-setting of liar of a president said: “She said things that were untrue. She’s a person that has told many, many stories that aren’t true.
Mike Pence told that Arizona audience in a voice drizzling sarcasm, “I heard Joe Biden just named his running mate — California Sen. Kamala Harris. So let me take this opportunity to welcome her to the race.” At this point, the crowd booed lustily. “As you all know,” he continued, “Joe Biden and the Democratic Party have been overtaken by the radical left. So given their promises of higher taxes, open borders, socialized medicine and abortion on demand, it’s no surprise that he chose Senator Harris.”
That, right there, might just be the funniest thing you’ll hear on the campaign trail this year. It’s a vivid preview of the Trump/Pence strategy for the remaining 83 days: Paint Joe Biden and his newly minted vice presidential pick as a Trojan horse bursting with socialism, abortion doctors, and lighters for burning Bibles. Biden/Harris: Antifa in Tailored Suits.
Why is that so funny? Because the Democratic presidential tickets in my lifetime have been, in order: McGovern/Eagleton rapidly followed by McGovern/Shriver, Carter/Mondale twice, Mondale/Ferraro, Dukakis/Bentsen, Clinton/Gore twice, Gore/Lieberman, Kerry/Edwards, Obama/Biden twice, Clinton/Kaine, and now this.
While there are some doozies buried in that long, strange line, the simple fact of the matter is that — in assessing by the candidates’ records — Biden/Harris is on numerous counts the most right-leaning Democratic presidential ticket I have personally laid eyes on. Donald Trump and his crew are going to need a nuclear-powered brush to paint his Democratic opponents into some sort of far-left corner. That dog won’t hunt.
Millions of people have worked for change in this country in recent years. An incomplete list includes the Occupy movement, Standing Rock, the Sunrise movement, the Bernie Sanders campaigns, Black Lives Matter, the Red State teachers' strikes, and the Women's Marches. For the activist left (I include myself in this group), here's a thought: It matters who Joe Biden chose for vice president. Of course, it does. But it doesn't matter as much as you do. If you stay committed, if you unite your movements into a broad alliance for social and economic change, change will come. You have that power.
There's no way to sugarcoat it: If Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are elected, they'll still be influenced by the powerful forces that have shaped their careers. Biden has reassured billionaires that he doesn't think they're the problem. Wall Street has celebrated Biden's decision to choose Harris.
That's where you come in. Your activism—your constant, fearless, unyielding calls to conscience and sanity—will be the only counterforce to the pernicious influence of money in politics.
Should activists sit this election out? Not if you believe in activism. The right tactical call for activists is to elect the politicians they're most able to cajole, persuade, and pressure. That means viewing politicians in a different light: not as heroes or villains, but as tools. (And, no, I don't mean "tool" in the pejorative, slang sense—at least, not necessarily.) Confronted with the choice between Trump or Biden, the question isn't, which of these people do I admire? The question is, which of these people can I most effectively use as a tool for change?
Too many people in this country's progressive majority—a category that ranges from center-left to socialist—are still searching for heroes when they vote. There aren't many heroes in politics—although there are some, and their ranks are growing. But there are people that can be tools for change. Find them. Use them. But when it comes to heroes, look to yourselves. As the great civil rights leader Ella Baker said, "strong people don't need strong leaders.
by P.M. Carpenter | August 13, 2020 - 6:24am | permalink
It seems horseshit salesman Carlson, who "repeatedly mispronounced" Kamala, provided no source for his rather harsh assessment of Sen. Harris. It's just a right-wing tic, like always saying "Democrat Party" instead of "Democratic."
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