by popular demand i am finally answering this question. faithful readers know that during the presidential primary i groused about kamala harris numerous times. my opinions were strongly covered by my experience working with harris when she was california attorney general. it seemed like she was a classic politician, waiting to know which way the wind was blowing. not someone you could count on to strongly advocate for anyone other than kamala harris.
in this same period, i found harris’s pointed questioning of both brett kavanaugh and joe biden impressive and useful. as i examined most of the candidate’s on their ability to use their word to win, i actually ranked harris’s among the strongest (trump’s is immensely strong).
yet, i am also mindful of the “san francisco sellout” phenomenon–an example of which was former california state assemblymember then senator mark leno. back when i had some hand in advising union campaign contributions to competing democrats, more than once my friends in san francisco warned me against “corporate sellout pig” democrats running in contested state legislative races. mark leno was flagged for me as one of these “san francisco sellouts.” we backed him anyway and he won.
when he got to sacramento he was consistently one of the most progressive, dynamic, skillful and caring members of the legislature. he was the leading advocate for single payer health care (medicare for all) for example (although he did not prevail on that issue). mark was my favorite of the “san francisco sellouts” but he was by no means alone in this category. in fact, i have often observed that if the united states congress had a majority of “san francisco sellouts” we could pass a people-oriented agenda virtually overnight. “give us your tired, your poor, your ‘san francisco sellouts’ yearning to breathe free” would be a great rallying cry.
which brings us to the “san francisco sellout” who is the vice presidential pick. kamala harris has gotten to where she is by choosing her battles. as san francisco district attorney and california attorney general she rather pointedly did not take on police unions. while she likes to tout some recent victories on criminal justice reform in congress, as recently as last year when there was a controversial bill moving through the california legislature to make it harder for police officers to legally justify the use of force, harris ducked the issue. likewise she declined to take a position on a recent california ballot measure to undo the devastating “3 strikes and you’re out” law.
see also kamala’s insane support, then waffle, than complete walk-back of medicare for all in her presidential campaign as evidence of her qualification as a “san francisco sellout.” (btw, her political littermate current ca governor gavin newsom is a classic “san francisco sellout” too but that’s a subject for another post. here’s an old one about when he was running for lieutenant governor).
so fast-forward to now when we have an election between a dangerous insane demagogue and an ineffectual uninspiring hack. in this context, kamala harris, i reluctantly admit, has a huge amount to offer. as a mixed race female child of a jamaican and an indian parent who attended a historically black university, kamala brings badly needed diversity to the ticket. beyond that, as referenced above, kamala has more than demonstrated she can hold her own against donald trump’s unrelenting evil genius attacks. as an immensely successful prosecutor, she will prosecute trump in a way that is not possible for uncle joe.
in the end, the thing i dislike the most about biden and harris, may also be their greatest strength—forget about ideological labels. they are not centrists, liberals or progressives; they are both classic politicians with their fingers in the air to determine which way it’s blowing. that means we can trust them to build a country that works for everyone if we insist that they create a country that works for everyone. it’s as simple as that. yes, their first loyalty will be to wall street and the demands of the corporate elite, no question. but if they think they need to move left to stay in power, they will do so. they are not as dangerous as the clintons who, while also clearly politicians, were architects of the neoliberal corporate elite strategy. biden and harris are not architects of anything. they have no big ideas. they have no closely held beliefs (other than their shared love of beau biden—oh how touching. i can’t hear too much about beau biden). ultimately their response-ability can help build a world that works for everyone.
more charitably, as the new republic’s walter shapiro put it, “the truest bond between [biden and harris] may be the simplest: they are both politicians in the best sense of the word. they understand elections, capitol hill, and how to be tough without losing your sense of humor.”
if you want other reliable info on the relationship between biden and harris, see this roundup of the best articles
here are some other related issues i want to address soon:
if i live in california, where biden is going to win regardless, why shouldn’t i vote for/write-in a candidate whose positions i am actually enthusiastic for?
why or why not vote the very first day you can?
spiritual mind treatment for the postal service
spiritual mind treatment for the election
