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Kamala Harris: Antidote to Trump

Sheila Markin

Antidote: a medicine taken or given to counteract a particular poison.

KAMALA IGNITES EXCITEMENT IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY!

When Joe Biden dropped his bid for re-election, he generously endorsed Kamala Harris, saying:

“I am proud to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president of the United States,”  He called her the “most qualified and capable person to be president.”

After that, donations flowed into her campaign as if a dam had broken. It was evidence of the excitement and hope that Democrats felt with Biden out and Kamala at the top of the ticket. Many Republicans had expected the Democratic Convention to turn into a fight between presidential contenders. The Trump team had hoped that they could contrast their Convention of strength and power against what they thought would be a chaotic Democratic Convention. Instead the party rallied around Kamala Harris. No one threw his or her hat in the ring to contest her candidacy. Instead of chaos, the Democrats fully united around Harris.

Kamala Harris has skyrocketed into front runner status to lead the Democratic Party in the coming election against Trump and the MAGAs. In just two days she picked up the endorsement of enough delegates to cinch the nomination. Her candidacy injected instant energy, and enthusiasm into the Democratic Party and has also excited younger voters and voters of color who had not been passionate about Biden mostly because of his age. Some younger voters also opposed his approach to the conflict in Gaza.

Harris now has the opportunity to define herself and her goals for the country without the baggage that Biden had accumulated but with the record of a remarkably successful administration in terms of major policy accomplishments. She will have to work fast to do that before the Republicans get their footing. Caught off guard, because they thought their opponent would be Joe Biden, the Republican Party has not yet figured out the best lines of attack for their new opponent. The immediate response was to revert to type using racist and sexist dog whistles.

In just the past day, Harris has been targeted by resurgent “birthers” who claim she’s not a natural-born citizen and by Trumpy Bible-thumpers who claim she’s a biblical “Jezebel” — a reference to a temptress who misled the faithful into idolatry and sexual depravity. GOP Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee said that “100 percent, she was a DEI hire.”  (Rolling Stone)

BACK STORY: How we got here

We arrived at this moment because on Sunday, July 21st, President Joe Biden did something incredibly selfless and truly remarkable for a man whose whole life had been devoted to political relevance and who wanted to stay president with all his being. Joe Biden quit the race for another term. He did it for the good of our country. He realized that he could not do the job of prosecuting the case against Trump that is required in a tough campaign. He listened to people around him who must have told him he did not have the energy that was needed for this fight. Campaigning is not the same as governing, which he can still do well enough. Biden left the race for president and endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris.

There were many twists and turns before he reached his final decision to leave the race for president. For 3 1/2 weeks the uncertainty also split the Democratic Party– with some people insisting Biden should leave the race to give Democrats the chance to win against Trump, and others insisting Biden was the only person who had proven he could beat Trump and therefore he needed to stay in the race.

Biden did not inform many people of his final decision to bow out until he actually announced it, leaving many Democrats, even on his campaign team, feeling hung out to dry. They had been told their job was to badger anyone who was breaking from the Biden Forever camp.

This whole painful episode ended on Sunday thanks to a huge, effective pressure campaign led by Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Hakeem Jefferies.  The pressure campaign also involved many lawmakers, donors, pro-democracy groups, and supporters who were all deeply concerned that the Dems polling numbers continued a downward spiral with Biden at the top of the ticket.  Donations had all but dried up for the Biden campaign by the time Biden contracted Covid ending up at his home in Delaware in isolation, according to reports. The announcement that Biden was leaving the campaign happened around 1 pm on Sunday, July 21st.

Harris emerged quickly as a compelling candidate because of the remarkable contrast she has when compared to Trump. She is already more of a fighter compared to Biden. As a former prosecutor she has the ability, the energy and the will to prosecute the case against the former president. And she is exciting the base and younger voters because of that.

TRUMP’S CAMPAIGN IS STRUGGLING TO FIGURE OUT THEIR ATTACK

The Trump campaign is struggling in its effort to figure how to attack Harris.  Trump’s campaign lost most of its talking points when Biden left the race.

Trump and his fellow Republicans have been put on the defensive for the first time in more than a month. Their response was broad, flailing, and conspiratorial, accusing Democrats of staging a coup, suggesting the president faked his COVID diagnosis, and even floating the notion that Biden might be dead. (The Bulwark)

THE CONTRAST BETWEEN HARRIS AND TRUMP IS RIVETING

Americans usually elect the president from the party that offers them hope and the chance for a better future. With Biden out of the running, Harris can usher in an exciting multicultural future in which diversity is not a bad thing but a good thing as well as an inevitable thing that will make our country stronger and more vibrant. A Harris presidency would be a return to the promise of progress that the Obama presidency started. Hope and change. Unity around our shared goals.

The real American shared goals are:

If you visit cities in America, or university campuses, or suburbs across America, you will see a diverse population. There are people with all kinds of backgrounds living in America, raising children in America, and adding to the power of America. The country is already multicultural and diverse except in more rural areas. This is why Trump and MAGA Republicanism make their fearmongering appeals to people in rural red districts. But it is also why so many people who believe in the promise of America are excited about Kamala Harris.

WHY HARRIS WOULD BE THE CURE FOR TOXIC TRUMP AND TRUMPISM

A bipartisan organization that tracks swing state voter sentiment has had over 70,000 conversations since Harris became the likely nominee. These conversations were with voters who are positioned to decide the next election thanks to the Electoral College. Even before Harris clinches the nomination, these voters are expressing engagement and interest in Harris. The biggest question they have is “can she really win?” They want to know more about her qualifications.

Here is her background:

Harris is the daughter of immigrants from Oakland, California. Her mother was a scientist who emigrated from India to study at U.C. Berkeley. Her father was from Jamaica and became a prominent economist at Stanford. She attended Howard University and the University of California Hastings College of Law. She worked first as a deputy District Attorney. After that she was elected by the people of California, first as their Attorney General and then as their Senator, and then by the people of the entire United States of America as their Vice President. She has met over 140 world leaders in her time as vice president. Over 350 of the most senior foreign policy leaders endorsed Vice President Harris’s bid for president on Tuesday, stating in an open letter that she has more international experience than most recent incoming presidents and expressing confidence that she is the “best qualified person” to lead the country.  In 2014, she married Douglas Emhoff, who is also a lawyer. They have a large blended family that includes their children, Ella and Cole.

CONTRAST WITH TRUMP/ BIDEN

Most voters understand who Trump is by now. They know that “he’s in business for himself.” Moderate white women who make up 38% of the electorate and are likely to vote have felt demoralized about the choice of Biden or Trump. The words they used to describe how they felt about Biden were “hopeless” and “nervous”. The words they used to describe Trump have been “nervous”, “disgusted”, “angry” and “hopeless”. The words they are using to describe how they feel about Harris are “happy”, “excited” and “nervous”.  44% of moderate white women view Harris favorably.  They believe she “cares about them”.

Kamala Harris really could be the antidote to Trump and the MAGAs. In her early rallies, the response has been extraordinary and positive. On social media Republicans are pointing to videos of her laughing and having fun as if that is a bad thing. But the reaction among younger potential voters has been just the opposite to seeing a potential president who is relatable. Memes of Kamala have exploded on TikTok. Many younger people say they finally have a sense of hope, of possibility and want to be part of this exciting campaign.  Many of them are volunteering to help her win and are registering to vote.

PATH TO VICTORY

Harris campaign argues that she’s positioned to expand Biden’s winning coalition from 2020.

This could be the beginning of something really really good for America.

 

 

 

 

 

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