To hear the major media and the usual Democrat suspects, a Kamala Harris run for the presidency is just what the doctor ordered for a campaign season that threatened to be a slam dunk for Republican candidates across the board…including Donald Trump. Speaking of her candidacy you hear words like “new life into the Democratic Party” or as an Axios article quoted a Delaware Democrat: “…the switch to Harris had been ‘like a shot of adrenaline to the heart’ for the beleaguered troops of the former Biden-Harris campaign…”1 Axios went on to ‘foretell’ the future of the race for President.
- Harris will stress that this is a choice between a criminal and a ‘law-and-order’ former Attorney General.
- She will highlight Trump’s age as contrasted with her ‘youth.’
- She will likely “pick a moderate white male as her running mate” to try to attract undecided potential voters.
- She will probably get a boost from the August Democratic Party Convention in Chicago.2
It remains to be seen if candidate Harris can sell the talking points above. You can be sure though, the Democratic Party puppets that populate the airwaves from the major media outlets will be taking every opportunity to echo the party line. Will that be enough to get her into the Oval Office?
There will be some problems for Harris and the Democrats.
Harris’ record as former Attorney General of the State of California does not gibe with the description ‘law and order.’ In 2014, she and her office formed and supported the passing of ‘Proposition 47’ named “The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act” that appears to have caused a vast increase in theft in California. The CEO of the California District Attorneys Association, Greg Totten, said of Proposition 47 that…
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- “Prop 47 was a lie from day one. Its deliberately misleading title was designed to trick voters …A decade later things, are worse than they have ever been.”3
In her Vice-Presidency campaign in 2020 Harris supported the Minnesota bail fund @MNFreedomFund, urging donations so that violent criminals could stay out of jail. Houston Policeman and Vice President of the Fraternal Order of Police, Joe Gamaldi stated of her support for this effort “She has loudly and proudly supported bail reform and has even donated and encouraged other people to donate to a fund that helped get murderers, rapists, people who were shooting people in the streets, out on bail.”4
As to the description of Donald Trump as a criminal and convicted felon, the Trump campaign will point out what is obvious to many of us: Trump’s conviction was an act of political abuse of the justice system by Democratic Party operatives hoping to tarnish him or even put him in jail, so that he cannot win the Presidency. The campaign will likely take Harris’ assertion of her youth versus Trump’s age and point out that Harris has no real experience in governance. Her record as a one-term Senator who was deemed “most liberal”5 and Vice President, boasts no accomplishments of note and several failures. In 2021 President Biden put her in charge of negotiations with Central American nations to negotiate illegal immigration issues at the US southern border. She came to be described by the press, on the left and the right, as Biden’s “border Czar.”6 Of course, she did nothing to solve the immigration problem. Should she choose a moderate white male as her Vice-Presidential candidate, many people of color will see the same old Democratic Party tactic of talking about diversity while their actions are much different. She will continue the same Democratic strategy: during the election, playing to African American voters then after the election, abandoning them.
As to the convention, it is highly likely that some in the party will be upset that a pre-convention nominating vote foisted upon rank-and-file Democrats makes it virtually impossible for anyone to oppose Harris’ candidacy.7 Some might question on whose authority the delegates committed to Joe Biden were transferred to Kamala Harris without polling them all?8 It’s possible that the 2024 Democratic National Convention could be as contentious and violent as the 1968 Convention in the same city.
Here at I Vote My Vote we still urge everyone to keep their eyes on the real issues of importance in this race. In Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign for the Presidency, his political advisor James Carville was quoted in reference to the main issue of the day, as saying: “It’s the economy, stupid.”9 We would amend this quotation for the current campaigns for the President so that it states, “It’s the policies!”
With a Trump vs. Harris race, it is essential to compare their actions and policies. Trump has a record as President. If you liked his policies, you will very likely support his candidacy and like his return to the office of the President. Harris has a record as California Attorney General, Senator and Vice-President. Examine her record in public service. And remember, as Biden’s Vice-President, a Biden policy – whether it’s economic policy, domestic policy or foreign policy – is a Kamala Harris policy. We here at I Vote My Vote urge you to let your voice be heard. Learn about the candidates and vote!
- VandeHei, J. and Allen, M. (2024). Behind the Curtain: The new 2024 campaign foretold. Axios.com. Retrieved from https://www.axios.com/2024/07/25/trump-kamala-harris-election-campaign-strategy
- Clayton, A. (2024). Will it stay or will it go? California voters decide fate of ‘momentous’ criminal justice law. Theguardian.com. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/01/california-proposition-47-criminal-justice
- Rumpf-Whitten, S. (2024). Blue city cops say Kamala Harris ‘helped’ killers and rapists, warn of ‘disaster’ if she becomes president. Yahoo News. Retrieved from https://www.yahoo.com/news/blue-city-cops-kamala-harris-080010697.html
- auberer, J. (2024). We retracted our single-year legislator report cards after warning about their unreliability. GOVTrack.us. Retrieved from https://www.govtrack.us/posts/434/2024-07-26_we-retracted-our-single-year-legislator-report-cards-after-warning-about-their-unreliability
- Kight, S. (2024). Harris border confusion haunts her new campaign. Axios.com. Retrieved from https://www.axios.com/2024/07/24/kamala-harris-border-czar-immigratin
- Seitz-Wald, A. (2024). Democrats who want to run against Harris for nomination have only days to get in the race. NBCNews.com. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/democrats-want-run-harris-nomination-only-days-get-race-rcna163298
- Seitz-Wald, A., Kamisar, B. and Marquez, A. (2024). Majority of pledged Democratic delegates endorse Harris on first full day as a candidate. NBCNews.com. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/democrats-coalesce-harris-nomination-rcna163027
- Lachman, D. (2024). It’s the Economy, Stupid. American Enterprise Institute. Retrieved from https://www.aei.org/economics/its-the-economy-stupid/
1. Q: Why is there concern about Kamala Harris’s candidacy for president?
Ans: The concern is that Harris may be nominated without sufficient discussion or consideration of other candidates, potentially undermining the democratic process and bypassing the voice of the voters and delegates who initially supported Joe Biden.
2. Q: What issues are raised regarding Harris’s record as Attorney General?
Ans: Harris’s record includes support for Proposition 47, which critics argue led to increased crime rates in California, and her support for bail reform efforts that critics say allowed violent criminals to remain free.
3. Q: How might Harris’s campaign strategy be problematic?
Ans: Critics argue that her campaign’s focus on contrasting her “law-and-order” stance with Trump’s alleged criminality and her choice of a likely moderate running mate may not address substantive policy issues or effectively engage voters.
4. Q: What are the concerns about the Democratic convention process?
Ans: There are concerns that the convention may be predetermined in favor of Harris, with some delegates who were initially committed to Biden being reassigned to Harris without proper polling, which could lead to a contentious convention similar to the 1968 event in Chicago.
5. Q: What should voters focus on when choosing between Trump and Harris?
Ans: Voters are encouraged to focus on the policies and records of the candidates. Trump’s record as president should be compared to Harris’s performance as Attorney General, Senator, and Vice President, with an emphasis on their actual achievements and policy stances.
