55 Things You Need to Know About Kamala Harris - POLITICO
She might wind up being PotUS and certainly has a very good chance of being V.P. so who is Kamala Harris?
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Kamala Harris has spent the better part of two decades in public life notching up a long list of things she was the first to achieve: the first Black woman to be elected district attorney in California history, first woman to be California's attorney general, first Indian American senator, and now, the first Black woman and first Asian American to be picked as a vice presidential running mate on a major-party ticket.
What do voters need to know about the woman who sits on the cusp of breaking one of the highest glass ceilings in American life? Here, culled from books, extensive media coverage and the archives of POLITICO, is a quick primer on the life of Kamala Devi Harris, the trailblazing prosecutor-turned-senator who in just a few months' time could be a heartbeat away from the presidency.
1.
Kamala Devi Harris was born in Oakland, California on October 20, 1964, the eldest of two children born to Shyamala Gopalan, a cancer researcher from India, and Donald Harris, an economist from Jamaica.
2.
Her parents met at UC Berkeley while pursuing graduate degrees, and bonded over a shared passion for the civil rights movement, which was active on campus. After she was born, they took young Kamala along to protests in a stroller.
3.
Her mother chose Kamala's name as a nod both to her Indian roots — Kamala means "lotus" and is another name for the Hindu goddess Lakshmi — and the empowerment of women.
"A culture that worships goddesses produces strong women," Gopalan told the Los Angeles Times in 2004.
4.
Harris' parents divorced when she was 7, and her mother raised her and her sister, Maya, on the top floor of a yellow duplex in Berkeley.
5.
In first grade, Harris was bused to Thousand Oaks Elementary School, which was in its second year of integration. For the next three years, she'd play "Miss Mary Mack" and cat's cradle with her friends on the bus that traveled from her predominantly black, lower-middle-class neighborhood to her school located in a prosperous white district.
6.
As a child, Harris went to both a Black Baptist church and a Hindu temple — embracing both her South Asian and Black identities. "My mother understood very well that she was raising two black daughters," Harris later wrote in her autobiography, "and she was determined to make sure we would grow into confident, proud black women."
7.
She visited India as a child and was heavily influenced by her grandfather, a high-ranking government official who fought for Indian independence, andgrandmother, an activist who traveled the countryside teaching impoverished women about birth control.
8.
Harris attended middle school and high school in Montreal after her mom got a teaching job at McGill University and a position as a cancer researcher at Jewish General Hospital.
9.
In Montreal, a 13-year-old Harris and her younger sister, Maya, led a successful demonstration in front of their apartment building in protest of a policy that banned children from playing on the lawn.
10.
After high school, Harris attended Howard University, the prestigious historically Black college in Washington, D.C. She majored in political science and economics, and joined the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
11.
While attending law school in San Francisco, Harris lived with her sister, Maya, and helped potty-train Maya's daughter.
"I'm dealing with this brutal stuff, dog-eat-dog in school, and then I would come home and we would all stand by the toilet and wave bye to a piece of shit," Harris recalled in 2018. "It will put this place in perspective."
12.
In 1990, after passing the bar, Harris joined the Alameda County prosecutor's office in Oakland as an assistant district attorney focusing on sex crimes.
13.
Harris' family was initially skeptical of the career choice. While she acknowledged that prosecutors have historically earned a bad reputation, she said she wanted to change the system from the inside.
14.
In 1994, Harris began dating Willie Brown, a powerhouse in California politics who was then the speaker of the state assembly and was 30 years older than Harris. From his perch in the assembly, Brown appointed Harris to the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and the Medical Assistance Commission — positions that together paid her around $80,000 a year on top of her prosecutor's salary.
15.
In 1995, Brown was elected mayor of San Francisco. That December, Harris broke up with him because "she concluded there was no permanency in our relationship," Brown told Joan Walsh in 2003. "And she was absolutely right."
16.
After being recruited to the San Francisco District Attorney's office by a former colleague in Alameda, Harris cracked down on teenage prostitution in the city, reorienting law enforcement's approach to focus on the girls as victims rather than as criminals selling sex.
17.
During this time, Harris courted influential friends among San Francisco's moneyed elite. In 2003, they would provide the financial backing to make her a formidable candidate in her first campaign for office.
18.
In 2003, she ran for district attorney in San Francisco against incumbent Terence Hallinan, her former boss. Her message, a top strategist on that campaign told POLITICO, was: "We're progressive, like Terence Hallinan, but we're competent like Terence Hallinan is not."
19.
She was elected in a runoff with 56.5 percent of the vote. With her victory, she became the first Black woman in California to be elected district attorney.
20.
That same election, Gavin Newsom was elected mayor, succeeding Willie Brown. Newsom, now governor of California, is a close friend of hers, and the two have even vacationed together.
21.
During her first three years as district attorney, San Francisco's conviction rate jumped from 52 to 67 percent.
22.
One of Harris' most controversial decisions came in 2004 when she declined to pursue the death penalty against the man who murdered San Francisco police officer Isaac Espinoza. At the funeral, Senator Dianne Feinstein delivered a eulogy in which she criticized Harris, who was in the audience, prompting a standing ovation from the hundreds of officers in attendance.
Harris would be shunned by police unions for the next decade.
23.
Later, as California attorney general, Harris declined to support two ballot initiatives that would've banned the death penalty — raising accusations of political opportunism and inconsistency on the controversial issue.
24.
She was under scrutiny during her tenure as San Francisco district attorney when atechnician stole cocaine from the DA's crime lab and mishandled evidence. Harris, trying to keep things under wraps, failed to inform defense attorneys. As a result, about a thousand drug-related cases had to be thrown out.
25.
Her friendship with Barack Obama dates back to his run for Senate in 2004. She was the first notable California officeholder to endorse him during his 2008 presidential bid.
26.
In San Francisco, she vocally supported a controversial 2010 law that made truancy a misdemeanor and punished parents who failed to send their children to school. The truancy rate ultimately dropped, but some critics saw the rule as too punitive.
27.
That same year, in her second term as district attorney, Harris ran for California attorney general. Initially, few thought she would win the race — she was a woman of color from liberal San Francisco who opposed the death penalty and she was running against Steve Cooley, a popular white Republican who served as Los Angeles' DA.
28.
The race was so tight that on election night, Cooley made a victory speech and the San Francisco Chronicle declared him the winner. Three weeks later, all ballots having been counted, Harris was declared the victor by 0.8 percentage points.
29.
As attorney general, when California was offered $4 billion in a national mortgage settlement over the foreclosure crisis, Harris fought for a larger amount by refusing to sign the deal. Although she was accused of grandstanding, she managed to secure $20 billion for California homeowners.
30.
One of her signature accomplishments as attorney general was creating Open Justice, an online platform to make criminal justice data available to the public. The database helped improve police accountability by collecting information on the number of deaths and injuries of those in police custody.
31.
The California Department of Justicerecommended in 2012 that Harris file a civil enforcement action against OneWest Bank for "widespread misconduct" when foreclosing homes.
Harris, however, declined to prosecute the bank or its then-CEO Steven Mnuchin, who now serves as Treasury secretary.
32.
Some advocates say Harris didn't do enough to address police brutality while she was attorney general, especially after she refused to investigate the police shootings of two Black men in 2014 and 2015. She also didn't support a 2015 bill in the state assembly that would have required the attorney general to appoint a special prosecutor who specializes in police use of deadly force.
33.
In 2013, President Barack Obama was recorded referring to Harris as the "best-looking attorney general in the country." He later apologized after critics labeled the comment as sexist.
34.
Harris was rumored to be a potential Supreme Court nominee under the Obama administration, although she later said she wasn't interested.
35.
She married Doug Emhoff, a corporate lawyer in Los Angeles, in 2014 at a small and private ceremony officiated by her sister. Emhoff has two children from his previous marriage; they call Harris "Momala."
36.
She won her U.S. Senate race in 2016, defeating fellow Democrat Loretta Sanchez, a moderate congresswoman with 20 years of experience.
37.
She went viral in 2017 for her sharp questioning of then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions on the Russia investigation. After 3½ minutes of persistent questioning, Sessions said, "I'm not able to be rushed this fast! It makes me nervous."
38.
She implemented a similar strategy of questioning during Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation hearings in 2018, when she grilled him about whether he'd discussed the Mueller investigation with anyone.
39.
Her most fervent online supporters were called the "KHive," a phrase inspired by Beyonce's loyal group of fans, the "Beyhive."
40.
By far the most viral moment of her presidential campaign came in the first Democratic debate, when she confronted Joe Biden over his position on cross-district busing in the 1970s while using a personal anecdote: "There was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools. And she was bused to school every day," she said. "And that little girl was me." Though her poll numbers briefly surged after the debate, it was only downhill from there.
41.
In two TV interviews over the course of a week in 2019, President Donald Trump called Harris "nasty" for her questioning of Attorney General WIlliam Barr over his handling of the Mueller report during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
42.
She had an inconsistent stance on health care, which also made voters skeptical. Although she said she supported the abolition of private health care during an earlier town hall, she later denied her statement and said she had misheard the question. She eventually released a health care plan that still included private health insurance.
43.
During the campaign, Harris shied away from discussing specifics about her career as a prosecutor, a strategic choice borne of fear that voters on the left would criticize her over criminal justice issues. She even failed to give a sharp response to Rep. Tulsi Gabbard's misleading attacks against her record, leaving voters unclear about her positions.
44.
She ended her presidential campaign in December 2019, a month before the Iowa caucuses, after taking a hard look at her campaign's financial future and low poll numbers. Internal turmoil cost her presidential bid, with aides accusing Harris of mistreating her staff with sudden layoffs and allowing her sister, Maya, to have too much influence.
45.
She delayed her endorsement for Biden until March 8, when there were no more women left in the race and his nomination was undeniable. Six days after the California primary, she threw her support behind Biden and said he was a leader who could "unify the people."
46.
She's an enthusiastic cook who bookmarks recipes from the New York Times' cooking section and has tried almost all the recipes from Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food. Her go-to dinner entree is a simple roast chicken.
47.
She collects Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers, which are her go-to travel shoes.
48.
Her favorite books include Native Son by Richard Wright, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.
49.
She typically wakes up around 6 a.m. and works out for half an hour on the elliptical or SoulCycle. She'll start the day with a bowl of Raisin Bran with almond milk and tea with honey and lemon before leaving for work.
50.
She describes herself as a "tough" boss — although mostly on herself.
51.
One of the few times her father spoke publicly about her was when he reprimanded her for suggestively pointing to her Jamaican heritage when asked about her support for the legalization of marijuana. He criticized her for connecting Jamaicans to the "fraudulent stereotype of a pot-smoking joy seeker." He said he and his immediate family wished "to categorically dissociate ourselves from this travesty."
52.
She's not a fan of being called the "female Obama." When a reporter asked her about carrying on Obama's legacy during her run for president, she said, "I have my own legacy."
53.
In June, her Wikipedia page was edited 408 times — far more than any other candidate on the shortlist -- in the span of three weeks, which people pointed to as a sign of her nomination as running mate (The Wikipedia page of Sen. Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton's running mate in 2016, saw more activity than any other candidate). The edits, mostly made by one person, had scrubbed controversial information from her page, including her "tough-on-crime" record and her decision not to prosecute Steven Mnuchin for financial fraud in 2013.
54.
If elected in November, she will be the first woman, first African American and first Asian American vice president in the history of the United States.
55.
Her motto comes from her mom: "You may be the first, but make sure you're not the last."
Sources: Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, POLITICO, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, POLITICO, NPR, USA Today, The Washington Post, The New York Times, GovTrack, The Guardian, Vox, The Intercept, Smart Voter, Book Riot, SF Gate, Mercury News, The Cut, The Truths We Hold by Kamala Harris.
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Some seem to only know that she once dated Willie Brown and hold the misogynistic stereotype of 'sleeping her way to the top' as their defining characteristic for Senator Harris. I am trying to make it easier for them to gather a few more bits of characteristic information.
We did see an entire article on that yesterday.
I am trying to make it easier for them to gather a few more bits of characteristic information.
You have it right TiG, I much prefer this kind of conversation. What is this woman likely to do as president. That is what matters.
Indeed. While she is far from what I would seek in a PotUS, she is IMO better than Trump, Pence and Biden.
Lol, Well I wouldn't go that far!
I suspect I am not alone in this regard Vic.
Yup, we are a house divided.
You're not.
One question, tho...was Willie Brown married at the time they were dating? Someone here accused her of sleeping with a married man and I didn't see anything about that in your seed
He was married, not happily, but legally.
Hmmm.....ok.
Not a deal breaker for me (I once had an affair with a married man), but the Gang of Five and others will come after her on her with guns ablazing.
Well in this case she is a piker compared to Trump.
Wait a minute. She gets nailed for sleeping with a married man, but the married man gets a pass? What year is this? If one is wrong, so is the other, so be damned gang of 5.
Willie Brown has always been a corrupt scumbag. The west coast's Michael Madigan or Sheldon Silver. If he were running for President, you better believe his appointing his side piece to public positions would be an issue.
Well, we can agree on Willie Brown then.
They always do especially around here
I think I read somewhere that Brown and his wife had been estranged for a decade or so.
You are not!
I think practically anyone would be.
Yeah, that really bothers me. In this day and age, for people to still be like that. It's a shame that people focus on the most negative aspect of her.
Not only do they focus on that, but they extrapolate and exaggerate. They seem to think her success is predominantly a function of sexual favors and (even here) are cavalierly tossing out the word 'slut'.
Just goes to show how some refuse to actually think and prefer, instead, to simply repeat talking points (especially if derisive).
That is the right wing campaign strategy. Don't focus on what Trump has accomplished (can't think of anything), just call the opponents names, and make up shit about them.
Well, the left and press has focused on every negative aspect of Trump 24/7 for four years now. Like Palin, her every flaw or comment will be searched for and pointed out. That's how it works in the political arena she has agreed to enter. The laser focus will be pointed straight at her and, heaven forbid, some extrapolation and exaggerate may occur.
If Biden miraculously wins the WH, there is not a doubt in my mind that he will NOT finish his term. Some health crisis or accident will occur. This totally unqualified woman cannot be allowed to become the POTUS. The Democrats are old hands at running divisive and ugly campaigns, and the Republicans should do likewise.
What positive aspect is there to focus on regarding tRump?
Is sleeping with a married man 30 years older who appointed her to public positions a good thing in your book? Is that how you believe young women should advance themselves in politics? Find an ole sugar daddy to kick their start career with taxpayer funded jobs?
The same people who obsessed over a high school yearbook entry being offensive are now fine with Presidential candidates exchanging sex for public appointments.
Should it be off limits? Should the "most negative aspect" of all politicians be off limits from debate?
Why? On what basis? Was there a medical report issued? I don't think so.
Btw... the only reason you go for cognitive testing is because they think there is a problem and to rule out the problem, so Trump's docs must have thought there was a problem.
No Sean, I think that married men should be held to the same standards as women are.
And she was young and made a mistake. You didn't make any mistakes when you were young?
Can we stop all this b.s. and get to the point?
They have "nothing" to hold against Kamala Harris,so they go to the old "she's a whore" playbook. That used to work in old 1950's movies about politics, but it's not going to work now, people are too sophisticated.
We have video of Trump saying he likes to grab the private parts of women he barely knows, or doesnt know, that didnt seem to stop trump from getting elected, why should this nonsense stop Harris?
If this is all the GOP has, along with the "she's a secret commie" drivel, Harris can start hanging the wallpaper in her new VP offices.
Of course I did. But a lawyer in her late 20's knows better (or ought to). than to accept appointments from the married man she's sleeping with. She wasn't a naive kid.
That's literally public corruption, not private. Sleeping with the person dispensing patronage jobs is not the same as sleeping with the mailman. No man in the world would escape criticism for doing that.
Not to mention, in Trump's own words, those doctors were shocked to see him pass it. The only time that would occur would be if they didn't think he would.
First, Harris will have zero effect on the election, unless Biden dies/withdraws before the election instead of next year. Second, she got destroyed in the primaries by Tulsi Gabbard. Tulsi Gabbard. Do you really think she's some force who intimidates Republicans? She almost managed to lose a statewide election in California to a Republican. (only a flood of late counted votes saved her).
You can't spend years attacking Trump's morals and then turn around and make Kamela's shady behavior off limits. That's not to say Biden voters will care. OF course they won't. If a Republican had behaved like Kamela, the media would be going into full destroy her like Palin mode. But Kamela, as a Democrat, is immune to questions about her character from the Democrats and media
Biden could have nominated John Wayne Gacey and Democrats would turn out and declare we should "move on' from the bad choices Gacy made when he was younger. They only care about allegations of bad behaviors against Republicans.
Obviously you are not a parent of kids in their late 20's. They are still learning.
Wrong. They both admit to dating each other. Sleeping to get the job is only an assumption. And apparently Willy is getting a pass, since the conservatives are fixated on the woman involved.
I missed this post, sorry.
What I find amazing is that you put up an article that has 55 items to chose from and discuss, but what we are doing is the same dog and pony show about who she slept with, in her 20's. Meanwhile, supporting one of the biggest cheaters in the history of the White House. How does one deal with that type of cognitive dissidence?
I don't envy the pretzel you have to bend yourself into to try and make people swallow four more years of Donald Trump.
If Trump had lost, or "conservatives" didnt vote for him because he is immoral, you would have some sort of reciprocal argument to use against Harris, I suppose, since she did appear to use her sexual allure, as a young woman, to advance her career. But these days, thanks to the acceptance of Trump's mountains of immorality, it's practically pointless to try and use this as an attack on Harris. No one cares , except those hypocrites who would vote for Trump if he fucked Ivanka in the middle of 5th Avenue.
If she's mature enough to be a lawyer, she's mature enough to understand accepting tax payer funded jobs from her boyfriend isn't a good idea.
Wrong
You say that and then don't demonstrate it. She was sleeping with the man who appointed her public positions. That's public corruption because those are taxpayer funded jobs. She didn't sleep with him for free cable which would be private corruption.
Is Willie Brown running for President? Has any non-Democrat ever defended the ethics of Willie Brown, ever? Do you think Kamela Harris might be a little more relevant on a national scale in 2020 than Willie Brown. There must be something that happened in the last day that made Harris's behavior more relevant than Browns.
All of which is true. I can't disagree with you, John.
I know Perrie, it is pure partisan non-thinking in action. This is what has dissuaded me from engaging in political articles for years. Too many cannot step out of their partisan water-carrying, talking-point role to think for themselves.
I just copied and pasted Item #46 below in a new thread to talk about. It's more about her personal side than her political side.
Well, obviously you have never been a parent. BTW we have people driving at 18 who are not mature enough to do that, but there you have it.
And while you are moaning about her discretion, you might want to take a look at Trump's. You apparently give those a pass.
They admit to dating as opposed to grabbing pussy. Since when is dating a crime?
Yeah, she's a woman and so the old double standard applies.
Normally, I keep my mouth closed in politics, too. But between the glut of independents and undecided this time, and the fact that I actually think that Trump is bad for this country, has made me a bit more vocal. I will accept a legitimate complaint about a candidate, but not these old tried and true attacks.
Good to know Trout!
There are quite a few legitimate criticisms for Biden and Harris. I have weighed in on Biden (and Trump) and likely will do so with Harris. And there are plenty of legit and factually supported criticisms of Trump (few, however, for Pence since he is basically just Trump's main sycophant).
I think being critical –for cause– is healthy and productive. We should all be critical (relevant and important) of all candidates and be able to make a supporting argument to justify the criticism. What is unhealthy and counterproductive is the mindless repeating of talking points. That is a sign of partisan sheep mentality — exactly the kind of behavior that party leaders seek to encourage in the electorate.
Then you are opposed to all the jobs Trump has hired Ivanka and Jared to do at for Whitehouse? I mean, otherwise you would be a hypocrite, so you must also be opposed to Republican nepotism.
Once again, in comparison, please explain Melania Trump. Or are you going to claim there is love there?
You said it well, Tig. I look forward to more constructive discussion on actual policy.
Which job did she get for which she was not qualified?
Yeah, well, I suspect you will be disappointed.
She was appointed to the California Medical Assistance Commission. Before that, she was deputy district attorney in Alameda County, California, which is hardly a low-level job. I would say she was more than qualified.
Given those last descriptives of her, I would have to agree.
I concur.
I am a parent, not sure what that has to do with believing lawyers in their late 20s should be accountable for their actions. At what age are politicians grown up enough to be criticized? Are 35 years olds adults? 40?
ou might want to take a look at Trump's. You apparently give those a pass.
BUT BUT Trump! So he's your new ethical standard? I notice none of the people who've attacked him for years on this site for his PRIVATE affairs, care about Harris's PUBLIC corruption.
Funny how predicable that was.
I've never voted for Trump and his lack of character is the main reason for that. So bark up another tree.
Since when is dating a crime?
Right. That's what this is about. No matter how many times I've explained it's about accepting public positions from a man she was sleeping with, you have to pretend it's about dating. Speaks volumes.
eah, she's a woman and so the old double standard applies.
Again, you say say things you can't support. What male politician accepted a public appointment from a female he was having an affair with and wasn't criticized for it? Can you answer that question, once?
Do you really believe males aren't criticized for having affairs? Start with Gary Hart, who Joe Biden was only too happy have leave the race in 1988 when he got caught having an affair. Did Joe Biden go to bat for Gary Hart?
The only double standard is the same people who attacked Trump for having affairs now claim it's a "double standard" to criticize Harris for not only having an affair, but taking a public position as well,.
If your idea of being destroyed is becoming a nominee for VP of the US, what's your idea of success?
What’s your idea of success?
Winning the nomination. Hell, just not wasting 40 million and dropping out before the first primary would have been a step in the right direction for her.
But your right, she succeeded by being the least objectionable democrat with the biological requirements Democrats limited their choice to. Biological determinism for the win!
So all of the candidates that don't win the nomination aren't successes?
That's a hell of a long list of people that are still in the leadership of our country and many that are still respected as political leaders.
BTFW, Tulsi Gabbard is in that list too...
Oh and just because the GOP choose the MOST objectionable nominee doesn't mean the Democrats have to follow suit.
And before Trump, the right did the same with Obama. It's political rinse and repeat.
She's far more "qualified" than Trump ever was!
Fuck Trump.
Here is a VERY short list of things Trump has done in the last 3+ years. Any one of which would have caused an Obama impeachment by the Republicans.
The A to Z of Things Trump Could and Should Have Been Impeached For
Did you expect the press to ignore them?
Who?
Again, what are the positive aspects re: tRump?
So you don't feel that Obama would have been brought up for impeachment for doing any of the things listed? After the fuss the GOP threw for him just wearing a brown suit?
simple fact is that the GOP never tried to impeach Obama.
the democrats did impeach Trump, but failed to remove him from office .
you are doing nothing but guessing.
"One of them would be that he got under your skin. Is he on your mind all the time?"
Positive to tRump ass kissers, not to me.
The turd doesn't get under my skin.
Simple fact was the GOP could not come up with any reason to impeach him. They made their desire to well known.
Because Senate Republicans put party before country.
Guessing at what? What Trump got away with? That wasn't my list.
you are guessing about the gop impeaching Obama. facts tell you that it never happened, so you are speculating
Senate gop did6 see enough evidence to convict. that's how trials work. ya know.
You are trying to rewrite history again.
During Barack Obama's tenure as President of the United States from 2009 to 2017, certain Republican members of Congress, as well as Democratic congressman Dennis Kucinich stated that Obama had engaged in impeachable activity and that he might face attempts to remove him from office.
A Brief History of GOP Calls for Obama's Impeachment, From Benghazi to Bergdahl
Once again, you are proven WRONG!
Did you even read any of the links I sent to Texan?
Come on, dude, you aren't seriously trying to tell me that the GOP impeached Obama, are you?
Surely you aren't claiming something so wild!
You probably need to learn the difference between a party impeaching a President and some folks TALKING about it.
It would go a long ways towards understanding what I wrote.
Never claimed that, why are you trying to deflect to an argument that was never made? Are you that unable to stay on topic when you are losing?
I know it, and if you'd bother reading the thread you would know that was my exact point.
Let us know when Trump violates the War Powers Act like Obama did with Libya; Syria; sending troops back into Iraq; and his drone bombings across the world- including the execution w/o trial of two US citizens.
Democrats talked about impeaching Trump before he even took office.
TDS sufferers can't even do basic math. Democrats attempt to impeach Trump 1 (and counting). Republican attempt to impeach Obama 0.
Slept with my calculus teacher in college and she still gave me a B.
Ever wonder what you might have done better to earn the "A"? (-:
you were a lot younger, and maybe it was a cumulative grade...
For the class?
I think the most we can say about the choice Biden cornered himself into making is that now for the first time a vote for Biden is something more than a simple vote against Trump. It is now also a vote for the liberal coastal elites who currently rule the democratic party.
Here is my first take. I see in Harris an individual who is demonstrably intelligent, effective, ambitious, articulate and poised. I can easily see her restoring the office of PotUS to one of respect and can easily see her as respected internationally. In a word, Senator Harris could indeed be presidential. Trump is absolutely not presidential. Pence seems to be nothing more than a sycophant. Biden is past his expiration date.
I'm less concerned with what seems "presidential" than I am with substance.
Take a look up at # 42 in Politico's list:
Although she said she supported the abolition of private health care during an earlier town hall, she later denied her statement and said she had misheard the question. She eventually released a health care plan that still included private health insurance.
What does that tell us? Why carve out a space for private health insurance if she told voters she wanted the government to provide all the coverage?
I think we need more than sound-bites for this. Frankly, I like the idea that she released a health care plan that included private health insurance rather than a purely public operation.
I could just as easily point to Trump (as the sitting PotUS). For example, the most obvious is his plan to build the wall with Mexico's money. Why claim Mexico as the funding source and then seek domestic funding (through Congress) and then resort to redirecting funds from the DoD?
Australia does it....
I'm betting he decides to be a one term President and we see a Kamala Harris/Joaquin Castro ticket in 2024.
Same here, except I am not making any predictions on her running mate.
It's funny, It may be one of the few things I'm with liberals on. If you are going to socialize medicine - you go all the way. There is no room for private companies to make profits! However, that's not the point. Why did she change her mind on that? Did she ever explain?
Complete government coverage?
I prefer a mixed system. It makes great sense to have a federated system based on national standards and protocols with the provisions for states to further customize the system to their unique needs. It also makes great sense (to me) to have a tiered system where the public healthcare covers the more common, routine procedures and prescriptions (which can then be accomplished through standard practices and automation and thus delivered more effectively and with less cost) and then have other tiers where the patient pays to get a higher level of care, quicker access to medical professionals, choice of professionals, better facilities, state-of-the-art technology, newer (and thus more expensive) drugs, etc.
Finally, and critically, I am in favor of the public side of healthcare focus on standards, protocols and much of the funding but use the private sector for research, development and delivery. That is, the government administers but the private sector executes.
But then it all comes back to why are the Dems so against having a border that is secure as possible.
I think that is more appropriate as its own article.
I probably won't be around to see it, but I suspect Nikki Haley will win in 2024.
I didn't bring up the wall, you did.
Yes, Greg, I did bring it up as an example. And I am also the one who is suggesting that a discussion on why the D's are so against the wall is a rather potent topic that probably deserves its own article.
Will it be Haley vs Harris (Hindi vs Hindu)?
I like that idea.
I also like the idea of keeping privatized health care and letting public health care take care of routine exams and medications. If you have money, there's no reason you should be stuck with a one size fits all health care
They have Medicare for all and private insurance is available, along with public and private hospitals.
Come on MUVA, what do you need to convince you that this is an intelligent woman? She is an attorney, was district attorney for San Francisco for two terms, was elected twice as Attorney General for the state of California, and is now a sitting Senator of the USA.
I have not claimed that she is Mensa material, only that she is demonstrably intelligent (among other qualities). Are the above accomplishments what one would expect from a person of average intelligence?
Finally, if you somehow do not consider her intelligent then on what grounds would you consider Trump intelligent?
Silence ensues...
How about price controls?
Seems to be they control price through having public run systems, public doctors and hospitals. Not everything is covered 100%. They also have price controls on prescription drugs.
Standardization, well-conceived processes and economies of scale can do amazing things to costs.
There you are! That's why when we try the same thing it costs so much more.
Okay, so we agree that her IQ is likely not >=98th percentile (higher IQ than 98% of all human beings).
Do you acknowledge that a person can be intelligent with an IQ <98th percentile.
Do you NOT consider Senator Harris to be demonstrably intelligent based on her life's accomplishments?
In what way is your misogynistic comment addressing my question about Harris' intelligence?
Do you NOT consider Harris to be an intelligent woman? If so, then what is your reasoning for that conclusion since it is contradicted by observable, obvious facts?
MUVA's comments just come across as a knee-jerk reaction. Such reflexes are seldom substantiated.
Let's talk about Number 46:
I like to hear this. It sounds like she can put the cares of the day away and cook her family a nice meal. Roast chicken is one of my go-to recipes, too
At least we know she's no Hillary who sneered at women who chose to stay at home while their husbands earned the paycheck
I like that about her, too. She seems like she takes the time to be a regular mom.
She also has a very close family. And talk about diversity and well educated. Her dad is a Stanford University emeritus professor of economics, who emigrated from Jamaica in 1961 for graduate study in economics at UC Berkeley. Her mom is from India, was a breast-cancer scientist and pursue a doctorate in endocrinology UC Berkeley. Her hubby is also a lawyer and Jewish. So her kids can say (like me) that they are a Heinz 57, LOL.
And on top of all that, she has proved that indeed anchor babies CAN excel in the US system when given the opportunity.
Wow, that was a really horrible remark and just wrong. Her family came here legally.
Maybe on work visas due to their jobs at University. But they were not citizens when she was born. She is a citizen due to being born on US soil. And I wasn't implying that she isn't.
They were her legitimately and that means she is not an "anchor baby". That is a term used for illegal immigration or by non-nationals who have babies here for citizenship reasons only.
Then please explain your point.
So your comment:
Is really you paying Senator Harris a compliment? Is this your way of saying that she has shown that individuals with less-than-privileged roots can excel in the US? That she has, ipso facto, accomplished something you find admirable?
Hardly less than privileged but yes. She accomplished something I found admirable. Especially her "living in two worlds" as she so eloquently put it in her attempt to burn Mr. Biden in the debates. Remember "I was that little girl".
Kamala Harris has already received more media coverage than Joe Biden has since he announced his candidacy. Biden has relegated himself to the role of functionary. The strange aspect of the situation is that the Presidential candidate has become the drag on the campaign.
The Democratic Party is using Joe Biden as a means to an end. Biden has already been kicked to the sidelines. It's true Biden ain't Trump but Biden ain't Harris, either. Kamala Harris is going to cast a very large shadow over the campaign. We'll find out if Biden's ego will allow him to remain in that shadow.
They know it Nerm. They're reading your words and ginning!
"They know it Nerm. They're reading your words and ginning!"
Nope. You maybe. And other tRump ass kissers.
Not me.
No? You were the first one that came to mind.
How many have the courage of rep Eric Swalwell, who when confronted with the evidence of FBI misconduct and spying on Trump campaign members, said "They were right to do it"
The truth is that progressives seem to be ginning silently about a lot of things
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I think you've insulted both Nerm & I, not to mention the President who kept you safe & secure for the better part of 4 years.
Let's see how long this takes
Sense of humor....check!
This is somewhat troubling. More on that issue HERE . Although not much different than any other politician trying to cover their ass by covering things up, obfuscating, and/or redirecting blame. Hmmm... who else has done something like that? At least she finally admitted that it was her responsibility, and ultimately she emerged politically unscathed.
There will be much bigger bucks to stop if she gets to the White House, hope she is ready for that!