First things first. There are no perfect candidates. The human condition, let alone partisan politics, assures no less. So, yes, U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris is not flawless. Her presidential campaign never got traction. Her record as a prosecutor—not a public defender or defense attorney—is already being cherry-picked by progressives as well as Republicans. And, yes, she had that pre-planned, cringe-worthy “I was that little girl” debate moment.
But Harris, the second black woman elected to the Senate, checks important boxes as a well-informed, quick-study, articulate female of color who could handle the presidency as early as 2024. Yes, she’s a relative centrist, but she has called for an increase in corporate taxes, is against fracking and the death penalty, has introduced the Justice in Policing Act and has teamed with Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) to propose legislation that would establish an Independent Office of Climate and Environmental Justice Accountability. Her Indian-Jamaican-immigrant story could help pull us back from the xenophobic Trump precipice—and inspiringly update “American exceptionalism.”
If you’ve seen Harris, 55, in action as a member of the Senate judiciary and intelligence committees, you’ve seen somebody who knows how to prosecute a case. Ask William Barr. Or Joe Biden. Harris is “best equipped to take this fight to Trump,” Biden pointed out.
If you noticed how suburban women voted for Trump in 2016 and how fewer, post-Obama black voters came out for Hillary Clinton, you’ve seen the bottom-line need to complement Joe Biden, 77, with a feisty, charismatic, generationally-removed partner uniquely qualified to prosecute Trump and win back key swing states. In short, she’s no Tim Kaine.
That all underscores why Trump, the misogynist-in-chief, is already vilifying Harris as “nasty” for being “mean” to his appointees. He, unsurprisingly, speaks more highly of Ghislaine Maxwell than Harris. Then Trump doubled down and referred to Harris as the “meanest, most horrible, most disrespectful” member of the Senate. Poor Brett Kavanaugh. Trump also enabled Obama-esque, birther misinformation about Harris’ presidential-ticket eligibility. And he also knows that if Mike Pence were to stalk her during their upcoming debate, he would live to regret it. Harris’ command of facts and her ability to make a case aren’t masked by that center-stage smile. She can help remake America—not just make history.
Trump knows this nominee is trouble for him. His campaign had been rooting for Bernie Sanders so it could rally the base by hammering home the anti-socialism theme. Biden-Harris nullifies that. Elizabeth Warren gets it. It’s about winning—and “saving America’s soul.”
One other thing: Because of looming scenarios of Trump not conceding defeat, a November win needs to be seen as a mandate, not a mere victory. Having Harris–and her vigorous campaign style–on the Biden ticket is the Dems’ best chance to take back the country. Four years would be a wrenching anomaly; eight years would be a disastrous, authoritarian pivot that will outlast most Americans. Indeed, “It’s all on the line,” as Harris has stated.
You go, Joe and Kamala.