A glance at my recent blogging or my Instagram page will reveal a lot of Harris-based content. One might come away with the sense that I am gung-ho about Harris and have joined the hive. I have not.
My first priority is for the GOP to not re-enter the White House. Donald Trump has proven himself (repeatedly) to be a man of low character. He is uninformed, bad at what he does (business, being president, campaigning), and is transparently self-serving. He and his party might pay it lip service, but they are enemies of the working class.
Enter Kamala Harris. I was not part of the “he’s too old” chorus, but I think it’s best Biden stepped aside. He was heading for defeat. And this country cannot afford such an upheaval.
Harris’s general orientation is a source of relief. She is not Elizabeth Warren or Bernie; but the country would do well under her administration. Yes, she is positive, likable, and high wattage. For lack of a better word, she has good energy.
On policy, she has moved to the right. I feel the big one is healthcare. As I have mentioned in previous posts, she has become less progressive on this issue. In her recent CNN interview there was no discussion of healthcare. CNN failed to bring it up, as did Harris.
I’ve made my thoughts on Gaza and Israel clear; Harris will quite likely carry the baton and continue in the tradition of so very many executives before her. She will, I suspect, hold the line on this matter.
On the economy, taxes, guns, and crime, she seems reasonable. On immigration, an issue I don’t much care about, we will likely see and hear more of the same; a mixture of the humane and draconian can be anticipated.
Harris is first and foremost a lawyer and a politician. I am not charmed by these people, and nor should you. They are careerists and will always put themselves first. Obama was also high wattage and said nice things and had good energy; he ended up shooting down the middle between Bush W. and Clinton. Throw in some Biden, and I suspect that is where Harris will land.
The Democrats are what the Republicans used to be. Clinton, Obama, and Biden are all Seventies Republicans. Harris is cut from the same bolt.
That said, as Harris pointed out in her interview, listing Biden’s qualities as she sees them:
“He has the intelligence, the commitment, and the judgment and disposition that I think the American people rightly deserve in their president.
“By contrast, the former president has none of that.”
On the latter point, we completely agree.
Harris is not the first candidate I would choose. There are better. But there is far, far worse on the political stage. And, yes, he belongs in a big house, just not the white one.
