Kamala Harris
Updated 2024-08-27
2024-8-23 The New Kamala This year, Harris no longer has to toggle between left and center, an awkward balancing act she was not able to pull off in 2019. The slow-growing awareness that our 40-year romance with the market has produced an astounding upward redistribution of income and wealth, and has devastated whole sectors of the national economy, has yielded a new center-left synthesis that shaped the agendas of such previously not-so-left mainstream Democrats as Joe Biden and Tim Walz. The breadth and power of that center-left synthesis was evident in the forceful and heartfelt addresses that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Elizabeth Warren delivered to the convention, and in the rapturous reception they received from delegations that had been pledged to Joe Biden just five weeks ago.
That synthesis calls on the state to intervene not so much to help particular minorities as the entire working and middle class, in the form of aid to families with kids, provision of paid medical and family leave, making child care and college affordable, boosting both housing creation and housing builder creation through apprenticeship programs, kick-starting American industries (green where at all possible), and enhancing workers’ rights. The state needs to fund this by taxing the rich and curtailing some of the power of our globe-trotting (i.e., America-fleeing) corporations.
But it now provides a foundation for Harris’s domestic and economic policies, as well as a contrast to the pro-plutocratic giveaways that are the core of Trumponomics. It particularly anchors her advocacy of the care economy, which is now one of the party’s foremost ways to promote its family values. Talking about that economy, championing it, and illustrating why we need it is all totally within Harris’s political and personal comfort zone. https://prospect.org/politics/2024-08-23-dnc-the-new-kamala/
2024-08-17 Harris Is Better Than Biden on Gaza—But She Must Go Further As U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris steps into the spotlight to take over the Democratic ticket from President Biden, some on the left have so far withheld their support. Of central concern are her views on Palestine and the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Will she stake out a different policy than Biden when it comes to indiscriminate Israeli warfare on Palestinians, which has so far received unconditional US aid and political support?
For better or worse, much of Harris’s positions on Palestine are presumed by proxy to Biden’s. Indeed, Biden administration officials themselves have stated there is no daylight between hers and Biden’s positions on Israel’s war in Gaza. When pressed at public events this past month – prior to her candidacy – Harris restated Biden’s position and endorsed a two-state solution.
But in March, she also came out publicly in favour of a ceasefire before Biden did, in what some assume was partially a test of her individual electoral and political salience. Harris has certainly not been an avowed, true believer in Zionism the way Biden has historically been. As a US Senator, Harris opposed SB-1, an anti-Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) bill backed by the Zionist lobby, on constitutional free speech grounds. https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/harris-biden-gaza-policy
2024-08-06 ‘Excellent Choice’: Progressives Applaud Harris for Picking Walz as Running Mate Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has reportedly selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate for the November election, a victory for progressives who pushed for Walz over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was believed to be the other leading contender.
Harris is expected to formally announce her choice ahead of an evening rally in Philadelphia. CNN was first to report Harris’ decision, followed by other outlets including The Associated Press and The Hill.
Progressives are energized by Walz’s searing critiques of the Trump-era Republican Party and his record as Minnesota’s governor, which includes his unequivocal championing of a universal free school meals program as well as paid family and medical leave. https://www.commondreams.org/news/kamala-harris-tim-walz
2024-08-04 Why the Left Must Resist Unconditionally Backing Harris “Leftist leaders hope to prevent a wholesale abandonment of the transformative vision that has energized millions of voters, particularly young people.” In the wake of President Joe Biden’s decision to step aside, the Democratic Party finds itself at a crucial crossroads. As Vice President Kamala Harris emerges as the presumptive nominee for the 2024 presidential election, a complex debate is unfolding within progressive circles.
While the threat posed by Republican nominee Donald Trump’s potential return to power looms large, some prominent progressives, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, are hesitating to offer their immediate and unconditional endorsement of Harris. This reluctance has sparked criticism from certain quarters, but a closer examination reveals that this measured approach may be both strategically sound and necessary for the long-term health of the progressive movement. https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/why-the-left-must-resist-unconditionally-backing-harris
2024-08-03 Can Kamala Harris Be the Unlikeliest of Heroes? At first glance, Kamala Harris may seem an unlikely savior of democracy. As a career prosecutor, including stints as the district attorney of San Francisco and the attorney general of California, she specialized in sending people to jail and prison, adding to the nation’s crisis of mass incarceration. As a senator and failed 2020 presidential candidate, she was often accused of opportunism. As vice president, she operated largely out of public view for three years, and was saddled with disapproval ratings that rivaled and sometimes exceeded those of President Joe Biden.
But if the study of the past teaches us anything, it is that history is often driven by unlikely heroes who rose to the occasion in an hour of dire need. Abraham Lincoln, born into poverty in a log cabin in Kentucky, ended chattel slavery and defeated the Confederacy in the Civil War. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, born into wealth and privilege, oversaw New Deal programs that rescued the American working class from the Great Depression and a world war that defeated the Nazis.
Harris may never be mentioned alongside Lincoln and FDR, but she is off to a good start. She has already rescued the Democrats from certain defeat in November and energized the party’s base in a way not seen since Barack Obama in 2008. Harris will campaign for the presidency at a time of national emergency born from the dark impulses of Donald Trump and the MAGA movement he leads. There are many ways to understand and characterize Trumpism, a phenomenon that is at once authoritarian, racist, misogynistic and reactionary.
“We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies [committed by the Israeli military] in Gaza. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering, and I will not be silent.” She called for a ceasefire, the release of the hostages and the establishment of a Palestinian state, adding, “As I just told Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done.” https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/kamala-harris-2024-2668868417
2024-08-02 Harris Must Commit to Ending Support for Israel’s Genocide in Gaza During Donald Trump’s presidency, he repeatedly capitulated to Israel’s Zionist regime. He illegally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, illegally recognized Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, and declared Israeli settlements on Palestinian land lawful despite international law to the contrary.
As Israel continues its 10-month genocidal campaign in Gaza, there is no doubt that if he were president now, Trump would give Israel everything it wants to “finish what they started” and “get it over with fast,” that is, ethnically cleanse all of the Palestinians from Gaza.
But this genocide is happening on Joe Biden’s watch. His administration has aided and abetted Israeli genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, killing more than 40,000 Palestinians according to the official Gaza Health Ministry count, although the real death toll is likely much higher. Besides the $3.8 billion the U.S. sends annually to Israel, it has furnished an additional $15 billion in military aid since October 7, 2023. And the U.S. has provided political and diplomatic cover to Israel by vetoing three Security Council resolutions that would have required a ceasefire in Gaza. https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/kamala-harris-israel-genocide-in-gaza
2024-08-01 Progressives Warn Against Josh Shapiro as Kamala Harris Nears VP Choice Reports that presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is leaning toward selecting Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as her running mate have sparked warnings from progressives who say his record and policy positions on key issues—from Palestine to public schools to climate—are cause for serious alarm and should be disqualifying.
Earlier this week, dozens of progressive leaders from across the United States wrote in a letter to Harris that Shapiro’s “support for school vouchers is in direct conflict with our teachers union allies and the Democratic Party Platform, threatening to undermine labor support” in a general election matchup with Republican nominee Donald Trump.
The letter’s signatories recommended Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear as possible alternatives to Shapiro, who last year relented to pressure and vetoed a school voucher program that he previously supported. https://www.commondreams.org/news/josh-shapiro-kamala-harris
2024-08-01 Kshama Sawant BLASTS Progressives, Labor for Supporting Kamala Harris Jordan Chariton is joined by Kshama Sawant of Workers Strike Back as they discuss Progressives bending the knew immediately for Kamala Harris and Biden. These continued acts by ‘progressives’, including endorsing of candidates without Democratic input and supporting a genocide, continue to show how much of a joke the movement has become politically something we will be discussing. https://substack.com/home/post/p-147245543
2024-07-29 How Harris Can Win Back Voters Who Opposed Biden Over Gaza By fully charting a new course on Gaza policy, Vice President Harris can build on this goodwill, win back the support of American Muslims and other voters in key swing states and, ultimately, save the country from another Trump presidency.
Long before President Biden’s debate meltdown sparked panic in the Democratic establishment, his support for the Israeli government’s war in Gaza sparked outrage in the Democratic base, where 56 percent of the party’s supporters have described the war as a genocide.
At least half a million Democratic voters protested President Biden’s support for the Gaza genocide by voting uncommitted or submitting blank ballots during the presidential primaries earlier this year, including over 100,000 people in Michigan, 88,000 in North Carolina and 46,000 in Minnesota. Over 1 in 5 Democrats or independents in key swing states said they were less likely to vote for President Biden due to the war, according to a YouGov-AJP-Action poll in May.
Over a quarter of those voters said that an immediate and lasting ceasefire, full entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and conditions on military aid for Israel’s war were the minimum policy changes needed to secure or solidify their votes for Biden. https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/kamala-harris-muslim-american-voters
2024-07-29 Open Letter from Veterans For Peace to Vice President Kamala Harris Call for a Permanent Ceasefire and Emergency Food and Medical Aid to Gaza
Dear Madam Vice President Kamala Harris:
We are reaching out to you as military veterans who have fought in multiple US wars, and who continue to uphold the US Constitution and international law, to organize for justice and equality in our home communities, and to advocate for a peaceful foreign policy.
We are appalled by the ongoing Israeli slaughter of tens of thousands of Palestinian men, women and children and by the maiming of tens of thousands more. We are outraged by the systematic blocking of food, leading to malnutrition, starvation, disease and the deaths of many more, particularly babies and young children. These are unbearable and unacceptable crimes that will go down in the history books as a terrible genocide – a holocaust.
Vice President Harris, many veterans listened carefully to your remarks after your recent meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. You said: https://www.veteransforpeace.org/pressroom/news/2024/07/29/open-letter-veterans-peace-vice-president-kamala-harris
2024-07-29 Why Josh Shapiro Is Not the Right Choice for Harris VP A running mate who intensely connects her to Biden’s policies on the Gaza war that are so unpopular with much of the Democratic base, party unity—and the chances of defeating Trump—would be undermined.
Today, parallels are apparent with pivotal events of 1968, when President Lyndon B. Johnson—increasingly unpopular among Democrats and others because of his Vietnam War—stunned the political world by announcing he would not seek reelection. At the Democratic convention in Chicago, the party nominated LBJ’s vice president, Hubert Humphrey, as its standard-bearer. Humphrey’s halting efforts to distance himself from Johnson’s war policy were too little, too late, and he was unable to connect with many of the dedicated Democratic activists and voters who were antiwar. Failing to detach himself sufficiently from the president’s war policy, Humphrey lost a winnable election to Republican Richard Nixon. https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/josh-shapiro-vice-president
2024-07-27 Will Kamala Harris Pivot on Gaza and Win the ‘Uncommitted’ Vote? Simply displaying more empathy toward Palestinians, while shipping arms to Israel that are used in killing those same Palestinians, is not likely to win over recalcitrant voters or to truly energize peace voters.
Vice President Harris has seen polling revealing that the Democrats suffered from a large enthusiasm gap—trailing Republicans by 11 points in one Gallup poll before President Joe Biden Biden dropped out. Given Democratic-leaning voters’ well-founded existential angst about former President Donald Trump’s authoritarian impulses, such a gap in this election is astounding.
At least part of that “enthusiasm gap” was reflected in the “uncommitted” vote over the last few months. In addition to the 650,000 Democrats voted against Biden by choosing options such as “uncommitted,” etc., millions of rank-and-file Democrats are unhappy with the war in Gaza. According to one Reuters poll, 44% of Democratic voters disapprove of the administration’s handling of the Gaza crisis and these voters said they were less likely to vote for Biden come fall. Obviously, Arab American voters are watching Harris’ actions on Gaza closely. But so are other critical constituencies. Younger voters, and particularly younger voters of color, are more likely to support an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and disapprove of Israel’s actions. Seven major labor unions, representing 6 million workers, just wrote to President Biden and called on him to “shut off military aid to Israel.” https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/kamala-harris-gaza
2024-07-22 If Elected, Will Kamala Harris Make A Difference on Palestine? Today on the Show: An update on the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Will Harris make a difference if she is elected? Also, we feature a rebroadcast of a powerful eye-witness account from a front-line trauma surgeon just back from treating genocide victims in the Gaza Strip. https://kpfa.org/episode/flashpoints-july-22-2024/
2024-07-09 The Crowning of Kamala Harris? While we await President Biden’s talk with the Lord Almighty, the Democratic Party lords are planning the coronation of Vice President Kamala Harris. Is she the best Democratic Party nominee?
Many party leaders are eager to shut down that discussion. For them, it’s game over. They say that Harris should be the nominee and anyone who opposes her will greatly offend key Democratic constituencies, starting with the Black women who have been the backbone of the party in key states. https://lesleopold.substack.com/p/the-crowning-of-kamala-harris
2023-12-06 Kamala Harris’s Performative Scolding of Israel With Israelis in a grueling fight against a dangerous terrorist enemy, Vice President Kamala Harris was dispatched to Dubai to deliver a scolding of our close ally for the benefit of Arab leaders. Her remarks were morally weak and untethered from reality. In remarks in the United Arab Emirates after meetings with leaders of the UAE, Jordan, Egypt, and the Hamas-sponsoring Iranian ally Qatar, Harris delivered a version of the same message. It was rooted in the same failed Obama-era strategy of trying to show “daylight” with Israel in the groundless hope that it will earn more trust in the Arab world. She reiterated the administration’s “steadfast conviction” that “Israel has a right to defend itself” but then insisted, “Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. Frankly, the scale of civilian suffering and the images and videos coming from Gaza are devastating.”
In the immediate wake of the October 7 Hamas assault, and again when we gave President Biden credit for his visit to Israel, we argued that the true test of his administration’s pledges to have Israel’s back would come over time, during the slow and arduous — but necessary — process of destroying Hamas.
As time has dragged on, the public comments in support of Israel from administration officials have become more subdued, while the tongue-lashings about Israeli conduct and calls for restraint have become more frequent. On a visit to Israel last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized Israel for inflicting too many civilian casualties and reportedly instructed the Israel Defense Forces that the successful tactics they employed in northern Gaza should not be used in the south, which is now where Hamas jihadists and operational leaders are believed to be holed up. He also said Israel didn’t have the “credit” to carry on their mission for several more months. One wonders if 1,000 more dead Jews would be needed to buy Israel more time from Blinken. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/kamala-harris-s-performative-scolding-of-israel/ar-AA1l1RGV
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