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By Niccolo Balducci
Who is Kamala Harris?
Kamala Davis Harris is the current running mate for presidential hopeful Joe Biden, who is set to challenge Donald Trump’s White House bid in November 2020. She started her political career as the deputy district attorney for Oakland, California, eventually working her way up to the position of attorney general. This set her on the stage for winning a seat in the U.S. senate in 2016, where she stood out for her fierce prosecutorial style of questioning.
Despite a largely disastrous bid for the presidency during the 2020 Democratic primary, the party hopes she will give the Biden campaign some much needed teeth. She has made history for being the first African American and Asian American Vice-Presidential ticket from a major U.S. party.
Why pick Harris?
Sometimes, the obvious pick is obvious for a reason. Biden had already publicly committed to selecting a woman as his running mate, heavily suggesting it would also be someone of color. He did this to lure over potentially apathetic voters from differing racial demographics, a tactic that Obama also employed back in 2008. This would be particularly important given Trump’s recurring alienation of American minorities, as well as the Democrats’ inability to win over Black communities in swing states during the 2016 election.
Despite the remarkable surface-level differences between the candidates, it is the pair’s comparable political outlook that likely punched Harris’s ticket to the Vice-Presidential bid. Indeed, given Biden’s considerable lead over Trump, it was obvious that the DNC was not gearing up for any major change of course. Thus, a safe, competent centrist like Harris who could combine minority appeal with a justice-driven mindset was unsurprisingly ideal for the party establishment.
And ‘safe’ really is the key word; if vague accusations of phoniness are really all your political opponent’s smear campaign can muster, you can probably rest easy. The only potential inconsistency with Harris’ track record is her tendency to place her ‘law and order’ mindset above her stated commitment to racial justice. Being what it is, however, the Republican party cannot in any way afford to throw stones in that direction, at least not without coming across as massive hypocrites. Thus, for the time being, Harris might not need to worry about any massive scandal heading her way, which is good news for Biden.
Are there any downsides?
By picking Harris as his running mate, Biden has not exactly done much to win over progressives in the country. For one, the candidate has a long history with law enforcement that alienates her from the most ardent Black Lives Matter supporters, especially given recent nation-wide protests against police brutality. Alongside that is her noncommittal stance towards nationalized healthcare, an issue that is very near and dear to the heart of numerous leftists in America.
The core Trump supporter is also unlikely to be swayed by the pick, especially following the President’s absurd suggestion that Harris might not in fact be an American citizen. He subsequently retracted that statement, partly because he is aware his supporters do not exactly need much convincing before jumping onboard this outlandish conspiracy theory. Either way, do not expect to see former MAGA-hatters jumping ship thanks to Harris.
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