The Sad Rise of Kamala Harris
During the 2024 Democratic National Convention, an important transition took place as 81-year-old President Joe Biden handed over the leadership to Vice President Kamala Harris. This moment was historic, as Harris became the first African American woman to be nominated as a presidential candidate by a major political party.
Since becoming the nominee, Democrat enthusiasm and fundraising for Harris has skyrocketed. This newfound excitement is best exemplified by her VP pick, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. At a rally in Philadelphia, just hours after Harris called him at home to tell him he would be her running mate, Walz thanked her: “Thank you, Madam Vice President, for the trust you put in me. But maybe more so, thank you for bringing back the joy.” This simple statement epitomized how impactful Kamala Harris has been, and the political height she has risen to.
Beyond the face of joy and change, however, the “Harris show” has become depressing to watch. Back in 2019, she also tried to run for president, but the so-called “bringer of joy” did not bring in even a single delegate.
So how did Harris so swiftly become the nominee after not winning a single delegate five years ago? It started with President Biden picking her from the political wilderness to be his running mate. This was Harris’ first upward failure.
Then, as vice president, she had limited opportunities to demonstrate her readiness for the presidency since the role carries little political power unless assigned tasks by the president. When such duties were given, for example, when Biden tapped Harris in the early months of their term to spearhead efforts to address the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, she not only failed in addressing the crisis but somehow made it worse. According to Pew Research, migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border hit a record high at the end of 2023. How could Vice President Harris be ready for executive duties, if she failed so miserably in this responsibility?
The last obstacle for her in this year's Democrat presidential nomination was the sitting president himself, her boss. When Biden’s performance was subpar at the June presidential debate, many alarms went off about his mental decline. The once overwhelming support that Biden had and the staunch defense of his mental health from Democrats, including Harris, quickly faded. Most Democrats became silent about Biden’s mental health, and a few, like Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), called for him to drop out of the race. Eventually, Biden did cave to the pressure, or according to sources from the New York Post, was eventually forced out with the threat of the 25th Amendment by Democrat bigwigs. Thus entered Kamala Harris, anointed with not even a single Democrat vote.
When the 2024 Democratic National Convention began, night one was devoted to the so-called “passing of the torch” from Biden to Harris, but it was shown at an unusual time as Biden’s speech was delayed until 11:30 p.m. EST, well out of primetime. This demonstrated the Democrats desire for Biden to just step away from the center of attention due to his current unpopularity, even though he is still the current president of the United States.
Now on top of the Democratic Party, Harris has distinguished herself in every way but policy-making. Rather than articulate her policies through press conferences and interviews, she seems to be allergic to them, as before her Aug. 29 interview with CNN she had not done a single one, nor answered any serious questions since her de facto nomination. It has also almost been two months, and Harris has not even put a policy plan on her campaign website. The policies she did announce are either Trump policies, such as no taxes on tips, or policies that are so vapid, like stopping price gouging through Soviet-style price controls, which created persistent shortages of food and consumer goods in the Soviet Union, a country that now no longer exists.
Even though Vice President Harris markets herself as a change candidate, she still praises Biden’s mental acuity and does not regret her words about Biden before and after his debate with Trump. Biden also touts Harris as the successor of his policies. Make no mistake — Harris is a vote for the status quo despite what she claims, but just with a diverse face.
As YU students coming into this election cycle, we can all agree that we want our political leaders to be smart, disciplined and compassionate, to represent our policies and values in a good light and to portray America in a strong way in international settings. At the very least, we’d like them to have policy platforms and win democratically. We would all like to have America’s first female president enter office, not because of the milestone itself but because she has good policies and a proven record. Kamala Harris makes a mockery of that milestone. When female presidential candidates come to mind, unfortunately, she will be one of the most disappointing in our national memory.
When it comes to elections, before voting we must think with our brains and not with our hearts as we decide if our country will be better with Harris in the White House. As the great communicator Ronald Reagan said, “Ask yourself: Are you better off than you were four years ago? Is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago? Is there more or less unemployment in the country than there was four years ago? Is America as respected throughout the world as it was? Do you feel that our security is as safe, that we’re as strong as we were four years ago? And if you answer all of those questions ‘yes,’ why then, I think your choice is very obvious as to who you’ll vote for. If you don’t agree, if you don’t think that this course that we’ve been on for the last four years is what you would like to see us follow for the next four, then I could suggest another choice that you have.” Fellow YU students, please do your civic duty and use your legal right to vote; don’t sit out elections.
Photo caption: We decide if our country will be better with Harris in the White House
Photo credit: PLBechly / Wikimedia Commons
