I know it was just 12 years ago when Barack Obama announced his run for the presidency, but given the fact that's 1/3 of my life, it's a significant duration of time for me. Ever since the nightmare that was the 2016 election, I've been pulling for a Kamala Harris/Cory Booker ticket for 2020. Well, while Booker has yet to announce his intentions heading toward 2020, Senator Harris has officially announced she's running, and I have to say, this is the most excited I've been about a potential presidential candidate since Obama 12 years ago.
I voted for Al Gore in 2000, John Kerry in 2004, and Hillary Clinton in 2016, but I didn't vote for any of them in the Democratic primary. The only time I've voted for the eventual Democratic nominee in the party's primary was for eventual 2-term president Barack Obama. While it's very early in the nominating process, to this point, Kamala Harris is who I'm pulling for to be on the top of the party's 2020 ticket, and unless an even more attractive candidate announces they're running, the odds are high I will vote for Ms. Harris in the Ohio primary.
Kamala Harris is a fascinating individual and candidate. Politically-speaking, she's part Barack Obama, part Hillary Clinton, part Joe Biden, and part Bernie Sanders. She has a story reminiscent of former President Obama, as her parents hail from India and Jamaica. Like former Secretary Clinton, she is attempting to become the first female president in the history of this country. As former Vice President Joe Biden is known for, Senator Harris is tough as nails and doesn't beat around the (figurative) bush. Finally, like 2016 Democratic nominee runner-up Bernie Sanders, she has a far-left progressive streak to her on some issues - mostly notably, healthcare (reform). Former attorney general for the state of California, Harris has been criticized by self-described liberals for her tough-on-crime reputation, but looking at her complete history as attorney general, one will see it's not as simple as that. She didn't paint all similar cases with the same brush. She consistently tried to be fair, do what she felt was right, and set her sights on the future of the individual(s) on which she was ruling, as well as the state/country at large.
Since she announced her run, Harris has seen money pouring in at an impressive clip, her support numbers increasing three-fold, and if Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders opt not to run for the presidency, she could very well be the Democratic front-runner. Kamala Harris is smart, strong, inspiring, relatable, and possesses an effective balance of a lawyerly and compassionate mindset. If she winds up being the Democratic nominee, I have an incredibly difficult time seeing Donald Trump defeating her. Harris would help inspire many Obama supporters who stayed at home for the 2016 election. She'll win over moderate and liberal Democrats, as well as never-Trumper Republicans, and Independents. For those who want to claim that, like Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris will be bogged down by the same sexist narratives and we should therefore nominate a man to end Trump's reign in the Oval Office, there are two key differences between the two women. First off, fair or not, Hillary Clinton was hindered by the political baggage which she carried, largely due to Fox News and right-wing talk radio growing exponentially during the time she was First Lady. The Clintons became punching bags for two decades before Hillary became the Democratic nominee, and unfortunately, by that point most of the country, positively or negatively, had made up their minds about her before the first debate. Kamala Harris doesn't have that baggage. A good percentage of the country, like was the case in 2007 with Barack Obama, don't know much about Senator Harris. Her name hasn't been a pinata for Fox News anchors and Rush Limbaugh for 20 years on end, so her ceiling is much higher than Ms. Clinton's. Secondly, both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton had to kind of play things carefully when it came to their identities. Both their campaigns and careers have helped pave the way for someone like Harris. Perhaps the thing I like most about her is her willingness to stand up to controversy and stereotype and turn things on their head. If someone asks her a sexist question, she's unafraid to embrace who she is as a woman. If someone asks her a racist question, she broaches it in a similar manner. She's the hybrid of a lover and a fighter, wants to help make the country better, but doesn't take crap from anyone. That's the kind of person, candidate, I can get behind. So, as I've been saying for 2 years, let's go Harris/Booker for 2020! Make America Sane Again!
I voted for Al Gore in 2000, John Kerry in 2004, and Hillary Clinton in 2016, but I didn't vote for any of them in the Democratic primary. The only time I've voted for the eventual Democratic nominee in the party's primary was for eventual 2-term president Barack Obama. While it's very early in the nominating process, to this point, Kamala Harris is who I'm pulling for to be on the top of the party's 2020 ticket, and unless an even more attractive candidate announces they're running, the odds are high I will vote for Ms. Harris in the Ohio primary.
Kamala Harris is a fascinating individual and candidate. Politically-speaking, she's part Barack Obama, part Hillary Clinton, part Joe Biden, and part Bernie Sanders. She has a story reminiscent of former President Obama, as her parents hail from India and Jamaica. Like former Secretary Clinton, she is attempting to become the first female president in the history of this country. As former Vice President Joe Biden is known for, Senator Harris is tough as nails and doesn't beat around the (figurative) bush. Finally, like 2016 Democratic nominee runner-up Bernie Sanders, she has a far-left progressive streak to her on some issues - mostly notably, healthcare (reform). Former attorney general for the state of California, Harris has been criticized by self-described liberals for her tough-on-crime reputation, but looking at her complete history as attorney general, one will see it's not as simple as that. She didn't paint all similar cases with the same brush. She consistently tried to be fair, do what she felt was right, and set her sights on the future of the individual(s) on which she was ruling, as well as the state/country at large.
Since she announced her run, Harris has seen money pouring in at an impressive clip, her support numbers increasing three-fold, and if Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders opt not to run for the presidency, she could very well be the Democratic front-runner. Kamala Harris is smart, strong, inspiring, relatable, and possesses an effective balance of a lawyerly and compassionate mindset. If she winds up being the Democratic nominee, I have an incredibly difficult time seeing Donald Trump defeating her. Harris would help inspire many Obama supporters who stayed at home for the 2016 election. She'll win over moderate and liberal Democrats, as well as never-Trumper Republicans, and Independents. For those who want to claim that, like Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris will be bogged down by the same sexist narratives and we should therefore nominate a man to end Trump's reign in the Oval Office, there are two key differences between the two women. First off, fair or not, Hillary Clinton was hindered by the political baggage which she carried, largely due to Fox News and right-wing talk radio growing exponentially during the time she was First Lady. The Clintons became punching bags for two decades before Hillary became the Democratic nominee, and unfortunately, by that point most of the country, positively or negatively, had made up their minds about her before the first debate. Kamala Harris doesn't have that baggage. A good percentage of the country, like was the case in 2007 with Barack Obama, don't know much about Senator Harris. Her name hasn't been a pinata for Fox News anchors and Rush Limbaugh for 20 years on end, so her ceiling is much higher than Ms. Clinton's. Secondly, both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton had to kind of play things carefully when it came to their identities. Both their campaigns and careers have helped pave the way for someone like Harris. Perhaps the thing I like most about her is her willingness to stand up to controversy and stereotype and turn things on their head. If someone asks her a sexist question, she's unafraid to embrace who she is as a woman. If someone asks her a racist question, she broaches it in a similar manner. She's the hybrid of a lover and a fighter, wants to help make the country better, but doesn't take crap from anyone. That's the kind of person, candidate, I can get behind. So, as I've been saying for 2 years, let's go Harris/Booker for 2020! Make America Sane Again!
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