Great reminders and advice. I can't shake off the feeling that us, far left, are right about things, but are masters in losing elections. What I personally am missing here is:
1) Positive things about Kamala that you want far left to know,
2) Acknowledgment that her job, after nomination is to be president for both, people that love this thoughtful article AND people who write thoughtful articles who disagree with you in significant way, and
3) That most of these problematic things she has done are not planned, intentional, or grounded in her convictions but rather happen to people who get things done in the world that is complex, contradictory, and more messy than any human being can bear.
We, the far left, in general, do not know how to win elections (hopelessly perpetual amateurs) but love to tell progressives, liberal, and centrists who actually win elections what they need to believe, be, and do. There is a streak to us that feels like being a 15 years old who thinks the world should be certain way just because they can think of it.
Thank you for the reminder of her political history and an offering of what she needs to do to win the election. I'm of the Bernie variety, and so find it still difficult to fully embrace Harris. Without a third party it always seems like you just have to choose the better of two bad options.
Well said as always, Fred. I hope she recognizes the need to pivot left, especially on Palestine, rather than follow the usual Dem playbook of tracking right to entice disaffected Republicans
She does have a curvy tightrope to walk. In a perfect world just not being Trump would be enough to get her elected. But this ain't a perfect world. And there are other hobby horses to be ridden as well. And how is she going to deal with the Theocrat movement? Or the mini- or not so mini- civil war that will accompany her election?
We all know how things will go: If Trump wins, then it was a "perfect" election. If Trump loses, it was because of fraud. Whether any actually exists or not. But just the accusation will be enough to start the war. They've been primed for it by Rightwing media. Which doesn't do journalism, but partisan propaganda instead. We are stuck in that world. Better be prepared for it.
he for sure would have which is why they had gotten in their own way to begin with. I think it's time for us to admit to ourselves that the Dems are not all that democratic. They have shown it time and time again, they don't really want progressives, they constantly try to tamp down anyone who seems even a smidge left of center or even mild center-right. I don't see Republicans playing the same game - say what you want about their values but they just keep hamming them up. Democrats are always apologizing for sounding even mildly democratic. Which is why even when we win we lose. Like what amazing progressive things has Biden done? Obama, even? Clinton? I'll wait.
I find this article worlds more tactful and thoughtful than the last. I appreciate the honesty and urging for people to look for more to be desired from the new candidate who clearly has not shown that she has a real willingness for change for the better and pandered her disingenuous attempts towards relating to the black and brown community. I truly think there’s a bigger picture here though that is being quietly passed by. I don’t mean this as harsh criticism towards your character or anyone else who is seen as being on the far left. I mean it as someone who used to see things similarly once upon a time, but I can see something a bit more now. The things is, I’m always going to agree with logic. Logic requires facts, and facts require research. The research and facts show that the Democratic Party has historically unfortunately mistreated and used the black community for their own needs and actually convinced them that it was all for their best interest, so they should always vote Democrat if they wish for their needs to be met. Like brainwashing. Choosing a candidate should depend on not only what the party supposedly stands for, but also what that specific candidate is looking to achieve. I have done my research and I do know the facts. Can I suggest that we all take a bit of a look inward and wonder if we truly have all the facts and maybe also, do we care about the facts? I truly hope that every person who intends to vote will ask themselves these questions because if the questions are answered “no”, then I believe those people are only going to contribute to driving this country into the ground. Maybe you think you have the facts because you heard it from a “reliable” source? Please try to be sure it really is reliable. I know how easy it is to accept a certain reality because really searching for the truth can feel daunting and exhausting. Sometimes it takes courage and strength and it really is worth the effort. Really caring really is worth it and we will all be truly better for it. That is where the angry political spats come from. It’s not that people truly “care” about the issue, the research just has not been done enough to succeed in a debate about it. Real care will come with real attempts to find out what the truth really is. There truly is so much more going on behind what the media wants us to know, don’t you want to know what’s missing? Please try to find it. I’m honestly expecting the same from Kamala Harris that she has been doing all this time. She’s a woman, a woman of color, and a Democrat and these are going to be her tools to try to get people on her side. She will try to appeal to bleeding hearts and say that she wants to make a difference for them, but never say how she will do that or she will never put anything truly worth doing into action after possibly winning. She will say she wants to change things and not just say the same things over and over again to try to put hope and fire into peoples hearts, but that’s a trick and false hope. Words and sound can be tricky sometimes, please be aware. She has done nothing all this time and I expect no less from her in the seat of presidency. It will be further catastrophe from the disaster they have already caused this country. If something they say causes anger in you, please please ask yourself why. Just doing that will help put things into more perspective. There’s no need for anger, it will only end up in a collapsed and naive society. It’s so important to really understand everything we’re living amongst to the best of our abilities. Otherwise, we will be caught off guard. 🙏
She's a dumbass. No one here is remembering her disasterous Presidential run of 2020 where she was the first to drop out of the race after only garnering the support of 1% of Democrats. Now here you all are treating her like she is the second coming of Obama. "Oh, Kamala is the hope of black and brown women". Really! How about the 1,900 largely black and brown people she sent to jail for weed violations while she was California AG? You think they are lining up to vote Kamala? You folks are so scared of the Orange Man that you would back a ham sandwich if stood a chance of winning. The best result is for a contested convention in Chicago where, hopefully, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania can get the nomination and we can put the era of "Kamala Harris" behind us.
She will look strong because of the base, but without having endured a primary process, there's a chance she could fail colosally. Right now it's all Democratic hype and relief from dodging a bullet -- an unwinnable Biden campaign. But there's a chance Kamala could fail bigger than Biden. Or... do OK, still lose, but help hold the Senate.
Empathetic, humble engagement demonstrating a will to change is absolutely what I am looking for as a voter. Thank you for this thoughtful call to action for all of us as we push for these embodied qualities.
This was a really important article about the full set of issues that exist today.
I only wish that it was going to be this simple. I think the hungry need to see ourselves in “ high places” where “ power lies” always create an almost pathos within our community. This emotional need to finally be seen has often overshadowed the harm happening to the worst of us. I certainly support abortion rights; but I am devastated by the child poverty rate, the relentless violence in Black communities that robs us of the future leaders ( such as a Kamala) and the homeless that have become accepted. Our elders dirty and hungry live on the corner and surf the garbage cans.
And then of course the genocide. The starving children in Palestine. As we fight to save abortions, which is important, Palestinian women were forced to deliver babies without anesthesia or sterile instruments.
Yet, when we return our attention to America, we can too easily and quickly get immersed in the endless hide and seek of real justice. America has done an amazing job of changing the topic!
So, Barack Obama was heralded almost like he was the Black Messiah. I won’t question him but I will ask how much better off Black people became under Obama Presidency. And I would ask if his history of imperialism in Africa was aided because of his melanin skin.
So I must respectfully say that the truth may be even grimmer. Hoping that Kamala Harris will change her spots questions our maturity. Like an abused mate, we hoping for a change by dinner time.
Well, life is not as forgiving as we are.
I won’t be voting for the lesser of two evils. I did that with Biden despite many questionable wrongs. And he helped kill an entire nation in Palestine.
Yes, it’s very personal for me. I worked on death row. I was traumatized by the reality that America was one of three industrialized nation that still killed people. The innocent and the poor. The mentally challenged and the underdogs.
What Kamala Harris did when she was being her true self and the fact that the federal government has sped up the rate of executions despite international protest and the call by the UN to stop!!
I want progress too. I just can’t pander to a false reality to stand in our truths.
Wow, sounds complicated, and with just 3 1/2 months left to do all that? Battle ground states and middle America are concerned about: the migrant crisis, the cost of living, and DEI. She would have to throw Biden under the bus, attack the very platform Dems own, to win on those issues. Which leaves as the only option, a full on press backed smear campaign against Trump and Vance. Maybe throw Russian collision back in the mix. More sexual assault cases. Trouble is, the press has lost viewers and trust, so that may not do it either. We'll see. No doubt we're in for a bumpy ride!
In the very black and white casting of American politics, she emerges as a “black” candidate though she is a POC of Jamaican and Indian parents. She was raised with a strong appreciation of her Indian culture. And her mother recognized that in America, she would be raising “two black girls”. There are nuances between the Caribbean black experience in the US and the African-American experience, though of course both stem from slavery. And we have now her Indian heritage as well… This is the proverbial melting pot of American culture. So it’s time to begin to honor her heritage which is mixed and complex and very much in alignment with your theme of multitudes. They should be seen as an advantage in her being able to connect with different constituencies and reductionist thinking about her ethnicity either from the left or right will limit the possibilities that are emerged from the richness of a mixed heritage.
I don't get the vibe voters are hot for Kamala's identity as a driving issue in this campaign. Not like Obama, or Hillary's campaigns. She'll make more hay with the abortion issue to lock in progressive women. But then any Dem candidate would have locked them in, male or female.
All of this right here. Thank you!
Great reminders and advice. I can't shake off the feeling that us, far left, are right about things, but are masters in losing elections. What I personally am missing here is:
1) Positive things about Kamala that you want far left to know,
2) Acknowledgment that her job, after nomination is to be president for both, people that love this thoughtful article AND people who write thoughtful articles who disagree with you in significant way, and
3) That most of these problematic things she has done are not planned, intentional, or grounded in her convictions but rather happen to people who get things done in the world that is complex, contradictory, and more messy than any human being can bear.
We, the far left, in general, do not know how to win elections (hopelessly perpetual amateurs) but love to tell progressives, liberal, and centrists who actually win elections what they need to believe, be, and do. There is a streak to us that feels like being a 15 years old who thinks the world should be certain way just because they can think of it.
Bullshit.
That's what I'm talking about!
Thank you for the reminder of her political history and an offering of what she needs to do to win the election. I'm of the Bernie variety, and so find it still difficult to fully embrace Harris. Without a third party it always seems like you just have to choose the better of two bad options.
Well said as always, Fred. I hope she recognizes the need to pivot left, especially on Palestine, rather than follow the usual Dem playbook of tracking right to entice disaffected Republicans
She does have a curvy tightrope to walk. In a perfect world just not being Trump would be enough to get her elected. But this ain't a perfect world. And there are other hobby horses to be ridden as well. And how is she going to deal with the Theocrat movement? Or the mini- or not so mini- civil war that will accompany her election?
We all know how things will go: If Trump wins, then it was a "perfect" election. If Trump loses, it was because of fraud. Whether any actually exists or not. But just the accusation will be enough to start the war. They've been primed for it by Rightwing media. Which doesn't do journalism, but partisan propaganda instead. We are stuck in that world. Better be prepared for it.
Agree with everything. I remain convinced that Bernie Saunders would have won the 2016 election if the democrats had gotten out of their own way
he for sure would have which is why they had gotten in their own way to begin with. I think it's time for us to admit to ourselves that the Dems are not all that democratic. They have shown it time and time again, they don't really want progressives, they constantly try to tamp down anyone who seems even a smidge left of center or even mild center-right. I don't see Republicans playing the same game - say what you want about their values but they just keep hamming them up. Democrats are always apologizing for sounding even mildly democratic. Which is why even when we win we lose. Like what amazing progressive things has Biden done? Obama, even? Clinton? I'll wait.
I find this article worlds more tactful and thoughtful than the last. I appreciate the honesty and urging for people to look for more to be desired from the new candidate who clearly has not shown that she has a real willingness for change for the better and pandered her disingenuous attempts towards relating to the black and brown community. I truly think there’s a bigger picture here though that is being quietly passed by. I don’t mean this as harsh criticism towards your character or anyone else who is seen as being on the far left. I mean it as someone who used to see things similarly once upon a time, but I can see something a bit more now. The things is, I’m always going to agree with logic. Logic requires facts, and facts require research. The research and facts show that the Democratic Party has historically unfortunately mistreated and used the black community for their own needs and actually convinced them that it was all for their best interest, so they should always vote Democrat if they wish for their needs to be met. Like brainwashing. Choosing a candidate should depend on not only what the party supposedly stands for, but also what that specific candidate is looking to achieve. I have done my research and I do know the facts. Can I suggest that we all take a bit of a look inward and wonder if we truly have all the facts and maybe also, do we care about the facts? I truly hope that every person who intends to vote will ask themselves these questions because if the questions are answered “no”, then I believe those people are only going to contribute to driving this country into the ground. Maybe you think you have the facts because you heard it from a “reliable” source? Please try to be sure it really is reliable. I know how easy it is to accept a certain reality because really searching for the truth can feel daunting and exhausting. Sometimes it takes courage and strength and it really is worth the effort. Really caring really is worth it and we will all be truly better for it. That is where the angry political spats come from. It’s not that people truly “care” about the issue, the research just has not been done enough to succeed in a debate about it. Real care will come with real attempts to find out what the truth really is. There truly is so much more going on behind what the media wants us to know, don’t you want to know what’s missing? Please try to find it. I’m honestly expecting the same from Kamala Harris that she has been doing all this time. She’s a woman, a woman of color, and a Democrat and these are going to be her tools to try to get people on her side. She will try to appeal to bleeding hearts and say that she wants to make a difference for them, but never say how she will do that or she will never put anything truly worth doing into action after possibly winning. She will say she wants to change things and not just say the same things over and over again to try to put hope and fire into peoples hearts, but that’s a trick and false hope. Words and sound can be tricky sometimes, please be aware. She has done nothing all this time and I expect no less from her in the seat of presidency. It will be further catastrophe from the disaster they have already caused this country. If something they say causes anger in you, please please ask yourself why. Just doing that will help put things into more perspective. There’s no need for anger, it will only end up in a collapsed and naive society. It’s so important to really understand everything we’re living amongst to the best of our abilities. Otherwise, we will be caught off guard. 🙏
She's a dumbass. No one here is remembering her disasterous Presidential run of 2020 where she was the first to drop out of the race after only garnering the support of 1% of Democrats. Now here you all are treating her like she is the second coming of Obama. "Oh, Kamala is the hope of black and brown women". Really! How about the 1,900 largely black and brown people she sent to jail for weed violations while she was California AG? You think they are lining up to vote Kamala? You folks are so scared of the Orange Man that you would back a ham sandwich if stood a chance of winning. The best result is for a contested convention in Chicago where, hopefully, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania can get the nomination and we can put the era of "Kamala Harris" behind us.
Agreed.
She will look strong because of the base, but without having endured a primary process, there's a chance she could fail colosally. Right now it's all Democratic hype and relief from dodging a bullet -- an unwinnable Biden campaign. But there's a chance Kamala could fail bigger than Biden. Or... do OK, still lose, but help hold the Senate.
Yes! Thank you for tackling this honestly. I appreciate the realistic assessment and am interested to see how this all plays out.
Empathetic, humble engagement demonstrating a will to change is absolutely what I am looking for as a voter. Thank you for this thoughtful call to action for all of us as we push for these embodied qualities.
Thank you for always saying what needs to be said.
Maybe, but isn’t this group in power better than a Trump group in power for women, LGBT and immigrants and maybe a bit for the poor too?
This was a really important article about the full set of issues that exist today.
I only wish that it was going to be this simple. I think the hungry need to see ourselves in “ high places” where “ power lies” always create an almost pathos within our community. This emotional need to finally be seen has often overshadowed the harm happening to the worst of us. I certainly support abortion rights; but I am devastated by the child poverty rate, the relentless violence in Black communities that robs us of the future leaders ( such as a Kamala) and the homeless that have become accepted. Our elders dirty and hungry live on the corner and surf the garbage cans.
And then of course the genocide. The starving children in Palestine. As we fight to save abortions, which is important, Palestinian women were forced to deliver babies without anesthesia or sterile instruments.
Yet, when we return our attention to America, we can too easily and quickly get immersed in the endless hide and seek of real justice. America has done an amazing job of changing the topic!
So, Barack Obama was heralded almost like he was the Black Messiah. I won’t question him but I will ask how much better off Black people became under Obama Presidency. And I would ask if his history of imperialism in Africa was aided because of his melanin skin.
So I must respectfully say that the truth may be even grimmer. Hoping that Kamala Harris will change her spots questions our maturity. Like an abused mate, we hoping for a change by dinner time.
Well, life is not as forgiving as we are.
I won’t be voting for the lesser of two evils. I did that with Biden despite many questionable wrongs. And he helped kill an entire nation in Palestine.
Yes, it’s very personal for me. I worked on death row. I was traumatized by the reality that America was one of three industrialized nation that still killed people. The innocent and the poor. The mentally challenged and the underdogs.
What Kamala Harris did when she was being her true self and the fact that the federal government has sped up the rate of executions despite international protest and the call by the UN to stop!!
I want progress too. I just can’t pander to a false reality to stand in our truths.
Wow, sounds complicated, and with just 3 1/2 months left to do all that? Battle ground states and middle America are concerned about: the migrant crisis, the cost of living, and DEI. She would have to throw Biden under the bus, attack the very platform Dems own, to win on those issues. Which leaves as the only option, a full on press backed smear campaign against Trump and Vance. Maybe throw Russian collision back in the mix. More sexual assault cases. Trouble is, the press has lost viewers and trust, so that may not do it either. We'll see. No doubt we're in for a bumpy ride!
In the very black and white casting of American politics, she emerges as a “black” candidate though she is a POC of Jamaican and Indian parents. She was raised with a strong appreciation of her Indian culture. And her mother recognized that in America, she would be raising “two black girls”. There are nuances between the Caribbean black experience in the US and the African-American experience, though of course both stem from slavery. And we have now her Indian heritage as well… This is the proverbial melting pot of American culture. So it’s time to begin to honor her heritage which is mixed and complex and very much in alignment with your theme of multitudes. They should be seen as an advantage in her being able to connect with different constituencies and reductionist thinking about her ethnicity either from the left or right will limit the possibilities that are emerged from the richness of a mixed heritage.
I don't get the vibe voters are hot for Kamala's identity as a driving issue in this campaign. Not like Obama, or Hillary's campaigns. She'll make more hay with the abortion issue to lock in progressive women. But then any Dem candidate would have locked them in, male or female.
Well said, such a clear eyed and well -articulated analysis of how and where Kamala Harris is positioned!