Life with Ken

Read this article on Substack!

On Wednesday July 24, 2024, in a way that “ceremonially” ended an unprecedented whirlwind of over 70 years of United States political history concentrated in two weeks, President Joe Biden addressed the nation from the oval office to withdraw from his 2024 reelection campaign, Lyndon Johnson style. Upon leaving he endorsed his Vice President, Kamala Devi Harris. Since then, Kamala Harris has inherited a full presidential campaign infrastructure, raked in $310 million in campaign donations, secured endorsements from Barack Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, accepted the democratic nomination virtually, has tightened the race according to some polls, and has selected her running mate.

With the presidential election less than 100 days away, it’s important to be informed on who all the candidates are. Donald Trump has been part of the national conversation for nearly the last decade at least, if you don’t count his endeavors prior to politics. Kamala Harris, while no stranger or newcomer to politics, was for all intents and purposes hoisted into this position, not exposed to a primary or “vetting” process nationally, other than her less than stellar run for president in 2020. She has gone through various rebrands as the vice president, perpetually getting or finding her groove. This being the case, Kamala Harris for president in 2024 with less than 100 days until votes are cast is ostensibly a new candidate, so let’s see what she’s all about.

Kamala Devi Harris was born October 20, 1964, in Oakland California, to an Indian mother and Jamaican father. She is a first generation black and Indian American. Her mother raised her and her sister as a single parent. Growing up she somewhat famously was part of the second class of students to integrate her public schools, making her in some respects a civil rights leader. She graduated from Howard university in 1986 and the University of California in 1989, where she earned a degree in political science and economics, and a Juris Doctor degree respectfully. She is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority inc.

Kamala Harris the Prosecutor

In 1990 she became the deputy district attorney in Alameda County, California. Over the course of the next 12 years Harris’ career would make a relatively ambitious run from position to position up until the point where she ran for District Attorney of San Francisco. This period in Harris’ life is fraught because of a contentious “progressive tough-on-crime” record (yeah…) including sending citations to parents of truant students, an increased conviction rate, disproportionately targeting marijuana indulgers, her approach to prosecuting crime done by undocumented immigrants, and her advocacy for higher bail. Her policies were characterized as progressive in that she was creative in her approach to getting the “bad guys.” And while that tended to lead to jail time, she also created rehabilitation programs. To her credit she was fairly successful in her endeavors despite backlash. She was diligent, and she has demonstrated diligence throughout her career. In addition to being the first woman of color to hold the position of District Attorney of San Francisco, not only did she win her campaign handedly, but she also didn’t face an opponent for her reelection.

Here is where you can begin to see Kamala Harris take form. One of the accusations levied against her, which I will go through in more detail later on, is that she is vapid, vacuous, and nebulous. She is difficult to pin down, i.e. why this article is published, and people, despite her actions, are unsure what she stands for if anything at all. That being said, her early career gives us some insight into that amorphousness. She is an ambitious woman. She has other qualities, but she is guided by her ambition. What gives her ambition credibility is that she has worked to get where she is. This isn’t to say she hasn’t done good work in the positions she’s held, but from this vantage point, I haven’t had a sit down with her, it appears that what keeps her going to a varied degree is the opportunity to get to what’s next. She pursues what can be unburdened by what has been, but I am getting ahead of myself.

Things don’t get better, which will be a theme from this point on, for her professionally and politically, when she runs for attorney general in 2010. Harris becomes the first black Indian, and first woman, to hold the position of Attorney General of California. Prior to that however, she published her book, “Smart on Crime.” Then as AG, Harris proceeded to double down on her special brand of tough-on-crime progressivism. She expanded her truancy policy statewide. On one hand she fought for the rights of homeowners following the fallout from the Great Recession, and on the other hand, she didn’t’ prosecute OneWest Bank for its violations towards homeowners in 2013. She did great for the privacy of Californians taking on big tech, and telecom company comcast. But, under her watch the United States Supreme Court, in Brown V Plata, ruled that the California prison system was overcrowded to the point of cruel and unusual punishment (as an aside I wonder what those people looked like?).

It gets worse. Harris also fought against early releases and new trials for wrongly convicted persons, because the prison system needed in-house laborers. There are several people still in jail as of the publishing of this article because of AG Harris, including George Gage who is severing a 70-year sentence and will likely die in prison, Daniel Larsen who is serving a life sentence, and most famously Kevin Cooper, who was refused an appeal with consideration of newly available DNA evidence. He’s been on death roe for 36 years. Harris as AG also fought against police violence by implementing a death in police custody database and requiring police officers to wear body cameras; but at the same time she declined to investigate police shootings.

During her time as a prosecutor, she made an unsuccessful attempt to straddle the fence of a progressive prosecutor. Progressive policing is oxymoronic short of intentional downsizing of a justice department. Which from that perspective makes sense why she ran for president in 2020 on defunding the police. But again, I’m about a step and a half ahead of myself. Before the presidency there was congress. But before that there were vows. In 2014 Harris married Doug Emhoff a year after they met. This is one area of Harris’ life where you tend to get a sense of direction from her when she speaks about it. It’s none of our business what her personal life is like, but I will highlight that Harris has said and demonstrated that she enjoys her family a great deal and she is happy to be a mom AKA “Momala.”

Kamala on the National Stage

Like a shark smelling blood in the water or a day trader who sees their ideal setup, in 2016 Harris saw her next opportunity in the United States Senate. Again, she won handedly and received some key endorsements from President Obama and Vice President Biden at the time. As a senator Harris let her progressive flag fly, but at a bit of a cost. In a first of what would appear to be an unending rebranding attempt Harris got to the left of herself rhetorically. She disproportionately locked up marijuana indulgers as AG, but as a senator she wanted to decriminalize marijuana (and later as a presidential candidate inaccurately told some sort of fabrication about smoking weed and listening to Tupac in college, which at the time would have been impossible).

As an AG she was for cash bail but as a senator she wanted to eliminate it. She was rated as the most progressive senator, even more so than Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders (the socialist). Here, however, is where reality tends to set in for people when it comes to Harris. When you look at her record as a prosecutor and try to square that with her progressivism, her status as a minority American, and someone who has ambitiously over the significance of the passage of time made her way from one powerful position to another, one can’t help but question the validity of her motives. And that is where her coming off as vacuous resides. It’s not an unfair question to ask if whether she believes in the policies she espouses on the national level, or if she just finds them to be politically expedient because they trend populous. And even if the latter is the case, her record shows that she can’t be trusted or expected to enact a truly progressive policy agenda.

Kamala Harris is to progressivism what Joe Scarborough is to left leaning centrists. Harris is certainly not a left hero; she may only be a democrat in name only. That doesn’t mean she is a republican like Scarborough was or is, but despite rhetoric and position jockeying she is certainly maybe to the left of someone who aligns with Obama’s politics. But in the position of president I doubt she would hold Israel accountable, actually decriminalize marijuana, disband and rebuke cop cities and large police budgets, codify abortion, advance reparations for black people (her own people), advance healthcare for all, parse a fair and equitable pathway to citizenship, end homelessness, hold the ABCs of government agencies accountable, advocate for worker’s rights, so on and the like.

The reason you may have a hard time conceptualizing Kamala Harris is because while she cosplays like being for the aforementioned, she legislates to lock parents up and keep locked up individuals in jail even if they don’t have to or shouldn’t be. You don’t know if she is coming or going, and the unhinged part is she may not know all that much either. I don’t think Harris herself is a danger of any kind, but her vapidness could lead to dangerous situations. That’s why at a distance her story looks like one of ambition.

She is willing to do what needs to be done, even stepping over a virtual corpse and avoiding electorates and the press to be handed a nomination to run for president. Her work ethic will cause her to do some good work and her family values, I’m sure, help keep her grounded, but the standard of execution in the role of POTUS needs to be higher. Being able to get stuff done is great, but what exactly is getting done? That is where Harris falls short, more often than not she knows how to “say the right stuff” (when she can articulate clearly)  but she gets the wrong stuff done. And that about sums up her political career right there.

Kamala Harris’ Road to the Presidency

While in the senate Harris made a name for herself on the Judiciary committee “prosecuting the case” in various situations. She famously grilled Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing. In 2020 Harris threw her hat in the ring for President of the United States. No, things did not get better from there. In fact, her campaign was relatively forgettable. She flailed on the national stage. If I’m not mistaken Harris’ highest poll rating during that period was around 6%. She wasn’t likeable. Her time in the spotlight came when she dinged Joe Biden about busing laws during a primary debate, and then at that same debate when Tulsi Gabbard clapped back at her on her record as a prosecutor.

She was an establishment favorite because of her gift and aptitude for fundraising, and the media flirted with her, but ultimately she was a nothing burger. She polled poorly among the black electorate and Indian voters were disillusioned with her. Harris had a hard time forming a coalition (more on this in a moment). So much so that she dropped out of the 2020 presidential race before a single primary vote was cast. Additionally, since her campaign for president she has had relatively public in-house issues in terms of staff. She has been accused of not being a good boss/executive. Her campaign and vice president office has been a revolving door. Speaking of vice president, after she dropped out of the 2020 race, Joe Biden eventually selected her as his running mate. They went on to win the 2020 election and as Vice President, though her career ambitions lived on, things did not get better from here either.

As vice president, Kamala Harris wasn’t necessarily given a fair shake. There were reports of contentiousness between her and Biden on the role she should play. People thought that Harris should be given a chance to prove herself. At one point it was said that Harris needed to be more front facing. This in addition to her staff retention issues led to a series of personality reboots over the course of the last four years. Every six or so months there would be a new story about how Harris is getting her groove back, or how she is new and improved, or how the administration is testing the waters with her. Part of her persistent issues with resonating with the American people nationally is that she is awkward. She makes you cringe. She makes you feel uncomfortable with her word salads. “Imagine what can be unburdened by what has been.” “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” “The significance of the passage of time.”  Then there is the Kamala kackle which can be abrasive. She looks uncomfortable on the national stage which makes you feel uncomfortable watching her. This isn’t because she is unqualified per se, but it does show that maybe she is punching above her weight.

A large fumble for her as vice president besides potentially covering up Joe Biden’s physiological decline, was her failure as the border czar. One of the first responsibilities Biden gave Harris was to work on the southern border. She did not do that. Or at least she didn’t do it effectively. She never went to the actual parts of the southern border where crossings were rampant, and besides a brief trip to Latin America, you never heard mention of her efforts on that project again. Meanwhile the Biden Harris administration border policy, whether you are for a porous border or a more secure one, has been an abject failure. Harris as vice president has been, for the last four years, either giving it her best, or phoning it in; either way, both scenarios are unfortunate. But that is in the past now, right? Let’s focus on her anointing, appointing, and run for president as the democratic nominee without a single vote cast by any democratic primary voter.

Harris’ Vibes Campaign

Biden dropped out from the race after having the primary orchestrated in his favor, because of a poor debate with former President Donald Trump. America has been clear that collectively the majority of people don’t want either of those men to run. We got half of what we want. Trump is still in it to win it, with a unified republican party, but now his opponent is Kamala Harris. Harris officially got into the race on Sunday July 21, 2024, and she secured the democrat party nomination on Monday August 5, 2024. Since she joined the race, she has been running the enthusiasm campaign also referred to as the basement campaign 3.0.

As of right now most people are waiting to see her do a hard-hitting interview and or press conference. The American people have yet to have that kind of interaction with Harris since she started her run. She also just announced her vice president pick, Tim Walz, of Minnesota. Walz is the current governor of Minnesota, a career teacher, and a veteran. To the degree that he is known on the national stage at this point, it’s for his effectiveness at getting things done, and delivering for his constituents. He is also considered to be a progressive politician who governs in kind. He is pro gender affirming care, pro-labor, pro-choice, he’s for funding schools and green initiatives, and he is for the expansion of government.

Again not a far left hero, but he brings some policy stances to the ticket that gel with Harris’ style and approach, and he can do so in a way that may be appetizing for middle America. Two can-do candidates on one ticket are a plus and I can see how he may add value to Harris’ campaign. Walz also contrasts decently with JD Vance, Trumps VP pick, as they are both from middle America and can duke it out on policies that can benefit working Americans who live paycheck to paycheck.

Trump is not a great campaign runner and he and his team have been trying to come up with a new strategy of attack against Harris. Walz hit the ground running even before being picked for VP by calling JD Vance “weird” and creating a 72-hour news cycle around that framing. Walz brings some good things to the table which Harris is going to need, as her struggles have not and likely won’t be going away.

Can a Piecemeal Coalition Defy History?

In addition to not getting off the teleprompter, and potentially serving up a green goddess word salad, Harris also has the continued issue of struggling to galvanize a coalition. She isn’t polarizing but she isn’t unifying. Since she has entered the race there has been a piecemeal approach to gathering support. Black women for Kamala, black men for Kamala, Asians for Kamala, Karens or white women for Kamala, white men for kamala, and more are all real coalitions that have been forming and donating to her campaign.

The problem with this is, besides maybe black women, the rest of these coalitions broadly aren’t for, or don’t like Harris. She shares in this challenge with her current and soon to be former boss, Joe Biden. Other than the vote blue no matter who coalition (people who vote democrat no matter what) there is no real excitement for Harris. Some pundits are referring to her campaign as the vibes campaign because enthusiasm is so high. The only reason enthusiasm is high however, is because she isn’t Joe Biden.

For that reason, the less time to run a campaign and her choice for VP may help her get over the finish line. If and when people have a chance to be fully exposed to Harris at the top of the ticket, unscripted, all these vibes may soon dissipate. The good news is America may be in for one of its most substantive presidential elections since 2012, in terms of policy. The bad news is policy isn’t a strength for Harris. Having someone strong on policy on the ticket is helpful, but at the end of the day the front person still needs to be able to deliver a coherent message. Just like she’s done before, Harris is currently distancing herself from her own record. She has been repudiating her role as border czar saying it wasn’t a real responsibility of hers.

Whatever happens this November Americans need to make an informed decision. The way you do that in electoral politics is by knowing who the candidates are. Harris isn’t an enigma, she’s nebulous. She worked hard to get where she is, and she isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. But that’s all the substance you get. No candidate isn’t flawed. Trump could go to prison before the election.  Hopefully this helps you know your options better and empowers you to vote for your best interests. There will hopefully be more to come. There are two presidential debates coming up in September. Donald Trump has backed out of the ABC debate on the 9th in favor of a FOX debate on the 4th.

Harris is going to keep the September 9th debate, but as of right now is uninterested in the September 4th debate. In either scenario the American people get shafted if we don’t get both debates plus a post October surprise debate as well. Though Trump should be cut some slack because his campaign has been through a lot this cycle. But also, they aren’t the best well oiled machine from an efficiency perspective. That said, history is on his side. History dictates that this should be a landslide victory for Trump. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Subscribe to Life with Ken on Substack to have new content sent to your inbox: