I want a fighter for President. I want a Democratic President who defends Democrats, and who will go toe to toe with Donald Trump; take him down, and then turn around and help us clean out the Trumpian stables he has befouled with the help of his appointees and the Republican Party.
I want a President who raises money to elect Democrats and campaigns for down-ticket races. I want a President who will build on the Obama legacy, and counteract Trump’s racist obsession with destroying it.
In the neighborhoods I’ve lived in, in New York City, there was slang term describing certain folks as being “stand-up.”
It had a lot of different meanings. In my hood it was the highest compliment you could give someone. It was usually only conferred on dudes. A stand-up guy was someone who had your back, no matter what, who wouldn’t back down under pressure or buckle under. Someone willing to throw down.
Frankly, I also knew some really stand-up gals.
In my book — Kamala Harris is one of them.
She is both “stand up and stand for.”
I know that quite a few readers here are not on twitter, so here are examples:
She is not afraid to take on Trump. Directly.
She goes after his crimies.
I have to admit I got a kick out of this spoof video:
In all seriousness (though we can always use some humor these days) I’ve been following the Harris campaign from the beginning — and watched as she fights to gain headway against three candidates with far higher name recognition. (Morning Consult shows 14 % of those polled have never heard of Harris, compared to 8% for Warren, and 1% for both Sanders and Biden)
Recently, questions are being raised about her relative erasure by the mainstream media
In spite of this, she is still standing, raising funds, expanding her campaign and moving forward no matter what.
That takes guts, and grit, and that is exactly what I think we need in a President.
The added bonus is that her toughness is tempered with extraordinary empathy — kids and young people like her. They really like her, which for me is very telling.
As new elements come into play in a campaign season that still has about four months to go till the first round of primaries, it will be interesting to see what the the polling results are in the shifting news cycle as more people who are not political junkies start to pay attention.
I’m not a fan of the ‘Democrats in disarray’ or ‘the sky is falling’ narrative, however this article raises some issues that should not be ignored (hattip to joe democrat — who brought it to my attention)
But many candidates may continue to campaign without debate access, betting on early-state voters to lift them from obscurity amid the ongoing impeachment turmoil. That is particularly true among those who see themselves as alternatives to Biden.
“There are some people who think it will fix the field where it is because it will take the oxygen away from the presidential campaign, and I doubt that is true,” said Sen. Michael F. Bennet (Colo.), who polled at zero percent in the most recent Des Moines Register poll in Iowa. “I think the big thing that is shifting is that the voters in these early states really for the first moment are beginning to pay attention to the race. Everything up to now has been preseason.”
Rep. Tim Ryan (Ohio), another struggling candidate, said he has newfound interest from donors worried about Biden’s campaign and Warren’s ideology, and recently was meeting with newly interested donors in Los Angeles. He’s also putting together meetings in New York.
“For us, I think there’s new life into the campaign because of that,” he said.
Tim Ryan — really?
They fail to point to Kamala, as someone who will move up as a result of recent events.
My thoughts on this are that Kamala Harris should have been the first logical choice. But I’m not blinded by misogynoir.
“Misogynoir: where racism and sexism meet”:
The term was coined in 2010 by gay black feminist American academic Moya Bailey, who defined it “to describe the particular brand of hatred directed at black women in American visual and popular culture”.
Since then black women – and some men – predominantly on social media, have taken ownership of the term, using it to describe prejudice experienced in a range of contexts.
“Misogynoir provides a racialised nuance that mainstream feminism wasn’t catching,” says black feminist commentator, Feminista Jones. “We are talking about misogyny, yes, but there is a specific misogyny that is aimed at black women and is uniquely detrimental to black women.”
On top of media erasure we are seeing targeted campaigns against her with a level of virulence that reminds me of the sexist attacks against Hillary Clinton, multiplied by the racism targeting Barack Obama.
I have closely monitored the forces ranged against her, funded by the right wing with an army of bots and trolls, fueled by misogynoir and disinformation, and some elements who have dubbed themselves ‘left’ who have churned out dubious hit pieces, which writers here, and elsewhere online have had to spend time refuting.
Go back a few months — and you will see that this has been continuous:
On top of “she isn’t black” we get “electability,” an issue Laurence Lewis just addressed in ‘Electability is up to you.’
There is also the “she’s a cop,” campaign, and the “she got where she is because years ago she dated Willie Brown.” I can’t even begin to count the tweets I’ve reported with lewd drawings and vile sexual portrayals. The sexism that assumes women don’t have agency, and can only achieve success via male patronage — makes me mad as hell.
The latest attack, was not from bots or trolls. Like those that continue to be churned out from The Intercept, and Jacobin, this was also from an adherent of the purported ‘left’. It was going after her “authenticity.” Here’s a response I made in Laurence’s diary, and since it’s been brought up, thought I should mention it here.
Thankfully, for once I saw massive pushback, even from some of her critics. She was accused of speaking with a false “southern accent.” I almost laughed, when I saw it because this is hardly a policy issue, but then I thought back to the authenticity smears about Hillary and hot sauce, and I got pissed. It ticked off a lot of people.
NY Times journalist and pundit Astead W. Hearndon (who is not a Kamala supporter) and other major black twitterers, like Imani Gandi aka Angry Black Lady (not a Harris supporter either) refuted the snide inference (which was using a video from RNC research). As a result of the ‘ratio’ (negative feedback) the tweet was deleted by its author, and he has locked his account.
Small peanuts, you might think. However, each one of these digs — multiplied, and amplified, become corrosive. I saw the “he’s not black” and “authenticity” attacks used in the same way against Barack Obama, along with the opposite “his minister is ‘too black’ (Rev. Wright)” debacle.
Withstanding all this, and maintaining her stance as a Joyful Warrior takes strength and stamina.
Standing up isn’t only about Trump and his criminal crew. It means speaking out — daily, about injustice.
She does that.
Yes, we demand answers.
I want a President who will do that, and who will know how to ensure it happens.
Kamala2020 info and links are below!
Newpioneer has rounded up some highlights of her sponsored legislation here.
snowman3 has rounded up some more legislative highlights here.
Gay CA Democrat lists 21 bills or proposals here.
Want to know more about her positions and plans? Her policy page is Our America
Or go straight to an issue: quality, affordable health care for all, economic justice, raising teacher pay, combating the climate crisis, criminal justice reform, action on gun violence, a fair and just immigration system, LGBTQ+ equality, government for the people, debt-free college and student debt, gender equality, American leadership at home and abroad, and fighting for racial justice.
More plans: The Reproductive Rights Act, Equal Pay, Roadmap to Citizenship for Dreamers, Combating the Racial Homeownership Gap, Reducing the Opportunity Gap, Fair Prescription Drug Prices, Kamala’s 3AM Agenda, Combating Violent Hate, A Climate Plan For the People, Transform the Criminal Justice System and Re-Envision Public Safety.
Upcoming events:
Tonight
Please remember to visit our community group page Kamala2020 and give us a follow! That way all our group efforts will appear in your stream; this makes it easy for everyone to keep up with our latest posts. As always, any who would like to join our group please leave us a comment and we’ll get your invitation right out to you!
If you’d like to volunteer to host one of our Kamala 2020 diaries, please leave your comment in the ”Calling all Volunteers”thread.
Even if you can’t commit to a weekly spot due to your busy schedules, guest bloggers are always welcomed.
Please volunteer! Come share your story about why you support Kamala!
Upcoming schedule:
Thursday — October 10th —
Saturday — October 12th — noweasels
Monday — October 14th — DigitusImpudicus
Let your voices be heard!
While you’re here, don’t forget to visit Kamala’s Official Campaign Website and her Swag Shop for your favorite campaign gear! 😄
Group Guidelines
The Kamala2020 community group has been created to positively support Senator Kamala Harris, and not to engage in negativity towards other Democrats running in the 2020 primaries.
All should be made to feel welcomed here. What’s not welcomed here is petty bickering over any of our preferred candidates, or personal attacks on fellow Democrats. We’re not responsible for the actions of others who may offend, insult or attempt to sow discord and disunity — that’s on them.
What we are responsible for are our own words and actions — that’s 100% on us.
I’d like to ask all group members, as well as those dropping by who support or are interested in Kamala’s bid for the nomination, that we not respond to negativity from other campaign’s supporters with even more negativity. Let’s do better than our best and respond with respect, humor or try to hold our peace. Recipes and cat pics work, too 😃
Doing no harm costs us nothing... pie-fights will cost us everything.