Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,
I've written a lot and shared many memes making it clear that Donald Trump is mentally ill. A vote for Trump is a vote for the destruction of democracy.
But I haven't written enough about reasons to vote for Kamala Harris, other than the simple fact that she isn't Donald Trump.
So here we are, the day before the election and I must take advantage of the opportunity to share some information about Vice President Harris. I know I'm preaching to the choir, but what if someone stops by my blog, looking for a reason to vote for her? As a voter, a citizen, and a blogger, it's my responsibility to write about Ms. Harris.
Kamala Harris celebrated her 60th birthday recently. She is the daughter of a biologist from India, the late Shyamala Gopalan, and a Black Jamaican economist, Donald Harris. Kamala has a younger sister named Maya. Their parents divorced when Kamala was seven years old.
Kamala graduated from Howard University in 1986 with a degree in political science and economics. She graduated from Hastings College of the Law in 1989.
Harris' work as a lawyer quickly focused on fighting for the rights of victims, including abused and neglected children. In 2002 she was elected district attorney of San Francisco. She initiated a Hate Crimes Unit; one of its priorities was protecting LGBTQ children and teens in school. Harris also fought truancy. She pledged never to seek the death penalty and stood by her pledge.
Kamala Harris was elected attorney general of California in 2010. One of her friends was another attorney general, Beau Biden of Delaware.
Then in 2016, Harris became the junior senator from California. She fought for gun control and healthcare reform, and became known for her adroit questioning of Trump nominees, including Brett Kavanaugh.
Her run for the presidency in 2020 ended pretty quickly, but can't be viewed as a failure. She became Joe Biden's running mate.
Kamala Harris was the first Indian & Black American to run for vice president, the third woman to run, but the first to be elected.
As vice president, Harris cast a record number of tie breaking votes in the senate. No such position as "border czar" exists, but President Biden tasked Harris with cutting back immigration from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras––a goal she met with great success.
Vice President Harris always supported President Biden. When other Democrats turned on Biden following his problematic debate performance, his vice president stood with him and did not betray him.
She has praised the president's courage and intelligence.
Now, Kamala Harris is the first woman selected to run for president as the nominee of a major political party.
She chose Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota, as her running mate.
Together, they support a woman's right to control her own body, LGBTQ rights, and increases in border security. Harris and Walz are gun owners, but want to increase gun control. They support continued aid to Ukraine and Israel.
She has plans for her administration, not concepts of plans, actual plans. Harris wants to improve the economy by ending price gouging and taxing the uber wealthy, among other items on her agenda.
Kamala Harris married Doug Emhoff, also a lawyer, in 2014. She clearly takes delight in her role as stepmom to Cole and Ella, who call her Mamala. Doug's ex-wife, Kerstin, supports Kamala's candidacy.
Kamala didn't cheat her way through school. She's worked hard, including a summer stint at Mickey D's when she was in college.
She supports faith and hope rather than hatred and failure. She doesn't think America is a garbage can.
America is a great country. It can be better, but it will not be better if Harris' opponent is elected president.
I was worried before her debate with Trump. It's very difficult to hold one's own against someone who's insane, yet admired by people who are caught up in the excitement of the insanity. His ugliness passes as charisma with his fans who love releasing their own bigotry and hatred while laughing and applauding his.
Then the debate turned into pure joy. She laid out the bait and that fat orange rat gobbled up every bit of it.
While campaigning, Harris still managed to assist in recovery efforts following Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Kamala Harris doesn't have a perfect record in her political life (no one does), but she hasn't been involved in any scandals. She doesn't call people pigs and dogs. She doesn't threaten people she doesn't like. She remains calm when she's heckled.
I want so badly to be able to call her Madam President.
