You asked, we answered! Quick and dirty notes to the main questions Zee Feed readers submitted about Joe Biden’s running mate for the 2020 US Election, Kamala Harris.
1. Who is Kamala?
Kamala Harris is a Senator from California – she started out as a lawyer, became the District Attorney for San Fran, then the California Attorney General. She held that role for two terms before becoming a Senator.
But you probably know her best as a Presidential candidate herself; Harris was in the running for the Democratic nomination herself before the party decided on Biden.
Harris is the daughter of migrants, her mother born in India and her father in Jamaica.
2. Key Policies and Platforms?
A very brief summary:
- Co-created a bail reform Bill to end the cash bail system
- Supports climate action, incl. banning fracking, and environmental justice
- Wants to protect & expand the DACA immigration program, and create a citizenship path for the ‘Dreamers’ (children of immigrants)
- Supports student debt reform & increasing teacher salaries
- Wants criminal justice reforms incl. ending private prisons, solitary confinement & the death penalty, legalising marijuana. Does not support defunding the police, in favour of ‘reimagining’ policing
- Wants healthcare reform, but does not support abolishing private health insurance
3. How Does Harris’ POV Differ to Biden’s?
Harris falls somewhere in between the ‘progressive’ (think Bernie Sanders) and ‘moderate’ (think Biden) Democrats. Together, Harris and Biden make for a relatively centrist Democratic duo.
She is more than 20 years younger than Biden, has the lived experience as a Black woman in the US, and her law background will make her an absolute *force* in debates and under questioning.
4. Key Criticisms
Harris has and will face criticism over her time as an California Attorney General resistant to reform. But the reality is her scoresheet is mixed (this piece summarised below):
GOOD: She expanded programs to help first-time drug offenders find jobs instead of serve jail time; implemented racial bias training for law enforcement; launched the OpenJustice platform that publicly tracks alleged killings by police
BAD: Fought against releasing non-violent offenders from prisons (to reduce overcrowding); resisted/was slow to authorise investigations into shootings by police; resisted policy reform to require police-worn body cams
The most controversial part of her history is a 2008 anti-truancy program (while she was a DA) that threatened parents with hefty fines or jail time if their kids missed too much school.
5. What Power Does the Vice President Actually Have?
The Vice President is basically a second set of hands for the President, an “Across the board adviser” who could be working on policy, acting as a sounding board, liaising with powers and leaders both within the USA and internationally.
However, Harris may become the most powerful VP of all time. If Biden wins, he will become the oldest President ever at age 78*. It’s highly likely that at some point, he may step away from the Presidency (or decide not to run for a second term) which would see Harris step in.
She has absolutely been chosen by the Democrats with a future Presidential campaign in mind!
*FWIW, if Trump wins he will be 74.