Kamala's new book is getting a lot of attention even before it hits the shelves. It seems to have befuddled Dems with many saying it has ruined her political career. Judging by the tone she has set, it seems she has no plans to run for office of any kind, passing on the California governor's race in 2026, where she was considered the front runner, although many Dems were expressing their reservations.
After the election, many pundits and politicians were foisting the blame on her for the loss, especially given she was able to amass such a huge war chest in 107 days. However, there was plenty of blame to go around, mostly on the media for focusing so heavily on Trump in the waning days of the campaign that Harris got almost no air time. The enthusiasm that had propelled her campaign to that point was gone and she had a very had time getting her message out.
The conservative media treated her as an imposter, claiming she was a DEI vice-president and focusing heavily on her Jamaican and Indian roots as if she had lied on her birth certificate. Even more disturbing, she was accused of sleeping with Willie Brown, then mayor of San Francisco, for her first high level appointment as city prosecutor. An allegation Brown flatly rejected. None the less, Trump claimed Willie told him all this on a helicopter ride around New York city harbor in 2003. Turned out this was the former mayor of Los Angeles, Nate Holden, he shared a helicopter with and Holden had said nothing "terrible" about Kamala Harris.
In another rant, Trump questioned her race, openly asking when she "turned black," claiming he always thought she was Indian. There wasn't much push back from the media. Harris was forced into countering this absurd allegation, but no one seemed to be really listening. Trump wasn't done there. He wouldn't even let her get away with saying she worked at McDonalds when she was attending Howard Univ. in the 1980s. With no employment records to verify her claim, Trump pushed it to the extreme by spending a day at a Pennsylvania Mickey D's greeting drive-by customers with his apish grin, saying he worked longer at the fast food chain than Kamala Harris ever did.
Questioning Kamala's legitimacy became the leitmotif of his campaign, much like Republicans had questioned Obama's birthright and his ascendancy in politics. Trump himself had openly called for the former president's long form birth certificate, which led to this hilarious takedown in 2011. Many felt this was the nexus for Trump's vengeful return to politics. He had previously tried to claim the Reform Party nomination for President in 2000.
Many Americans felt Harris' candidacy had been forced upon them in the wake of Biden stepping aside in late July. Trump focused on this to no end, claiming it was election fraud. There was a lot of speculation over who she would pick as a running mate. She said in her book that her first choice was Pete Buttigieg but that she didn't think America was ready for a black woman president and gay vice-president. Pete said in response that America was better than that but it wasn't.
Politicians' bread and butter is pretending they are reaching an informed public capable of making reasonable decisions but that is sadly not the case when we see a convicted felon, sexual abuser and tax fraud re-elected president. Trump should be in jail, not the White House, but for whatever reason 77 million people voted for him, the second largest number in US electoral history. Biden had 81 million votes in 2020.
Americans are extremely misinformed. The majority (54 percent) can't read beyond a sixth grade level and you expect them to make informed decisions! Additionally, many live in their own bubbles screening out any opinions to the contrary so that it is almost impossible to reach them if your message doesn't suit their cognitive biases. This isn't because they refuse to listen but because Google and other search engines use algorithms that cater to these biases. The fact that much of big tech supported Trump either directly (Musk) or indirectly (Zuckerberg) meant many Americans never even saw Harris's ads and appeals on social media. So, she went door to door to which Jon Stewart mendaciously retorted, "you know, if there is one thing people love more than someone appearing randomly at their door once, it's the same fucking persons coming back two or three times to talk politics." What other choice did she have?
Just for fun, I did a little survey of my own. I asked my conservative high school friends on facebook if they watched the debate and were aware of all the ghastly things Trump and his supporters had said at the Madison Square Garden rally the closing week of the campaign. They all said no. It didn't matter to them because they knew who they were voting for and nothing would change their minds. So, it doesn't bother you that Trump said Haitian immigrants were eating cats and dogs, I asked, or the many truly vile things that were said at MSG? A collective nope.
Trumpists no longer represent a vociferous minority in the country but a plurality of voters as Trump beat Harris by more than 2 million votes, even if she had the third largest vote haul in US electoral history with 75 million. Obama didn't even crack 70 million in his two runs. What made Trump's popular vote even more astounding is that he had gained nearly 15 million votes since 2016. That's a 22 percent spike despite all the controversies that surrounded him.
Kamala Harris could have still won the election if all those persons that voted for Biden and her in 2020 had turned out. After all, Trump had bettered his 2020 results by 2.5 million votes. Instead, many stayed home or worse split their tickets. In five of the 7 "battleground states," Democrats won statewide elections for governor and senator, two of whom were women, Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin and Jackie Rosen in Nevada. Yet, Kamala lost all these races. The difference in several state results was the mirror opposite, suggesting independent and/or democratic voters split their tickets. I found that hard to believe but then her mixed heritage was a factor. Americans were fine with her being Vice-President but not President. They would rather have a blatant misogynist and racist who made no effort to disguise it.
I can point to some of Kamala's own shortcomings, but what would be the point? They pale in comparison to those of Trump. He is truly the most vile man ever elected president. The first time around we could blame it on the electoral college, as Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 3 million. However, this time around he won the popular vote and the electoral college.
From what I've garnered from her book online, I think Kamala Harris is spot on. She sees America as the misogynistic, racist and homophobic country that it is. These were the issues that drove the election ranging from Trump's assault on women, his many racist rants and his outcry over transgender rights, the whole LGBTQ+ community for that matter. He also threatened Jews who didn't vote for him. He tapped into all the worst impulses of Americans and won the election. What does that say about our future?
So Jim - I remember when we first reconnected several years ago and you warned me that, if we were to become "friends" on Facebook, I might begin to receive friend requests from people that I had known back when we were in high school together. At first I didn't think that would be a problem, but then I thought better of it and decided that it would be best to leave the past in the past.
ReplyDeleteSo I'm about to blow this boat out of the water.
You and I grew up in a very rural and _____________ part of Florida. I very much enjoyed and appreciated growing up in a rural setting. Regarding the "fill in the blank" part, I can think of a number of appropriate words to insert, but some things are better left unsaid (or written in this case).
Earlier this year, I had to travel to the state of Georgia to deal with some emergent family matters. During the course of my visit, we unfortunately stumbled upon a group of overly enthusiastic tRump supporters that were rallying at a public event. This group was both loud and obnoxious as they handed out bumper stickers to celebrate their newly reelected "dear leader". Red MAGA hats, flag waving and tRump tee shirts abounded. I was not interested in the offer of a free "tRump 2028" sticker. I suppose the look of disdain on my face must have spoken volumes to one of the woman in the group, as she was soon right up in my face to try to "figure out what was wrong with me". Out of an abundance of caution (I hate this overly used expression), I located the nearest exit and we all quickly left the event.
Afterwards, I had a grim realization.......and it was that I wanted these people to really and truly suffer the consequences of this past election. I want them to be hurt and I want them to feel pain. I want the single issue voters to suddenly realize that the requirements to competently run our government are vastly greater than the "tiny problem" that their candidate promised (and lied) to resolve. I want them to feel ill when they realize that changes to the SNAP program means they will no longer be eligible for food stamps. I want them to feel sick to their stomach when they realize that food prices are on the rise and the tax breaks they were promised were just election smoke and mirrors. I want them to become unemployed because the federal grant that paid for their job has been terminated. I want DOGE to determine that they can be easily eliminated from the Federal workforce - their services no longer needed, wanted or desired.
I want them to feel broken.
So, to our high school classmates that responded to your Facebook poll and who planned to vote for the "Emperor with No Clothes " - did you all REALLY think that Mexico was going to pay for building the border wall? Did you really and truly believe that China was going to pay for the tariffs? The war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine would be resolved on day one? Lower inflation? Taxes? Jobs for everyone? Seriously???? You REALLY believed it all???
So - to any of our fellow high school classmates that are regular readers of this blog - AND are true believers, please take the time to write up a comment and tell me how and why I am wrong. I really really want to hear from you. And as a reward for your participation, I'll be happy to share my recipe for "Ragoût de chien et de chat Haïtien" - it's really incredible and quite tasty - especially when paired with a nice Chianti (cue the sound Hannibal Lecter makes when describing his favorite recipe for liver and fava beans).
I went through a lot of flame wars on facebook during the first Trump admin. and decided it wasn't worth it a second time around, so dropped fb in January. I was repeatedly told I had "no skin in the game" living abroad. It fell on deaf ears that everyone in the world is affected by US policies. We suffered through the 2008 recession like everyone else and will have to pay the price for Trump's failed policies just like Americans. I keep Messenger open to communicate with my family and friends. I understand your viewpoint but unfortunately the MAGA cult has inflicted this scourge on all of us, so we suffer alike.
ReplyDeleteWhat gets me are those who claim they didn't see it coming, like Joe Rogan. A lot of folks having buyer's remorse. No idea what attracted them to Trump in the first place but he gained so many voters this past election that my first reaction was election fraud. It's so hard to believe he improved on 2020, which was the largest turnout in a century thanks largely to mail-in ballots. Anyway, we are stuck with him for the next four years and even if he were to keel over the prospect of Pres. Vance is even more alarming.
Daina and I had planned to travel to the US this year but with all the reports of foreign travelers being held up at airports we decided no. Went to Australia instead and visited our daughters in Sydney. I still have a crate in FWB that I would like to sort through but have no desire to return to the "Redneck Riviera." Our last visit to NW Florida was in 1999. We did another trip in 2008 but bypassed Florida, choosing to split our time between NY and LA with a long flight in between.
I just don't think these folks have any idea what is going on until it hits their pocket books. They don't follow events, post manufactured opinions in the form of memes and discount anything that doesn't match their preconceived views. It is only when they are made to suffer that they might finally realize they were bamboozled. Until then no fb. I've been writing on Medium instead.