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SCREEN CAPTURE
California's Sen. Kamala Harris endorsed Joe Biden's bid for President. |
For Asian Americans, it seems we've been down this road before. When Sen. Kamala Harris first announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the Democratic Party in front of her hometown crowd of 20,000, she was immediately catapulted into the frontrunner's position.
Now, it looks as if the California senator is the top choice to become Joe Biden's pick as running mate. Biden said he would announce his choice of vice president August 1.
But as we know, in the year before the first primary, Harris stumbled badly and unable to move above single digit approval in the endless polls.
At the time, her early exit from the campaign was a major disappointment for her followers, especially among African Americans and Asian Americans but in hindsight, it may have a brilliant move. By dropping out early, Harris stayed out of the dogfight as scrutiny of the remaining presidential hopefuls increased during the rest of the primary season.
She avoided garnering the negative attention given to her questionable claim to be a progressive attorney general. She also avoided the ignominy of dropping further in the polls and embarrassing losses in the early primary states.
In other words, she wisely retreated in order to fight another day. That fight might be as Biden's running mate.
When she dropped out of the presidential running after the Thanksgiving weekend last year, Biden was asked if he would consider Harris for his vice president.
“My reaction is she’s of first rate intellect, a first rate candidate and a real competitor,” he said to reporters after getting the news that Harris had dropped out of the race. “I have mixed emotions about it because she is really a solid, solid person, and loaded with talent."
Harris' chances improved when Biden committed in March to picking a woman as his running mate.
The Asian American Action Fund is urging Biden to pick an Asian American running mate. Besides Harris, the PAC also recommended Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois. Duckworth, is considered a long-shot for the Democratic ticket.
“As we all know, this choice would be a historic first, during an especially tumultuous time for Asian American Pacific Islanders. This decision will help galvanize the AAPI community as we look to November — and beyond,” Paul Tiao, Co-Founder ofAAAFund said in Medium.
In the letter, the coalition of Asian American Pacific Islander leaders argued:
“API voters can provide the margin of victory in pivotal swing states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, totaling over half a million voters: President Trump won these states by only 77,744 votes in 2016. We would be remiss to lose an opportunity to prove to AAPIs across the country that they are represented, that they have a voice, and that they are valued. Senators Duckworth and Harris are the strongest running mates to do so.”
The Asian American Action Fund is urging Biden to pick an Asian American running mate. Besides Harris, the PAC also recommended Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois. Duckworth, is considered a long-shot for the Democratic ticket.
“As we all know, this choice would be a historic first, during an especially tumultuous time for Asian American Pacific Islanders. This decision will help galvanize the AAPI community as we look to November — and beyond,” Paul Tiao, Co-Founder ofAAAFund said in Medium.
In the letter, the coalition of Asian American Pacific Islander leaders argued:
“API voters can provide the margin of victory in pivotal swing states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, totaling over half a million voters: President Trump won these states by only 77,744 votes in 2016. We would be remiss to lose an opportunity to prove to AAPIs across the country that they are represented, that they have a voice, and that they are valued. Senators Duckworth and Harris are the strongest running mates to do so.”
During Harris' campaign, she was able to draw ont he support of Indian Americans but was hard pressed to register with other Asian ethnic groups. They couldn't figure Harris out, according to AAPI Data, and didn't identify her as an Asian American, even though her mother is from India. Before she dropped out of the race, Harris ran third in fundraising from AAPI donors, behind Biden and Bernie Sanders.
Biden already enjoys the strong support of the African American community considering the alternative. His strong ties with President Obama had put him way ahead of any of the other contenders in gaining the confidence of the Black community.
The events of the last few weeks after the death of George Floyd at the hands of police has done nothing but strengthened Harris' position. Polls say that race relations is now the top concern of voters, surpassing health care and the economy. As a person of Black and Asian heritage, the choice of Harris will hopefully act as a bridge with voters of color.
That would seemngly eliminate top contenders Senators Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar, both of whom also ran for president, but were unable to gain any cache´ among Black voters. Biden needs someone who can energize the Black community to come out to vote.
Harris was hurt in the run-up to the primaries because of questions of her role as San Francisco's District Attorney and as California's Attorney General. Lara Bazelon, a University of San Francisco School of Law professor did major damage to Harris campaign. Bazelon argued that Harris was not a “progressive prosecutor” and “was often on the wrong side of history when she served as California’s attorney general.”
Since then, and especially after Floyd's death, Harris has spent much of the last year positioning herself as a Congressional leader for police reform that might mollify her left-leaning critics. Even Bazelon has commended her “as someone who really is on the right side of these issues and that carries weight,” as she told Politico earlier this month.
Biden already enjoys the strong support of the African American community considering the alternative. His strong ties with President Obama had put him way ahead of any of the other contenders in gaining the confidence of the Black community.
The events of the last few weeks after the death of George Floyd at the hands of police has done nothing but strengthened Harris' position. Polls say that race relations is now the top concern of voters, surpassing health care and the economy. As a person of Black and Asian heritage, the choice of Harris will hopefully act as a bridge with voters of color.
That would seemngly eliminate top contenders Senators Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar, both of whom also ran for president, but were unable to gain any cache´ among Black voters. Biden needs someone who can energize the Black community to come out to vote.
Harris was hurt in the run-up to the primaries because of questions of her role as San Francisco's District Attorney and as California's Attorney General. Lara Bazelon, a University of San Francisco School of Law professor did major damage to Harris campaign. Bazelon argued that Harris was not a “progressive prosecutor” and “was often on the wrong side of history when she served as California’s attorney general.”
Since then, and especially after Floyd's death, Harris has spent much of the last year positioning herself as a Congressional leader for police reform that might mollify her left-leaning critics. Even Bazelon has commended her “as someone who really is on the right side of these issues and that carries weight,” as she told Politico earlier this month.
Leaving no doubt on her position, Harris stated: “The charges brought against the officer who murdered George Floyd are a start, but the other involved officers must also be held accountable immediately. In recent days, we’ve been forced to confront the tragic and horrific killings of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, Breonna Taylor in Kentucky, and now, George Floyd in Minnesota. These are not isolated incidents, but the result of broader systematic racism that exists in our country. And we remember the countless Black Americans who never had a chance at justice because no one recorded a video of their killings. Police brutality is a matter of life and death for Black people in this country, and we have to be clear about the injustices within our criminal justice system and demand accountability to the communities law enforcement are sworn to protect and serve.”
There are other women of color who might fill some check marks Biden sees as necessary for a good vice president, a position he is very familiar with.
But none of them -- Susan Rice, Stacey Abrahms, Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms, -- have the experience of running for president and the pressures that came with that. Her experience in the Senate as an aggressive questioner as a member of the Justice Committee made Trump nominees for the bench shake, is a plus because the vice president often is the President's point person in Congresional matters.
In a TV interview, Biden said he wants a “strong” vice president who is “ready to be president on day one.” Harris, at 55 years of age, is young enough to counter any doubters about Biden's age, 77. If elected, he would become the oldest President ever elected and questions about his age and whether or not he would be up for a second term is still a consideration for Democratic Party leaders. If Biden decided not to run for a second term, Harris would be only 59, prime time for a President, plus four more years of experience on the national and international stage.
Plus, there is another intangible: Biden and Harris appear to genuinely like each other. Biden grew immensely close to Obama as his vice president and it is assumed he would want a similar relationship with whoever he picked to fill that role as a confidante, a role he played in Obama's White House.
During the campaign, Jill Biden and Harris' husband, Douglas Emhoff, became friends and have maintained that relationship since Harris suspended her campaign.
In the early months of the campaign, when the Biden and Harris ran into each other in Washington, Harris jumped out of her car and enthusiastically hugged Biden, who had not yet declared his candidacy. "Hey, Joe," she yelled and jumped out of the car to have an aide take a joyful picture of the two.
"She loves the Vice President," said Bakari Sellers, a former Harris supporter who is now backing Biden. "That interaction that they had in Miami is just a small blip on the timeline when it comes to their relationship."
There are other women of color who might fill some check marks Biden sees as necessary for a good vice president, a position he is very familiar with.
But none of them -- Susan Rice, Stacey Abrahms, Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms, -- have the experience of running for president and the pressures that came with that. Her experience in the Senate as an aggressive questioner as a member of the Justice Committee made Trump nominees for the bench shake, is a plus because the vice president often is the President's point person in Congresional matters.
In a TV interview, Biden said he wants a “strong” vice president who is “ready to be president on day one.” Harris, at 55 years of age, is young enough to counter any doubters about Biden's age, 77. If elected, he would become the oldest President ever elected and questions about his age and whether or not he would be up for a second term is still a consideration for Democratic Party leaders. If Biden decided not to run for a second term, Harris would be only 59, prime time for a President, plus four more years of experience on the national and international stage.
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TWITTER / KAMALA HARRIS
When Sen Kamala Harris and Joe Biden are together, there seems to be a real rapport. |
Plus, there is another intangible: Biden and Harris appear to genuinely like each other. Biden grew immensely close to Obama as his vice president and it is assumed he would want a similar relationship with whoever he picked to fill that role as a confidante, a role he played in Obama's White House.
During the campaign, Jill Biden and Harris' husband, Douglas Emhoff, became friends and have maintained that relationship since Harris suspended her campaign.
In the early months of the campaign, when the Biden and Harris ran into each other in Washington, Harris jumped out of her car and enthusiastically hugged Biden, who had not yet declared his candidacy. "Hey, Joe," she yelled and jumped out of the car to have an aide take a joyful picture of the two.
"She loves the Vice President," said Bakari Sellers, a former Harris supporter who is now backing Biden. "That interaction that they had in Miami is just a small blip on the timeline when it comes to their relationship."
Sellers is referring to the first debate in Miami, when Harris caught Biden off guard bringing attention to Biden's support for two segregationist senators. Her attack put her out front for a few weeks but that lead soon dissipated.
When she dropped out of the race, the longest conciliatory phone call she had was with the former vice president.
At a fundraiser last week, Biden recalled a moment when he ran into Harris in Philadelphia after his son's death and she gave the former vice president a hug and told him, "I love you, and I loved Beau," whom she had grown close to when both were attorneys general of their respective states.
"I won't forget that," Biden said.
At a fundraiser last week, Biden recalled a moment when he ran into Harris in Philadelphia after his son's death and she gave the former vice president a hug and told him, "I love you, and I loved Beau," whom she had grown close to when both were attorneys general of their respective states.
"I won't forget that," Biden said.
If Biden chooses Harris and the duo wins the election, Harris would fulfill a number of firsts: First female Vice President; First Black Vice President; First Asian American Vice President.
Although Harris appears to be the top contender today, Aug. 1 is still a long way off and anything can happen to derail what appears to be increasing pressure for Biden to name Harris to round out the ticket.
While Asian Americans might fulfill their voting trend to go with the Democrats and their hopes run high for the chance to help make history, no one is holding their breath. Already, Trump's powerful and influential media is beginning to stir things up by siding with Harris' progressive critics in questioning Harris' law enforcement credentials.
The Trump campaign has been wooing Hindu Americans by emphasizing Trump's close ties with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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