Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Walters: Kamala Harris Grabs for the Brass Ring
alexis_meetourstaff-300x300-1
By Alexis DeSha, Graphic Designer
Published 5 years ago on
January 23, 2019

Share

President Kamala Harris? She thinks so, anyway.


Opinion
Dan Walters
CALmatters Commentary

Harris made it clear that she will capitalize on her mixed-race heritage – Jamaican and East Indian – to appeal to voters of color in her quest to differentiate herself from her many rivals.
After just 1 1/2 terms as California’s attorney general and two years as a U.S. senator, Harris this week declared her candidacy for the White House. She joins a Democratic field that grows larger every day and could eventually reach two or three dozen – all trumpeting their implacable disdain for President Donald Trump.
“The American people deserve to have somebody who is going to fight for them, who is going to see them, who will hear them, who will care about them, who will be concerned about their experience and will put them in front of self-interest,” Harris said as she made her announcement Monday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
By announcing on the holiday commemorating civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., Harris made it clear that she will capitalize on her mixed-race heritage – Jamaican and East Indian – to appeal to voters of color in her quest to differentiate herself from her many rivals.

At This Stage There Are No Democratic Frontrunners

“The thing about Dr. King that always inspired me is that he was aspirational, like our country is aspirational,” Harris said, hinting at her strategy for winning the Democratic nomination. It’s predicated on doing well in Southern state primaries early next year, setting the stage for what she hopes would be a big win in California’s March primary.
She’ll begin down that path on Friday in South Carolina by attending a gala event hosted by a local chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first college sorority founded by African Americans, which Harris joined as a student at Howard University. South Carolina will hold the fourth 2020 primary and black voters are an especially influential bloc in that state.
Is it a winning strategy?
At this stage of the game there are no Democratic frontrunners, but Harris is better positioned than most contenders to claim one of the pole positions, thanks to her telegenic persona and her laser-like focus on grabbing media attention – very much on display during the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Name identification – having some sort of image that triggers a positive response when pollsters make their calls – is the game now and she does fairly well in that regard.

Harris Must Navigate a Political Minefield to Have a Realistic Chance

None of this has anything to do with her qualifications for the presidency, of course, such as knowledge and experience in foreign affairs, economic issues and other weighty matters. The qualification bar has been slipping for decades – witness Trump’s election in 2016 – and she’s no less qualified than most of those who see themselves as presidential material, even though she’s done nothing of note as a first-term senator.

Harris and her rivals must try to appeal to those on the left without going too far out the ideological limb and rendering themselves unelectable in swing states such as Florida and Ohio should they win the nomination.
Qualifications aside, Harris must navigate a political minefield to have a realistic chance of becoming the Democratic nominee.
Trump’s bombastic presidency has spawned a deep division within the party between business-as-usual liberals and a surging left wing, which views the establishment as too cozy with corporate America and insufficiently committed to causes such as single-payer health care, homelessness and climate change.
Harris and her rivals must try to appeal to those on the left without going too far out the ideological limb and rendering themselves unelectable in swing states such as Florida and Ohio should they win the nomination.
Harris clearly hopes to straddle the ideological chasm. For instance, in her campaign autobiography – a now-standard device for presidential hopefuls – she recasts her prosecutorial career as a quest for criminal justice reform.
CALmatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.
[activecampaign form=19]

DON'T MISS

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified’s Self-Protection Racket Is Hurting Our Kids

DON'T MISS

When Newsom Gives His State of the State, He Should Be Candid About California’s Economy

DON'T MISS

Biden Administration to Lend $1.5B to Restart Michigan Nuclear Power Plant, a First in the US

DON'T MISS

Tonight’s Biden Fundraiser With Obama and Clinton Already Nets a Record $25 Million

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: How Going to Work for Trump Turned Devin Nunes Into a Millionaire

DON'T MISS

Trump Criticizes Judge and His Daughter After Gag Order in Hush-Money Case

DON'T MISS

House Speaker Mike Johnson Headed to Fresno on April 4

DON'T MISS

Bredefeld, Smittcamp Debate the Salary of Valley Children’s CEO

DON'T MISS

CA’s Liberal Government Has a Long History of Caving to Special Interests

No data was found

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

11 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

11 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

11 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

11 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

12 hours ago

Biden’s Fundraiser with Obama and Clinton Nets a Record $25 Million, His Campaign Says

12 hours ago

Fresno Unified’s Self-Protection Racket Is Hurting Our Kids

13 hours ago

Rockin’ Out or Laughing, the Valley Has Its Pick of Weekend Events

13 hours ago

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

16 hours ago

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

16 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

PGA HOPE, now underway at Fresno’s Riverside Golf Course, is designed to introduce golf to veterans and active duty military members t...

9 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Fresno's Riverside Golf Course
9 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

11 hours ago

Cronenworth’s Big Hit Helps Lift the Padres to a 6-4 Win Over Melvin’s Giants

11 hours ago

Shohei Ohtani Reaches 3 Times in Home Debut as the Dodgers Rout the Cardinals 7-1

11 hours ago

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

11 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

11 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

11 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

12 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend