Much of the American left has become so consumed with identity politics that they have lost sight of the fact that African-Americans or women candidates can be as bad or worse than white males.
Take the case of Kamala Harris.
Much of the liberal media is already gushing about her historic selection as potentially the first black woman vice president, or president given Joe Biden’s advanced age.
And yes, it is important that a glass ceiling has been broken.
But the American people will be no better served by a black woman in office if her policies do not effectively advance the people’s interests.
Harris’s record should not provide us with much confidence.
Lara Bazelon, former director of the Loyola Law School Project for the Innocent in Los Angeles, wrote in The New York Times that time after time, when progressives urged Harris to embrace criminal justice reforms as San Francisco district attorney and then California’s attorney general, she “opposed them or stayed silent. Most troubling, Ms. Harris fought tooth and nail to uphold wrongful convictions that had been secured through official misconduct that included evidence tampering, false testimony and the suppression of crucial information by prosecutors.”[1]
Further, she proudly billed herself as “top cop,” and called for more cops on the streets[2] in a state with the second-highest number of incarcerated people in America.[3]
During the presidential primary debates, Harris’s vicious side was evident in her attacks directed against Tulsi Gabbard, the lone peace candidate in the Democratic Party presidential field, whom Harris suggested was being promoted by the “Russian propaganda machine.”[4]
Whatever the strengths or weaknesses of Gabbard as a candidate, this style of attack precluded open debate about foreign policy issues and was reminiscent of Joseph McCarthy.
Harris further denounced Gabbard for meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and refusing to call Assad a war criminal, insinuating that Gabbard’s opposition to U.S. arming of jihadist terrorists in the country was akin to treason.[5]
Harris also claimed that Russian bots on the internet were targeting her negatively, though specific evidence was never provided.[6] These kinds of allegations are dangerous because they help to reinforce popular paranoia about Russian interference in America’s political processes, which is driving us into a new Cold War.
As Senator from California (D-CA) Harris met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In the meeting, as reported in Alternet’s Greyzone project, “…Harris ignored the avalanche of officially sanctioned anti-black racism in Israel, turned her back on historic black solidarity with the Palestinian cause, and ignored the human rights demands of Palestinians living under apartheid.”[7]
In an interview with the Council on Foreign Relations in November 2019, Harris—who is known generally for her close ties to Silicon Valley—said she would “stand up” to Russian President Vladimir Putin to defend democratic values and emphasized her support for Ukraine.[8]
This is a prescription for continuing the new Cold War, which will suck billions of dollars of government revenues and undercut Harris’s own stated desire to “reduce defense spending to focus on domestic priorities.”[9]
Meanwhile Harris has mocked President Trump for meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un—one of the few positive things Trump has done during his presidency—and described Russia’s interference in the 2016 election as an “attack” on the United States that took advantage of racial fissures.[10]
These latter comments appear bombastic,[11] based on what we know about Russian interference, and assume an insulting level of gullibility on the part of the African-American population, whom she insinuates had been duped by a couple of social media posts.
To be sure, Ms. Harris has taken some progressive positions in her career and has a buoyant personality. She is also a much better candidate than Mike Pence. On balance, however, her record as a whole is far from progressive.
It is great when glass ceilings fall, but far better when the person doing the shattering is one who can be counted on doing the right thing.
[1] Lara Bazelon, “Kamala Harris Was Not a Progressive Prosecutor,” The New York Times, January 17, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/17/opinion/kamala-harris-criminal-justice.html.
[2] Goodman, Amy. https://www.democracynow.org/2020/8/13/kamala_harris_prosecutorial_record_2020_election.
[3] Allison, Aimee. https://www.democracynow.org/2020/8/12/joe_biden_kamala_harris_vp_pick.
[4] Alex Christy, “Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris, and Russian Propaganda,” Medium, August 3, 2019, https://medium.com/@alexchristy17/tulsi-gabbard-kamala-harris-and-russian-propaganda-2c0c0cc80c53.
[5] Tamir Lapin, “Democratic Debates: Kamala Harris Calls Out Tulsi Gabbard,” The New York Post, November 20, 2019, https://nypost.com/2019/11/20/democratic-debates-kamala-harris-calls-out-tulsi-gabbard/.
[6] Donie O’Sullivan, “Kamala Harris says Russian bots are targeting her. It’s more complicated than that.” CNN, July 16, 2019, https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/16/politics/kamala-harris-twitter-bots/index.html.
[7] Raza, Hamzah. https://thegrayzone.com/2020/08/11/netanyahu-top-cop-kamala-harris-israel-racism/.
[8] https://www.cfr.org/election2020/candidate-tracker/kamala-harris.
[9] https://www.cfr.org/election2020/candidate-tracker/kamala-harris.
[10] https://www.cfr.org/election2020/candidate-tracker/kamala-harris.
[11] “Intel Vets Challenge ‘Russia Hack’ Evidence,” VIPS Memo, July 24, 2017, reprinted at Consortium News, https://consortiumnews.com/2017/07/24/intel-vets-challenge-russia-hack-evidence/.
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About the Author
About the Author
Jeremy Kuzmarov holds a Ph.D. in American history from Brandeis University and has taught at numerous colleges across the United States. He is regularly sought out as an expert on U.S. history and politics for radio and TV programs and co-hosts a radio show on New York Public Radio and on Progressive Radio News Network called “Left on Left.” He is Managing Editor of CovertAction Magazine and is the author of five books on U.S. foreign policy, including Obama’s Unending Wars (Clarity Press, 2019), The Russians Are Coming, Again, with John Marciano (Monthly Review Press, 2018), and Warmonger. How Clinton’s Malign Foreign Policy Launched the U.S. Trajectory From Bush II to Biden (Clarity Press, 2023). Besides these books, Kuzmarov has published hundreds of articles and contributed to numerous edited volumes, including one in the prestigious Oxford History of Counterinsurgency . He can be reached at jkuzmarov2@gmail.com and found on substack here.
Covert Action Magazine appears to have chosen the worst possible picture they could possibly find of Kamala Harris and the best possible picture of Vlaadinir Putin they could possibly find. Recently the New York times chose the best possible picture of Kamala Harris they could possibly find and Fox News displayed the worst possible picture of Kamala Harris that they could possibly find. This is an example of how the various news outlets try to influence public opinion. When the like someone they show a nice looking picture. If they do not like someone they show a picture where the person looks their worst.
Very good
Kamala Harris has some flaws, but I have noticed some good points as well. She is a very energetic lady with a lot of zest for life. She is very concerned about climate change and the environment and will help initiate some good policies. She is very aware that the majority of Americans has poor eating habits and unhealthy lifestyle patterns and is very aware of how the meat industry has contributed more to green house gas emissions and thus plans to educate people on how to make better choices. Sometimes Joe Biden is a bit indecisive so she will be a good compliment for Joe helping him to move more quickly and get more things done. She is working very hard on an improved health care system and hopes to make a positive impact in this regard. Sometimes she can be a bit tough and is very demanding, but overall I think she brings some good features to the dining room table.