At the #EqualityJusticeForum on Thursday night, Kamala Harris introduced herself to a cheering audience by saying, “And my pronouns are she, her, and hers.”
What she didn’t have to add, either there or to those of us who have followed her career and support her campaign, was the most important pronoun of what she stands for: We.
But that is, I think, the defining pronoun of Kamala Harris.
Her Presidency, as is true of her life’s work, will be all about US.
She is the candidate best suited to heal this broken nation, restore the rule of law and reinvigorate the muscular democracy essential to the common goals of the majority.
(For a terrific recap of Senator Harris’s appearance at the #EqualityTownHall, please read Denise Oliver-Velez’s wonderful diary from yesterday.)
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This is a fact: Every single American who is not a straight, white, rich, able-bodied, Christian man has some degree of vulnerability. And the more categories in which one is “not,” the more barriers one faces in meeting the challenges of life: everything from having a decent place to live and work and a chance at joy (on one end of the scale) to the most critical of basics, physical safety and freedom from daily fear (on the other). We will not be equal until all those barriers are knocked down.
This is truth. This all matters. Kamala Harris get it. This is what she means by justice.
Listen carefully to what she said on Thursday. It was a master class in hard truths, in understanding — and in hope. What she said applies to every vulnerable person in America, and that is — in widely varying, but very important ways — most us.
We saw great success in terms of marriage. But if we are going to be honest about it, there is still not full equality for members of the LGBTQ community, and that relates to housing, it relates to employment, it relates to education, and so many other issues. And so our fight is ongoing. And I will stand proudly and strongly until we reach full equality for everyone.
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In fact, my first campaign manager when I ran for district attorney of San Francisco, his name is Jim Rivaldo -- his name was Jim Rivaldo -- he was Harvey Milk's campaign manager. And an extraordinary person, who always -- you know, he would talk about, you know, Bay Area, he would talk about everybody, about the coalition, right? And also he would always talk about the need to recognize that within the community there are real hierarchies based on race and income and we need to recognize and deal with that.
Read the whole transcript here.
The intersectionality of vulnerability.
Kamala’s appearance on Thursday night was, as our own Onomastic wrote to me early Friday morning, “a master class on hard truths.” She tied together “all the various groups that fear for themselves and for their loved ones.” And that showed the “commonality that too many … miss.” By describing her experience this way, she illustrated perhaps the greatest strength of her approach, which is how her vision of the future “can actually bring people together and grow a community, and bring more force to bear on solving an issue.”
She is a champion for we, the people, because she has spent her professional life “fighting to protect the most vulnerable.”
At the Town Hall, she said:
“Racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia -- wait, no, here's the thing I want to say -- there is not a mother of a black son that the day that baby is born is not concerned about his safety. The same is probably true for the Jewish mother of her children, or the Muslim mother of her children, or the mother of anyone who is LGBTQ, including a wonderful, wonderful leader that I was talking with yesterday who has a young transgender child.”
“And what we have to understand about that is that literally we have whole populations of people who often from the day they were born know that their body is capable of being harmed physically. There's not a woman who in her 20s is not afraid of being raped. Like, let's speak real here. In terms of hopefully helping people see the commonality between these issues, which is that no one should be made to feel vulnerable in that way to harm and that their physical safety is at jeopardy.”
“And as president of the United States, I promise you that I will put all resources and priority into ensuring that all people are safe, with a particular understanding of some of the most vulnerable communities. And when I say vulnerable, I don't mean because you are not strong. I say because we know that certain populations are more vulnerable to hate based on other people's prejudice and racism and hateful thoughts. And we as a society must acknowledge the truth of that and then make sure that we create safe communities in which they can exist.”
She’ll fight for us, for all of us. That’s what she does; that’s what she stands for; that’s what she means by “For The People.”
Read more in Onomastic’s diary here.
Kamala Harris is not waiting for some moment in the future to make lives better. It’s what she does. Here’s just one example:
When she says, “It’s time we take this program nationwide” — she means it, because she’s already doing it.
Angela Alsobrooks was recently elected County Executive in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Like Kamala Harris, she has a background as a prosecutor. From an interview in The Washingtonian:
Speaking of prosecutors, Kamala Harris is in the 2020 race. Do you think a former prosecutor would make a good President?
Absolutely, and I know Kamala. When I ran for office the first time, I was going around saying, “There’s this woman, she wrote a book called Smart on Crime, I read about her in Essence magazine.” And I was talking about her Back on Track program. When I won, she called me. Someone told her I’d been talking about her. She helped me start my own Back on Track program [which diverts nonviolent, first-time felony drug dealers into career training]. When I ran for county executive, she sat down with me for two hours to help chart out the race.
The Washingtonian
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Kimberle Williams Crenshaw is credited as the author of the term “intersectionality.”
It’s not about supplication, it’s about power. It’s not about asking, it’s about demanding. It’s not about convincing those who are currently in power, it’s about changing the very face of power itself.
– Kimberle Williams Crenshaw
We have the power to do this. #Kamala2020
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Kamala2020 info and links are below!
Newpioneer has rounded up some highlights of her sponsored legislation here.
snowman3 has rounded up some more legislative highlights here.
Gay CA Democrat lists 21 bills or proposals here.
Want to know more about her positions and plans? Her policy page is Our America
Or go straight to an issue: quality, affordable health care for all, economic justice, raising teacher pay, combating the climate crisis, criminal justice reform, action on gun violence, a fair and just immigration system, LGBTQ+ equality, government for the people, debt-free college and student debt, gender equality, American leadership at home and abroad, and fighting for racial justice.
More plans: The Reproductive Rights Act, Equal Pay, Roadmap to Citizenship for Dreamers, Combating the Racial Homeownership Gap, Reducing the Opportunity Gap, Fair Prescription Drug Prices, Kamala’s 3AM Agenda, Combating Violent Hate, A Climate Plan For the People, Transform the Criminal Justice System and Re-Envision Public Safety.
Upcoming events:
Please remember to visit our community group page Kamala2020 and give us a follow! That way all our group efforts will appear in your stream; this makes it easy for everyone to keep up with our latest posts. As always, any who would like to join our group please leave us a comment and we’ll get your invitation right out to you!
If you’d like to volunteer to host one of our Kamala 2020 diaries, please leave your comment in the ”Calling all Volunteers”thread.
Even if you can’t commit to a weekly spot due to your busy schedules, guest bloggers are always welcomed.
Please volunteer! Come share your story about why you support Kamala!
Upcoming schedule:
Monday — October 14th — DigitusImpudicus
Thursday — October 17th — rflctammt
Saturday — October — 19th —
Let your voices be heard!
While you’re here, don’t forget to visit Kamala’s Official Campaign Website and her Swag Shop for your favorite campaign gear! 😄
Group Guidelines
The Kamala2020 community group has been created to positively support Senator Kamala Harris, and not to engage in negativity towards other Democrats running in the 2020 primaries.
All should be made to feel welcomed here. What’s not welcomed here is petty bickering over any of our preferred candidates, or personal attacks on fellow Democrats. We’re not responsible for the actions of others who may offend, insult or attempt to sow discord and disunity — that’s on them.
What we are responsible for are our own words and actions — that’s 100% on us.
I’d like to ask all group members, as well as those dropping by who support or are interested in Kamala’s bid for the nomination, that we not respond to negativity from other campaign’s supporters with even more negativity. Let’s do better than our best and respond with respect, humor or try to hold our peace. Recipes and cat pics work, too 😃
Doing no harm costs us nothing... pie-fights will cost us everything.
Saturday, Oct 12, 2019 · 3:16:32 PM +00:00
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noweasels
While imagining Kamala Harris on the debate stage next to Donald Trump excites us and most Democrats, we are equally excited for how Kamala will govern this country. She is the only presidential candidate with experience in all levels of elected government — local, state, and federal — as well as in two executive positions. This experience is reflected in her 3AM agenda, which addresses the issues that keep Americans up at night, including healthcare, the rising cost of living, job security, and student debt. Her agenda is bold, but most importantly, it is actionable.
For Kamala, this fight is not about ideology. It is about delivering for the American people.
Harvard Political Review