Harris' policies are crime-smart and centrist. i would know

I’ve always found her approachable, but her humor and humanity that radiated in small venues never stood out in her public persona.

John Diaz
| Opinion contributor

From the beginning of her rise in politics, Vice President Kamala Harris has proven herself to be a principled pragmatist, along with the political savvy to anticipate pitfalls and learn from her missteps.

She has an apt phrase that encapsulates her determination to transcend political dogma and posturing: “false choice.” I first heard it invoked in her 2003 campaign for San Francisco District Attorney.

Harris entered the race as a decided underdog in what was expected to be a rematch between incumbent Terence Hallinan, an unabashed liberal whose father had run for president under the Progressive Party banner in 1952, and a challenger, Bill Fazio , with a more disappointed opponent. -on-the-shelf, tough to kill.

Enter Harris, proposing to overturn a “fake election” by tracking Hallinan’s abysmal conviction rate while promoting the social justice themes that are so central to San Francisco’s political culture. “Smart with crime” was her mantra.

She won—and governed as a centrist, raising the conviction rate while innovating programs to help young people from crime and reduce recidivism.

A “liberal from San Francisco”? It’s too simplistic.

To caricature Harris as a “San Francisco liberal,” as Trump’s campaign calls it, is to miss both the complexity of the city’s bruising blue-vs.-blue politics (light blue tends to win citywide) and the that have allowed Harris to endure and thrive over the past two decades.

Harris managed to move from local to national politics by refusing to be printed.

In the days leading up to her running mate’s announcement last week, pundits widely characterized it as a choice between being strategic (by tapping Gov. Josh Shapiro in critical battleground Pennsylvania) and placating a left wing agitating for a ticket that is more union friendly. and worried about the carnage in Gaza.

It turned out to be, to coin a phrase, a false choice. Her selection by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz fits both criteria and, perhaps most importantly for Harris, personal compatibility.

Covering Harris for the past two decades, I’ve seen the importance of her having people around her that she trusts. Her extended political family includes staffers and aides from her first campaign who remain fiercely loyal.

I’ve always found her approachable, but her humor and humanity that radiated in small venues never stood out in her public persona.

Why Harris fought in 2020 and as vice president

In the times she’s fought — the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, her first years as vice president — it’s clear that one factor has been the way she’s been reduced by the presence of people whose agendas and ambitions don’t necessarily coincide with her own.

Her first run for president was often mired in conflict between East Coast and West Coast strategists vying for her ear with differing visions. Her vice president’s office was initially stocked with experienced Washington staffers, not necessarily of her choosing.

Now, the Democratic presidential nominee is less encumbered by the demands of others. The result is reflected in the sure-footedness, the energy — indeed, the joy — that Harris has shown since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and passed the torch to her.

As someone who has interviewed Harris several times one-on-one, moderated two of her debates, and watched her take barrages of questions in editorial board meetings, I know she can be sharp and quick.

However, she can sometimes become cautious.

Harris’s indecision can make her vulnerable

One of the vulnerabilities in her failed bid for the 2020 presidential nomination was her apparent indecision whether to embrace or distance herself from both the principled and pragmatic decisions she made as prosecutor.

Trump blames Harris crowds on artificial intelligence, so let’s all assume that everything we don’t like is fake!

She was chastised from the right for promising that no one on federal death row — a rogues gallery that includes Charleston, SC church shooter Dylann Roof and Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev — would be executed on her watch.

She was pilloried from the left for acting as state attorney general to challenge a federal judge’s 2015 ruling that a lengthy delay in the case of a convicted felon amounted to “cruel and unusual punishment.”

Harris was also caught red-handed in the summer of 2019 when fellow challenger Tulsi Gabbard, then a congresswoman from Hawaii and a Democrat, released a list of examples to suggest that the former California attorney general had snitched and held too many people in prison.

Another low point of the campaign was a CNN town hall in which Harris contested thorny questions — Should felons be able to vote from prison? Lowering the voting age to 16? Reparations for slavery? Are you forgiving of student debt? – with phrases like “we need to have that conversation” or “we need to study this”.

She supported, then withdrew, a call to end private health insurance.

It was clear that the “fake election” is not exactly a safe choice in a primary where ideologues demand certainty.

But Harris is also a strong and powerful speaker

Yes, Harris still occasionally gets caught up in “word salads” that have become social media trivia. But the former prosecutor can also be violent.

And that must scare a Trump-Vance campaign, which would no doubt have preferred the halting and confused opponent Donald Trump faced in the June 27 debate.

Ask Brett Kavanaugh, Jeff Sessions or William Barr about the barbs they each faced from Harris in Senate hearings. Or, for that matter, Joe Biden in the 2020 primary debate, where Harris took him to task for his praise of two segregationist senators and his opposition to busing to achieve school integration.

“That girl was me,” was her devastating blow.

Rarely mentioned but central to understanding Harris is her pivotal role in making same-sex marriage the law of the land.

The 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2013 invalidating California’s Proposition 8 was based on the justices’ reasoning that its proponents did not have a “direct stake” in the outcome and did not meet the standard of being affected in a “personal and individually”. mode.”

The outcome might have been different if, as attorney general, Harris had stepped in to defend the initiative. She refused, on the grounds that the measure’s restriction on individual rights was clearly unconstitutional.

Her position was both principled and pragmatic — and the direct opposite of the Republican opponent she narrowly defeated the previous year.

RFK Jr.’s campaign explodes. He may still be an electoral problem for Trump.

Harris is resilient and often defies expectations

Her ill-fated run at the presidency four years ago doesn’t necessarily predict what Americans will see between now and November 5. Her story is one of resilience, lessons learned and defying expectations.

Could Harris be just the ideal candidate to take on a former president who revels in rigged elections: open borders or mass deportations? Free trade or protectionism first in America? Lower energy prices or a healthy planet? The Second Amendment or Rational Gun Laws? Do you support the police or forgive the insurgents of January 6, 2021?

Rule of law or Trump’s rule?

With American democracy on the line, this is no time for bogus elections or mere “conversations” or endless studies. This is a time for Harris to demonstrate the blend of principle and pragmatism that earned him the Democratic nomination.

American politics in 2024 is anything but nuanced. Her candidacy is a test for her ‒ as well as for an electorate that has been conditioned by the weakness of tribalism, caustic backbiting and fake elections.

John Diaz, editorial page editor of the San Francisco Chronicle from 1996 to 2021, now lives in Scottsdale, Arizona. This column was originally published in the Arizona Republic. Follow X, ex-Twitter: @JohnDiazChron

Harris’ policies are crime-smart and centrist. i would know

I’ve always found her approachable, but her humor and humanity that radiated in small venues never stood out in her public persona.

A “liberal from San Francisco”? It’s too simplistic.

Why Harris fought in 2020 and as vice president

Harris’s indecision can make her vulnerable

But Harris is also a strong and powerful speaker

Harris is resilient and often defies expectations

By Matthew. Jr

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Harris’ policies are crime-smart and centrist. i would know

I’ve always found her approachable, but her humor and humanity that radiated in small venues never stood out in her public persona.

A “liberal from San Francisco”? It’s too simplistic.

Why Harris fought in 2020 and as vice president

Harris’s indecision can make her vulnerable

But Harris is also a strong and powerful speaker

Harris is resilient and often defies expectations

By Matthew. Jr

Related Post

Donald Trump suffered two legal blows in the Hush Money case in 24 hours

Harris-Trump presidential polls: 2 new polls show vice president widening lead

How cutting the child tax credit led to another year of poverty

You Missed

Donald Trump suffered two legal blows in the Hush Money case in 24 hours

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Prime members get first-rate pricing on these exclusive kitchen deals, with prices starting at $7