How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Kamala

"Before I was elected vice-president, before I was elected United States senator, I was elected attorney general of the state of California, and I was a courtroom prosecutor before then.  And in those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds: predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So hear me when I say, I know Donald Trump’s type" -- Kamala Harris

During the 2020 primaries, when January 6th was just another winter day, Roe v. Wade was the law of the land, and Joe Biden was in his seventies, I struggled with Kamala Harris' candidacy. (See Kamala's People) I had experienced her tenure as California's Attorney General with great frustration, where her approach to death penalty challenges was same as it ever was for that office, vigorously defending every death sentence no matter how questionable. And I couldn't overcome my general dislike for prosecutors who, by and large, see the criminal justice system as fair and just -- despite the built-in bias against the poor and people of color -- and view the way to solve society's ills through the prism of that system. 

But as President Biden became increasingly unable to effectively prosecute, as it were, the case against Trump, much less make the case for his own candidacy, it became clear that he had to step down. And it also became clear that his Vice President was the only one who could succeed him without alienating key Democratic constituencies and forfeiting critical resources and campaign infrastructure. 

Shockingly, the usually self-destructive Democrats did the right thing, and the transition has not only been seamless but joyful, with a wholehearted embrace of her candidacy that speaks to the widespread pent-up energy for a candidate who can go on the offense with vigor and use complete, fluid sentences.   

As it turns out Kamala Harris is the right person for this moment. She is perfectly positioned to speak to what I believe are the three key issues that will excite and mobilize voters: reproductive rights, climate change, and Trump's authoritarianism and disdain for the law.

She has long been an authentic, powerful voice on abortion rights.  (Remember how she grilled then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh: “Can you think of any laws that give the government the power to make decisions about the male body?”) She has embraced her role in leading the Biden Administration's response to Dobbs, speaking passionately about reproductive freedom and Republican extremism at rallies and on college campuses, and making meaningful appearances at abortion clinics. As Jill Filipovic said in The Atlantic: "it is her voice, not Biden’s, that’s been loudest in objecting to abortion bans and conservative efforts to curtail IVF and contraception."

Harris has long been out front on combatting  climate change. As the Times put it: "She pursued polluters as attorney general in California and later staked out bold positions as a senator, including sponsorship of the Green New Deal."  According to the Washington Post, "Environmentalists have long praised Harris’s commitment to climate and environmental issues, beginning when she was a local elected official in California."

And perhaps most importantly, there's her ability to use her prosecutorial chops to filet Trump's putrid character and lay bare his lawlessness. Importantly, her law enforcement background provides a stunning contrast to a candidate who has not only been convicted of 34 felonies, but has been indicted for many more, and has been found liable for fraud and sexual assault.  (While as a former criminal defense lawyer, I am somewhat uncomfortable with stigmatizing someone merely because of their status as a felon, I have decidedly less qualms when that person has used his privilege and power in such a corrupt manner -- and whose criminal intent remains a clear and present danger to democracy.) 

The euphoria will wear off. There will be missteps. The opposition will perhaps tone down their racism and misogyny (perhaps), and mount more effective attacks against her. But we have a powerful case to make about the future of this country and why Trump Redux would be catastrophic.  And we have a candidate remarkably well equipped to make it.