CALIFORNIA FOCUS
FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017, OR THEREAFTER
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS
FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017, OR THEREAFTER
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS
“KAMALA HARRIS FOR PREZ? WHY SHOULD SHE WAIT?”
The hype for Kamala Harris as a
possible presidential candidate began almost from the moment she won election
to the U.S. Senate last fall, and so far she’s done little to halt it other
than saying pro forma that she hasn’t considered the possibility.
At 52, she’s considerably younger than
other Democrats now running “non-campaigns” for the nation’s highest office.
She makes speeches to high-profile audiences and appears on talk shows
regularly. Her office cranks out statements and press releases the moment
anything of significance happens in the nation or world.
There are also parallels to Barack
Obama, another candidate with a somewhat unusual first name.
Harris’ first name has never hurt her
politically, just as it didn’t harm Obama. Like Obama, too, if she runs for
President in 2020, Harris will have served less than four years in the Senate.
Like Obama, the first black man
elected to the Senate from Illinois, Harris is the first black person elected
to the Senate from California. Her mixed heritage also makes her the first
Indian-American and first Jamaican-American elected to the Senate anywhere.
Her supporters could argue credibly
that Harris has considerably more qualifications for the nation’s highest
office than Obama did before his election. She spent more than a decade as a
deputy district attorney, then won election as San Francisco’s top prosecutor,
ousting the incumbent ultra-liberal Terence Hallinan. Almost immediately, the
felony conviction rate in her city rose, from 52 percent in 2003 to 67 percent
in 2006.
At the same time, she risked her political
future by refusing to seek the death penalty against the killer of a local
policeman, the murderer now serving a life term. But Harris critics said only
four out of every 100 felony convictions in San Francisco during her tenure
resulted in a prison term.
That may have been one reason why, in
a Democrat-dominated state, she could only narrowly win the 2010 statewide race
for attorney general over former Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve
Cooley. The outcome of that vote wasn’t known until about a month after
Election Day.
But Harris had a much easier time
getting reelected in 2014 and then moved up smoothly to the Senate last year.
Part of that was her very early candidacy, which began the moment former Sen.
Barbara Boxer announced her retirement in early 2015. Harris’ early fundraising
pretty much deflated Democratic opposition.
She’s taking a very different approach
to the 2020 presidential race, which has begun in fact, even if it’s not yet
formal. “I don’t know why my name is in that context,” she told one
interviewer. “I’m focused on being the junior senator for California and very
proud to be representing our beautiful state.”
All those candidate-like appearances
are one reason her name is out. She’s been on panels at think tanks with
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other top Democrats. She gave the
commencement speech at her alma mater in Washington, D.C., Howard University.
Her national TV appearances are carefully watched by potential campaign donors.
There’s also the fact that California
will vote far earlier in 2020 than it has in the last few elections, possibly
earlier than ever. That could give Harris, as a Californian well known to
California Democrats, a huge leg up in the nomination process. It has been 21 years
since a Californian made a serious bid for President and more than 32 since a
Californian actually won the office.
So why should Harris wait, even
though, at 52, in theory she has a lot of time? It’s unlikely she would have
anywhere near as vulnerable a potential Republican opponent in any later
election than the next one. No President has ever had start-of-term job
approval ratings as low as Donald Trump’s. Very few have heard loud calls for
impeachment from their first month in office, as Trump has.
Yes, patience is a virtue. But in
politics, so is opportunism. And the ambitious Kamala Harris may never see a
better opportunity than she has right now.
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Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough, The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It" is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, visit www.californiafocus.net
Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough, The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It" is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, visit www.californiafocus.net
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