So I'll say it: Are we sure we want to give Kamala Harris this free pass?

DrBanneker

Space is the Place
Joined
Jan 23, 2016
Messages
5,514
Reputation
4,516
Daps
18,923
Reppin
Figthing borg at Wolf 359
Before everyone gets in a tizzy I will state three things:

1. I am not part of the "no tangibles, no vote" crowd and barring something crazy, I will be voting for Kamala Harris and likely all the other Dems down ballot in November.

2. I am not part of the "mixed people can't be Black crowd" and while it seems people want to debate her uprbringing to the nth degree, her and her sister Maya (who has a Black ADOS husband) have had roots in the Black community in Oakland during their adult lives (I have family there) so I am not going to say we can't consider them Black or that she has said she is only "Indian". A lot of that is social media whining about this that isn't productive in my opinion.

3. I don't care she is a woman nor that her husband is White

------

Now all that being said....

Biden bowed out and they flipped the switch on Kamala more serious than almost anything I have seen in politics. $200M in a week including the $2M from various Zoom calls from Black men and women. People talking about that 2008 feeling etc.

But if we are honest, what is she really bringing to the table besides a better chance to vanquish Trump? In itself this could be enough given the coterie of reactionaries, illiberals, and neo-fascists he and JD Vance have backing them.

But is everyone just going to memory hole all the concerns we had about her even only a month ago? Not just her actions in California as AG and SF/Alameda DA but lack of signature legislation or initiatives as a senator (beating Brett Kavanaugh's ass doesn't count). The absolute chaos and revolving door for staff that characterized both her failed presidential run as well as the VP office? Granted I know this was some of Biden's folks hating and leaking to the press, but this happened way too often to be just a smear campaign. Can she even run a team well??

The absolute abysmal performance she did in some interviews that made it look like she had trouble even being articulate on complex topics? The weird attempts to 'connect' like the Kwanzaa video or talking about smoking weed :dahell:?

Are any of her main advisors/consultants even Black people that have community concerns and not just social climbing as a primary goal?

People may say Obama had a short senate stint but at least he had to fight his way through the primaries against the most formidable challenger in recent Dem primary memory--Hillary Clinton. Kamala didn't even get to Iowa in 2020 and now we are anointing her as the chosen one as if she has bossed up serious since then? Doing what?

---

I'm sorry, given how close this election is we should be pressing her and getting her in line behind the scenes instead of all this fawning. I'm not demanding something unrealistic like cash reparations but all these Zoom hosters and boosters in the media are demanding we show our love without asking much of anything in return assuming her default loyalty to us? Yeah we need to beat Trump but is that all we want? We ain't her major financial backers, Zoom or not.

And mark my word, if she is elected and flames out hard, or the economy tanks (or both), we are setting ourselves up for something much darker and more competent than Trump in 2028 the same way Trump was a reaction to Obama--who didn't have many of the drawbacks above.

I'm sure she will take care of HBCUs but forcing a pledge on police reform, an actual economic stimulus/employment plan that can work for a Black America still recovering from the 2008 crash, a plan to stem the huge slide of young people that is accelerating, especially young men, and a huge curb on immigration would be a start. I'm sorry, I will vote but until I see something convincing I will be holding my nose while doing so.
 

Numpsay

Superstar
Supporter
Joined
May 6, 2012
Messages
14,581
Reputation
2,221
Daps
38,206
Reppin
PAT 2 HTown
Before everyone gets in a tizzy I will state three things:

1. I am not part of the "no tangibles, no vote" crowd and barring something crazy, I will be voting for Kamala Harris and likely all the other Dems down ballot in November.

2. I am not part of the "mixed people can't be Black crowd" and while it seems people want to debate her uprbringing to the nth degree, her and her sister Maya (who has a Black ADOS husband) have had roots in the Black community in Oakland during their adult lives (I have family there) so I am not going to say we can't consider them Black or that she has said she is only "Indian". A lot of that is social media whining about this that isn't productive in my opinion.

3. I don't care she is a woman nor that her husband is White

------

Now all that being said....

Biden bowed out and they flipped the switch on Kamala more serious than almost anything I have seen in politics. $200M in a week including the $2M from various Zoom calls from Black men and women. People talking about that 2008 feeling etc.

But if we are honest, what is she really bringing to the table besides a better chance to vanquish Trump? In itself this could be enough given the coterie of reactionaries, illiberals, and neo-fascists he and JD Vance have backing them.

But is everyone just going to memory hole all the concerns we had about her even only a month ago? Not just her actions in California as AG and SF/Alameda DA but lack of signature legislation or initiatives as a senator (beating Brett Kavanaugh's ass doesn't count). The absolute chaos and revolving door for staff that characterized both her failed presidential run as well as the VP office? Granted I know this was some of Biden's folks hating and leaking to the press, but this happened way too often to be just a smear campaign. Can she even run a team well??

The absolute abysmal performance she did in some interviews that made it look like she had trouble even being articulate on complex topics? The weird attempts to 'connect' like the Kwanzaa video or talking about smoking weed :dahell:?

Are any of her main advisors/consultants even Black people that have community concerns and not just social climbing as a primary goal?

People may say Obama had a short senate stint but at least he had to fight his way through the primaries against the most formidable challenger in recent Dem primary memory--Hillary Clinton. Kamala didn't even get to Iowa in 2020 and now we are anointing her as the chosen one as if she has bossed up serious since then? Doing what?

---

I'm sorry, given how close this election is we should be pressing her and getting her in line behind the scenes instead of all this fawning. I'm not demanding something unrealistic like cash reparations but all these Zoom hosters and boosters in the media are demanding we show our love without asking much of anything in return assuming her default loyalty to us? Yeah we need to beat Trump but is that all we want? We ain't her major financial backers, Zoom or not.

And mark my word, if she is elected and flames out hard, or the economy tanks (or both), we are setting ourselves up for something much darker and more competent than Trump in 2028 the same way Trump was a reaction to Obama--who didn't have many of the drawbacks above.

I'm sure she will take care of HBCUs but forcing a pledge on police reform, an actual economic stimulus/employment plan that can work for a Black America still recovering from the 2008 crash, a plan to stem the huge slide of young people that is accelerating, especially young men, and a huge curb on immigration would be a start. I'm sorry, I will vote but until I see something convincing I will be holding my nose while doing so.
What is your alternative?
 
Joined
Oct 22, 2017
Messages
33,500
Reputation
2,023
Daps
163,458
a second trump presidency is a literal nail in the coffin for black america and an existential threat to humanity as a whole.

it’s selfish and shortsighted to demand anything of her right now.

falling in line and voting is our only defense against trump.

the only thing i need from her is a win in november.

that’s it.

it’s not complicated.

:unimpressed:
 

Buddy

Keep my name out of it
Bushed
Joined
Apr 28, 2014
Messages
18,373
Reputation
5,578
Daps
76,698
I'll say it: At this point I don't care :manny:

We've spent the past 5 years repeatedly telling brehs that "@JohnnyElbow5934"-- or whoever the hell is talking on social media, has NO bearing on politics and Internet Ass Muhfukkas just dig their heels in deeper. There's zero reasoning to be had om the importance of the Supreme Court, federal appointments, etc. We're supposed to just stop voting, embrace corny ass acronyms and holler "tethers". These b*stards waited til SHE took the candidacy to say "Oh yeah, reparations" :gucci:


fukk Kamala but fukk that even more.
Its time for the adults to take control of the room :unimpressed: And I hate saying that, cause it makes me wonder how often the elite are taking on that approach but it is what is is. Kamala2024
 

Pull Up the Roots

I have a good time when I go out of my mind..
Joined
Sep 15, 2015
Messages
20,597
Reputation
6,887
Daps
87,179
Reppin
Detroit
Yeah, she had a pretty progressive voting record during her time in the senate.

Based on her DW-Nominate score:

115th Congress:

116th Congress:

117th Congress:



You can find her senate record here. You can also find all of the legislation she co-sponsored. And her voting record:


The government watchdog website GovTrack.us ranked all 100 U.S. Senators with an "ideology score" from 1.0 (most conservative) to 0.0 (most liberal). The score is based on each senator's legislative behavior: namely, how similar the pattern of bills and resolutions they co-sponsor are to other congress members.

"Members of Congress with similar political views will tend to cosponsor the same set of bills, or bills by the same set of authors, and inversely Members of Congress with different political views will tend to cosponsor different bills," the website explains.

GovTrack.us gave Sanders an ideology score of 0.02 and Harris a score of 0.00. together, they ranked as the most liberal members of the Senate. The website said Harris joined bipartisan bills the least often compared to Senate Democrats.

"Of the 471 bills that Harris cosponsored, 15 percent were introduced by a legislator who was not a Democrat," the website stated.

She may have scored as slightly more liberal than Sanders because one of her authored bills actually became a law whereas none of Sanders' have—it's actually rare for any bill to become a law, according to the website.
 

Elim Garak

Veteran
Joined
Mar 8, 2015
Messages
37,902
Reputation
6,400
Daps
181,229
I mean I can still criticize Kamala while still voting for her, unlike Trump supporters who think he’s a god. She’s not perfect, no politician is, but I’d rather have her as President than 45.
Exactly it's fine to be critical. I'm voting for her though. I'm certainly not voting for Trump or wasting votes on third-party candidates.
 
Last edited:

Deflatedhoopdreams

Veteran
Supporter
Joined
May 29, 2012
Messages
35,749
Reputation
6,887
Daps
75,724
Reppin
The Rucker
a second trump presidency is a literal nail in the coffin for black america and an existential threat to humanity as a whole.

it’s selfish and shortsighted to demand anything of her right now.

falling in line and voting is our only defense against trump.

the only thing i need from her is a win in november.

that’s it.

it’s not complicated.

:unimpressed:

SAY IT AGAIN FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK!!
 
Top