The case for Kamala Harris

See Disclaimer.

Donald Trump is unfit to be President. We have known this for years. He does not pass basic tests of decency, integrity, empathy, knowledge, or even clarity of mind and common sense. People who worked under him in the White House confirm that. Staunch conservatives warn us about that. National security experts from both parties jointly make that clear to us. The irony of a court-convicted sexual abuser (civil case) and felon (criminal case) offering to protect women and guarantee law and order, should be a clue too.

We ignore all these warnings at our own peril—and to the peril of Democracy and of a sustainable US, Earth and Humanity. The way to address these perils and strengthen our Democracy is to vote for Kamala Harris in November. No matter our policy preferences or political affiliation. No matter our reservations on the current two-party system. No matter our concerns (some founded, others perceived) of specific national and global decisions of the Biden-Harris Administration.

As much as it is needed and essential, voting for someone (Harris) just to avoid someone else (Trump) being elected is hard and unsatisfying. It thus matters to realize that Harris is not ‘the lesser of two evils.’ She is human, thus imperfect. But she is also, unexpectedly to many of us, the right candidate at the right time.

In the 2020 primaries, her candidacy flopped—and rightly so: She was not ready. Biden’s choice of her as VP was controversial, and for some—who ignored her credentials—clouded by his early promise to choose a black woman for the position. Her tenure as VP was criticized for what some perceived—ignoring the understudy role typical of the position—as an overly discreet performance. Clearly, Biden knew better.

Harris handled the country and party’s crisis of confidence on Biden’s fitness for a second term with loyalty and dignity. Yet, she was ready when Biden chose to terminate his candidacy and endorse her for the Democratic party’s nomination. In an amazing display of political skill, she unified the Democratic party and led it to an energizing Convention, where she was genuinely supported by a wide-ranging coalition.

A party fast moving towards self-implosion became, in just a few short weeks, a political force to reckon with—bringing new hope for country and Democracy. This was done strategically and thoughtfully, with both strength and grace. No heads rolled, different opinions were heard and respected, unification and healing occurred within and even (modestly but meaningfully) beyond the party. A healthy and optimistic process, contrasting with the doom and gloom that has come to characterize our political mood in the Trump and post-Trump eras.  

Granted, Harris benefits from a Biden presidency that—despite some failures and the President’s recent aging-related decline—has had enormous foundational achievements. Achievements that include but are not limited to infrastructure, health care, immigration, law and order, and the soft landing of an economy left in crisis by the pandemic and (in select areas) the Trump administration. Achievements that often go misrepresented or unacknowledged but that will serve us well for decades to come—if we take advantage of them.

It is in part on the strength of those foundational achievements that Harris can dream big on our behalf, and very specifically on behalf of the middle class. A middle class that, as she rightly recognizes, is the engine of our national strength. A middle class that has been shrinking rather than expanding, but that could now be given the opportunity to re-emerge, catalyzed and supported. A re-emergence that is key to a brighter and fairer future, consistent with a new American Dream tailored to health and wealth today while also enabling long-term collaborative sustainability for earth, country and humanity.

If elected, Harris will face a country in recovery and a world in crisis. A country and world requiring leaders who are guided by sound principles, who understand the complexity of the problems we face nationally and globally, and who are willing to strategically experiment and adapt realistic (but out-of-the-box, where needed) solutions. We shouldn’t ask Harris for rigid positions on how to solve problems: Rigidity will fail. We should ask that she remains true to her instinct to seek solutions through data, logic, strength, empathy, objective assessments and principled flexibility.

We are not in a game of political ‘gotcha.’ We are in a defining moment on who we will be as people and Americans. Harris’ policy positions matter, and we should hear them from her (and are, at a level not heard from or demanded of Trump). But far more than specific policies (I agree with many, disagree with some), what impresses me in Harris is her refreshing thought process. That process includes her acknowledgement that the optimal is enemy of the good and the ideal enemy of the possible. It includes her realizing that both ends and means matter, as we seek solutions for vexing problems, some of which cannot be fixed without the benefit of time.

Most of all, Harris understands that the future is chartered by and for all of us. Working together—in spite and because of our differences—matters, whether the differences are political, or based on race, gender, or so many other distinguishing (if we insist on making them so) features.

Political leaders (and Presidents!) are needed but they are not an end in themselves. They should serve more than be served. And they must step aside peacefully and constructively when their term ends or is terminated by the voters. On this base alone, Harris would be my clear choice for President. But it fills me with great hope that she brings so much more to the position—including an infectious optimism, sound principles and knowledge grounded on a lifelong of public service, a ‘can do’ pragmatic attitude, and a clear-eyed understanding of the complexities of the challenges ahead.

Please join me in voting for Harris on November 5^th, 2024!

— Antonio Baptista