DrBanneker
Space is the Place
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
?
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.
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
? 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.
In
