The Democratic Presidential candidate, Joe Bidden, has named California’s attorney general, Kamala Harris, as his nominee for Vice President. Ms Harris is the first woman of colour to have been considered for the position in the history of the United States. Before this only two other women, Sara Palin in 2008 by the Republican Party and Geraldine Ferraro by the Democrats in 1984, were chosen as a Presidential candidate’s running mate for a major American party. None of them belonged to any other ethnicity.
This is a historic pick as Senator Harris represents the inclusive and diverse character of the Democratic party. In the wake of the recent widespread anti-racial protests in America, her candidature is an important development in Biden’s campaign to restore a semblance of faith in the State amongst the infuriated populace. Her robust campaigning style comes as a breath of fresh air into Mr. Biden’s campaign. Her much popular debating skills can prove to work in her favour this time, though her charm fell flat in the bid to win the party’s presidential ticket last year.
Born to an Indian-origin mother and Jamaican-origin father, the Howard graduate Kamala Harris studied Law from the University of California. She went on to become the first woman of colour to be appointed as the highest law enforcement official, the attorney general, in America’s post populous state, California.
Last year, in an interview with the Washington Post, Ms. Harris pointed out that one’s ethnic affiliation should not matter in politics and any sort of compartmentalisation is uncalled for within such a framework. She said, “My point was: I am who I am. I’m good with it. You might need to figure it out, but I’m fine with it.”
She became California’s junior US senator from the Democratic party in 2017, becoming the second black woman to be elected to the respective chamber. Last year she launched her presidential campaign trail with much fervour but abruptly announced her withdrawal. Her politiking was much praised but lost traction after low polls last November and allied financial and funding constraints.
A ‘progressive prosecutor’, who is still actively striving police reforms even as cases of police brutality amplify, Ms Harris has gained a reputation of a pragmatic law enforcement official who questioned the status quo, refrained from subscribing to prevalent ideologies and nerve shirking from taking decision on controversial matters like death penalty and avoiding incarceration for paltry drug offenders.
In the recent protests, she walked shoulder to shoulder with the protesters and rallied for the establishment of lynching as a federal crime. Her bent towards flexible policies is in sync with Mr. Biden’s policy priorities. Ms Harris’s selection as the Vice President counterpart comes as a well thought out decision to influence moderate Black voters, graduate women and the sub-urban whites.
Ms. Biden was a close associate of Mr. Bisen’s late son, Beau, while serving as Calafornia’s attorney general. Reminiscing their yester alliance, Mr. Biden tweeted, “I watched as they took on the big banks, lifted up working people, and protected women and kids from abuse.” Former US President Barack Obama also welcomed Mr. Biden’s decision of choosing Ms. Harris for the number two spot and tweeted, “She is more than prepared for the job. She’s spent her career defending our Constitution and fighting for folks who need a fair state. This is a good day for our country. Now let’s go win this thing.”
On the other hand, the present president Mr. Donald Trump has mocked Mr. Biden’s decision as he tweeted, “”She did very, very poorly in the primaries, as you know, she was expected to do well and she ended up right around 2%. So I was a little surprised that he picked her.”
Labelling her as the “meanest senator”, he also added that “She was very disrespectful to Joe Biden and it’s hard to pick somebody that’s that disrespectful.” Trump’s allies also accused her of being too liberal and “just about the most liberal person in the U.S. Senate.” Tea Party Patriots Action called her “a reliable vote for higher taxes, bigger government, and less freedom for individuals.”
On October 7 this year, Ms Harris is set to debate Mr Trump’s running mate, in Salt Lake City, Utah and Mr Biden and President Donald Trump will face each other in the election on 3 November.
