Meet the Candidate
Let's Give Her a Hand
I think a lot of us were so focused on Biden that we hardly gave Kamala Harris a thought. But now we need to get to know her.
I’m sure you haven’t missed the phenomenal wave of enthusiasm for Kamala. But let’s not get cocky. It’s up to us to keep it going for a hundred days and more.
It’s so heartening to see all the progressive organizations like Indivisible, Swing Left, and the youth-powered March for Our Lives lining up to support Harris—and, man, they’re organized. They have a wealth of suggestions for action you can take. You can even order a Kamala cut-out and get it reimbursed from Indivisible using this link. They suggest:
Rallies or honk-n-waves (invite the media)
Tabling events in high traffic areas to register voters—make sure it’s a blue area
Direct voter contact—talk, talk, talk to friends, family, and neighbors
Another helpful thing to do is to write a good old-fashioned Letter to the Editor about why you're excited to elect Kamala Harris. Letters to the Editor may seem out-of-date, but they tend to reach older, more conservative voters who read their news on paper instead of on-screen. And that’s one of the audiences—the undecided swing voters—that we need to reach. Or does your organization, charity, or book group have a newsletter you could write a letter or short article for?
Want to join the twenty-first century and post on social media? Here’s a whole library of copy-right free images of Harris that you can use.
And another one, with video clips of her speaking.
My favorite video on the Internet right now is of her politely inquiring of Brett Kavanaugh if he knows of any laws that permit the government to control the male body. (He asks her to repeat the question, then mumbles sulkily that, well, he can’t think of any right now.)
We know she’s a strong voice on reproductive rights. But what about Republicans’ favorite refrain, the so-called carnage and crisis at the border?
A progressive organization called AOS Communications has put out an excellent summation of her positions. It’s sort of a Field Guide to Kamala Harris. Here’s an excerpt:
“Why does the right say she’s to blame for the border crisis?
• The president and vice president inherited a humanitarian disaster born of the death and deprivation brought on by the global pandemic, exacerbated by the former president’s horrific policies forcing young children to fend for themselves, separated in violation of decency and basic rights from their parents.
• Kamala Harris was never titled the Border Czar—that’s made up by the GOP. She was put in charge of one very specific aspect of migration: coordinating diplomatic relations with our southern neighbors in order to address the root causes that force people to flee their homes.
• Coming into this in the midst of the still raging pandemic, Harris met with leaders and worked out a plan that has decreased migration while preserving human rights.”
And this is a really interesting article from Jay Kuo on the likely routes that the GOP will take to attack her, going low and despicable as always.
I was all for Biden, and I greatly respect his decision to step down. But now I’m excited as I haven’t been in a long time to get behind a new, younger candidate.
Forgive me if I get sentimental, but I will leave you with one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite singers, Harry Chapin. Gone from us far too soon, he cared passionately about making the world a better place, and was especially committed to fighting world hunger. He would have voted for Kamala—heck, he’d be doing a fund-raiser for her right now. His words make me remember the past and look to the future. (I know she’s not 17, but she looks like it next to her opponent.)
She has no fear of failure
She's not bent with broken dreams
For the future's just beginning
When you're always seventeen
It was 1961 when we went to Washington
She put her arms around me and said, "Camelot's begun"
We listened to his visions of how our land should be
We gave him our hearts and minds to send across the sea
1963, white and black upon the land
She brought me to the monuments and made us all join hands
And scarcely six months later she held me through the night
When we heard of what had happened in that brutal Dallas light
Oh, she is always seventeen
She has a dream that she will lend us
And a love that we can borrow
There is so much joy inside her
She will even share our sorrow
She's our past, our present
And our promise of tomorrow
Oh, truly she's the only hope I've seen
And she is always seventeen
It was 1965 and we were marching once more
From the burning cities against a crazy war
Memphis, L.A. and Chicago, we bled through '68
'Til she took me up to Woodstock saying with love it's not too late
We started out the seventies living off the land
She was sowing seeds in Denver trying to make me understand
That mankind is woman and woman is man
And until we free each other we cannot free the land
Oh, she is always seventeen
She has a dream that she will lend us
And a love that we can borrow
There is so much joy inside her
She will even share our sorrow
She's our past, our present
And our promise of tomorrow
Oh, truly she's the only hope I've seen
And she is always seventeen
Listen to Harry Chapin’s powerful song here: She Is Always Seventeen (Live) (1975) (youtube.com)
Dear Friends,
Are you worried about the election of 2024 and wondering what to do about it? I hope you’ll continue to check out The Optimistic Activist.
Every week I post some ideas for doing something. How to get out the vote, spread the word, and support progressive candidates. Ideas for simple but effective activism. As easy, as practical, as do-able as I can make them.
Together, I think, we could really make a difference.
“Optimism is a strategy for making a better future.”