It Happened so Quickly
I'm a little frustrated by how the Harris campaign stepped in as the Democratic nominee after Joe Biden decided against running in July of '24. There was little that was discussed among potential nominees, being the VP and having your President resign allowed her to slide into that position without any challengers. Hidden from the public was the strong possibility that Biden was eventually going to drop out -- an advantage to Harris. If Biden had decided not to run in January of '24, perhaps the dynamics would have been different – several other democratic candidates might have challenged her for the Democratic nomination.
If I were her, I'm thinking I'd like to get a consensus among the democratic consultants and leaders before taking that position. However, I'm not a politician who sometimes lies and stretches the truth to gain power. It was a natural move by her part, but I wonder if that sits well with a good portion of the electorate. Regardless, I'm glad she could launch her campaign without much angst from the Democratic party, which significantly facilitated this smooth transition. Because the process was relatively smooth, she gained much support and momentum, and her goal was to defeat Donald Trump. For the sake of democracy, we don't have much choice in the matter. Because it's a two-party system where one candidate appears to have suffered some mental and emotional decline, we vote for the best candidate even though these circumstances are not ideal.
JD (Just Deceive) Vance
Why does Vance keep calling the legal people in Ohio illegal? What's he aiming for? What's the purpose? It's certainly not the truth; I think for many MAGA folks, security trumps honesty. They may know it's not true, but this fear tactic may believe this could happen, and that's not something we want to America. MAGA folks know Trump regularly lies and stretches the truth but they still follow him without reservations. It's like those Trump folks like to believe what they want to believe as it makes them feel good. It also makes them feel good by owning the libs. I think many MAGA supporters like to piss off the libs and make them mad. In the meantime, more progressive politicians are correcting what is being said by MAGA candidates, and in the midst of this, Trump and Vance continue to lie or say things untrue, even after they've been corrected.
Why would Vance continue to say that Haitians are eating dogs and cats when he knows it not to be true? He's helping to divide the nation in the pursuit of being elected to be the VP. Truth be damned, it's about power and connections, and for some questionable politicians, it's whatever it takes to win. The Trump campaign has regularly said some outrageous and untruthful things, but even when corrected, they continue to say disparaging things to this immigrant group and to other minorities that, by luck, have a different hue of skin color.
Did Harris Flip-Flop on Fracking?
The potential consequences of Harris's stance on fracking are significant. It's a complex issue that could have a profound impact on our environment and economy. As politically engaged individuals, it's crucial that we understand and evaluate her position.
I wish Harris would be more open to the fact that she's evolved on specific issues. Let's take fracking; she was a few years ago and now she's not. Some cynical individuals may say she's for it because fracking is a significant livelihood for some living in Pennsylvania, and it's critical she wins that state to help secure the nomination. This change in stance on fracking could potentially alienate some voters in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state. Still, it's also possible that her evolving stance could be seen as a positive sign of adaptability and responsiveness to new information. Maybe she's being two-faced, we don't know. Regardless, it's not terrible that she's changed her mind. She may have learned about local energy sources and has changed her mind. There's a stigma around changing your mind about a particular issue. If you evolve and with additional information and education, you've changed your mind. If someone "flips" all the time about an issue, that's not necessarily evolving; that's just preaching to the choir without principles. But changing your mind about a problem can be good, especially if she can explain why she's changed.
Fear Sells (Ask Fox News)
The Harris campaign pushes for hope, optimism, and less anger and fear in our country. One individual who's a convicted felon claims the cities are on fire, crime is up a lot, and those open borders are destroying our country. Fear sells; ask Fox News. They are in a for-profit game, so the type of rhetoric and fear that's shown on Fox appears to have found a strong base in which to make money. If they switched now to a more balanced approach, those die-hard viewers may flee elsewhere, which would adversely affect Fox's bottom line. I know you need more than hope and optimism, but it appears this was a good place for the Harris campaign to start. Now that the campaign is less than two months away, it's time that she gets more specific with her policies.
Even someone not interested in politics or abortion knows where she stands on abortion – she never supported Roe vs. Wade to be overturned. There have been many unforeseen consequences of the Supreme Court ruling. Over the last few weeks, she's mentioned some economic proposals to help first-time home buyers, which was heavily scrutinized by the press, but she needs to press forward. We need to know more about the Middle East. Trump has clearly stated his position that over any dispute, we side with the Israelis. That won't change, but Harris appears to have a more nuanced approach, trying to include the Palestinians are part of the plan. Because of the complicated history of the Middle East, she needs to articulate her plan better. If innocent Palestinians continue to be killed as the Israeli army hunts Hamas in Gaza, will she support continued aid to Israel? Will there be conditions attached? Because her husband is Jewish and the powerful Jewish lobby in America, will she be more inclined to continue the Biden doctrine, a foreign policy approach that emphasizes diplomacy and multilateralism, or will she likely assert herself when dealing with Netanyahu, trying to reach a compromise that the involved parties accept? Is this region redeemable? Will there ever be peace there?
Is Trump Correct on Harris's Accomplishments?
During their only debate, Trump kept criticizing Harris for her lack of accomplishments while she served as Vice President. I think Trump said that because half the Americans would believe what he said about Harris. I'll be the first to admit that I don't know what she accomplished as "Border Czar," so she should probably explain her accomplishments in that space. She might be genuine and respected if she explained some of the reasons why she wasn't successful on this task.
With a critical thinking perspective, a voter should realize she was VP and had a limited amount of say in the Biden administration. Indeed, she was involved in foreign policy and domestic issue discussions, but ultimately, Joe had the last word. Can you imagine if Mike Pence ran for President and his opponent complained that he didn't accomplish much as VP in the Trump administration? I wonder how much Trump consulted Pence before making critical decisions. As President, Trump would never allow his VP make any decisions on his own, but he appears to imply that Harris should have done that. America, are we critically thinking about what Trump says or how he makes you feel?
Is Trump Correct? Has crime increased in 2023?
During many of his interviews and campaign rallies, Trump has stated many times that crime has risen dramatically under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris -- this rhetoric is central to his campaign on why he alone could fix the crime problem. A few days ago, the FBI released the official crime statistics comparing the crime rates from 2022 to 2023. According to the FBI, murder and non-negligent manslaughter fell by 11.6%, sexual assault by 9.4%. aggravated assault fell by 2.8%, robbery fell by 0.3%, and hate crimes fell by 0.6%. One might quibble with the fact that robbery and hate crimes only fell by a small percentage but overall, but murder and sexual assault crimes decreased by almost 10% or more. Indeed, we have a lot of work to continue to decrease crime, especially mass shootings, but overall, it's trending in the right direction and contrary to what Trump repeatedly says. Does it matter that Trump continues to lies about crime during the Biden administration? I just wonder how many of his followers have actually taken the time to research whether crime has been decreasing over the last year or two?
Political Thoughts on the Presidential Election Candidates
One last comment about the election. I see several signs recently near my house supporting Trump as President and then supporting the fact that Republicans are for "law and order." (See above photo). You can't have your cake and eat it too. Either you're supporting Trump (who is a convicted felon with several additional pending cases against this defendant) or you're for law and order. If you attempt to do both, you're either biased, uninformed or just don't care.
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