webfact Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Democratic U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris jumps into 2020 White House race By John Whitesides and Amanda Becker Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) speaks to the media after announcing she will run for president of the United States at Howard University in Washington, U.S., January 21, 2019.REUTERS/Joshua Roberts WASHINGTON (Reuters) - First-term Democratic Senator Kamala Harris of California, a rising party star and outspoken critic of President Donald Trump's immigration policies, launched her 2020 campaign for the White House on Monday by touting her experience as a prosecutor. Harris, 54, the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, enters the race with the potential advantage of being the Democratic candidate who looks most like the party's increasingly diverse base of young, female and minority voters. "This is a moment in time that I feel a sense of responsibility to stand up and fight for the best of who we are," Harris said on ABC's "Good Morning America" in announcing her candidacy. Harris, who made history in 2016 as the first black woman elected to the U.S. Senate from California, timed her announcement for the U.S. Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday honouring the slain civil rights leader. She said he was an aspirational leader. "We are the best of who we are when we fight to achieve these ideals," she said on ABC. Harris, a former California state attorney general, has become popular with liberal activists for her tough questioning of Trump administration appointees and officials, including Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, during Senate hearings. Harris' campaign will focus on reducing the high cost of living with a middle-class tax credit, pursuing immigration and criminal justice changes and a Medicare-for-all healthcare system, aides said. She has said she will reject corporate political action committee donations. Harris joins what is expected to be a crowded field to challenge Trump, the likely Republican candidate, in 2020. A half-dozen Democrats have taken steps to run and four of them - Harris, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand and U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard - are women. There are more than a dozen other potential Democratic candidates, and CNN reported former Starbucks chief Howard Schultz is exploring an independent candidacy. "This is a robust signal of who we are as a democracy and everyone should run who is thinking of running,"Harris told reporters in Washington after her announcement. In the first 30 minutes after entering the race, Harris received individual online contributions from all 50 states, spokesman Ian Sams said on Twitter. Her slogan will be "For the People," in a nod to Harris' roots as a prosecutor, aides said. As one of the earliest congressional critics of Trump's immigration policies, Harris has pushed hard for a deal to protect from deportation those immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children, a group known as Dreamers. BEST CHALLENGER? Harris and other Democrats will have to navigate the party's debate about whether an establishment figure who can appeal to centrist voters or a fresh face who can energise its increasingly diverse and progressive base offers the best chance to beat Trump in 2020. The Republican National Committee criticized Harris as "the least vetted" of the Democratic candidates, calling her unqualified and out of touch. "All she has to show for her brief time in the Senate is a radically liberal voting record," RNC spokesman Michael Ahrens said in a statement. Harris has embraced the party's diversity ahead of a Democratic nominating campaign where minority voters and liberal activists are expected to have a loud voice. The former San Francisco prosecutor drew notice when her rapid-fire grilling of Sessions during a 2017 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing caused him to complain that "it makes me nervous." In September, she was among a handful of Democrats who aggressively questioned Kavanaugh at his Supreme Court confirmation hearing about his views on abortion and on the special counsel investigation of potential Russian meddling in the 2016 election. In the Senate, she has introduced a bill to give lower-income families cash payments and tax credits to help battle wage stagnation and rising housing costs, and has been a strong advocate of criminal justice reforms. Harris started a book tour in early January to promote a memoir, making a series of media appearances that boosted her visibility ahead of her campaign announcement. Her campaign could be aided by the schedule for the state-by-state party nominating process that is scheduled to begin in February 2020. The kickoff state of Iowa has a strong base of liberal activists and the race will move quickly to more diverse states such as Nevada and South Carolina. Harris' home state of California also has moved up its primary to increase its influence. Political foes will pore over Harris' record in California, where some activists questioned whether she should have pushed harder for changes to the criminal justice system. She also has come under scrutiny for declining as attorney general to prosecute OneWest, the bank once headed by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, for alleged foreclosure violations. Harris, who voted against Mnuchin's confirmation as Treasury secretary, has said she "followed the facts" in declining to prosecute. She also has been criticized for saying she was not aware of sexual harassment allegations against one of her top aides, who resigned in December after a California newspaper asked him about a 2016 harassment lawsuit. Xavier Becerra, who replaced Harris as attorney general, settled the lawsuit in May 2017 for $400,000. (Reporting by John Whitesides and Amanda Becker; Additional reporting by Ginger Gibson and Jonathan Allen; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Bill Trott) -- © Copyright Reuters 2019-01-2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckamuck Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 The Republicans will be pleased to see her nominated. Her or Ocrazio Cortez. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chomper Higgot Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 10 minutes ago, canuckamuck said: The Republicans will be pleased to see her nominated. Her or Ocrazio Cortez. The Republicans have other problems they need to concern themselves with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirineou Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 31 minutes ago, canuckamuck said: The Republicans will be pleased to see her nominated. Her or Ocrazio Cortez. The Republicans should be more concerned about being Republicans and less concerned about who the Democrats nominate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckamuck Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 10 minutes ago, sirineou said: The Republicans should be more concerned about being Republicans and less concerned about who the Democrats nominate. Isn't it the land of the free anymore? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorG Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 At the very least it will be fun to watch the circus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirineou Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 Just now, canuckamuck said: Isn't it the land of the free anymore? was it ever? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopDeadSenter Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 31 minutes ago, sirineou said: The Republicans should be more concerned about being Republicans and less concerned about who the Democrats nominate. A somewhat ironic statement after 2 years of meltdowns and temper tantrums from the never-trumpers aka democrat party and their fans, don't you think? It is the duty of the Republican party to analyze every dem candidate and find their Achilles heel to work on. Harris will not be a difficult target thanks to her history. Warren has already been binned thanks to lying about her Native American heritage and been proved to have used this to further her career. Cortez disqualifies herself every time she opens her mouth. Her "run train" aka Gang bang being the latest faux-pas. Most dems are already jokes thanks to Trump having given them hilarious nicknames, Cryin', Crazy, Lyin', Crooked et al. 2020 will be a fun election. It's Trumps for the taking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckamuck Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 24 minutes ago, sirineou said: was it ever? Within the arena of choosing between the parties it was. But obvious the big picture is a different story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirineou Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 1 minute ago, TopDeadSenter said: A somewhat ironic statement after 2 years of meltdowns and temper tantrums from the never-trumpers aka democrat party and their fans, don't you think? Yes indeed , it was the democratic party throwing temper tantrums. Good thing you guys have a cool collected stable genius as your leader. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lannarebirth Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 1 hour ago, sirineou said: The Republicans should be more concerned about being Republicans and less concerned about who the Democrats nominate. Not a fan of Kamala-Harris but at least the Democrats have stopped being Republicans for the most part, until Biden enters the race. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 She is a formidable candidate.Not my current favorite but all democrats, independents, and non "trump" infected republicans should be able to support her if nominated. It's great that so many strong qualified women are contenders. It does feel after the democratic women wave midterms that the next president will likely be one of them. The young woman from the Bronx is not running. Don't dignify trollish comments suggesting that she is. Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirineou Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 38 minutes ago, canuckamuck said: Within the arena of choosing between the parties it was. But obvious the big picture is a different story. What constitutes a political party is a set of shared values. Are Trump's values the same as the Republican party's? So do you stick to your shared values or do you stick with the one who brings you to the dance? The first constitutes a political party the second is just a weather vane pointing whichever way the wind blows. So I say again, instead of worrying about who the Democrats nominate, they should worry more about whom they nominate for their leader. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tug Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 She is sooo much better than trump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirineou Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 1 minute ago, Tug said: She is sooo much better than trump Who isn't? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcambl61 Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 and yet another identity politics stooge that must race to appease the loony progressive far left to pretend that she cares. the mass of politically correct left wingers trying to out do each other will be hilarious to watch how much they compete to raise taxes, massively increase spending and put on a silly facade to show how they believe in the vacuous insanity of made up progressive terms like intersectionality, gender fluid, rape culture, toxic masculinity and white privilege. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcambl61 Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 1 hour ago, Jingthing said: strong qualified women are contenders qualified how precisely? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolboy Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 Just now, mcambl61 said: the mass of politically correct left wingers trying to out do each other will be hilarious to watch how much they compete to raise taxes, massively increase spending and put on a silly facade to show Whereas the Republicans slash taxes and massively increase spending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolboy Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 Just now, mcambl61 said: qualified how precisely? Some might see irony in a die-hard Trump supporter questioning another candidates qualifications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norfolkc Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 This girl has to many skeletons in the closet Trumps people will be rubbing there hands at this one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolboy Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 6 minutes ago, norfolkc said: This girl has to many skeletons in the closet Trumps people will be rubbing there hands at this one This from someone who calls a 54 year old woman a "girl". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 1 hour ago, bristolboy said: Some might see irony in a die-hard Trump supporter questioning another candidates qualifications. Enough irony to drown an elephant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lannarebirth Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 2 hours ago, Jingthing said: She is a formidable candidate. Not my current favorite but all democrats, independents, and non "trump" infected republicans should be able to support her if nominated. It's great that so many strong qualified women are contenders. It does feel after the democratic women wave midterms that the next president will likely be one of them. Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app Yeah, yeah. Let's see who's funding them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 1 hour ago, norfolkc said: This girl has to many skeletons in the closet Trumps people will be rubbing there hands at this one I'm not really up on her full history but see that she is positioning herself policy-wise as a progressive which is clearly where the democratic party is at now. The problem she has which is out there in the media is her history as a prosecutor that including policies that can fairly be seen as way too right wing for progressives to be comfortable with. All candidates have problems of some kind to overcome. There is no perfect candidate for all constituencies ever. I see that problem as something a skilled politician can overcome. I'm less confident that Warren can ever overcome her embarrassing background with Native American identity claims. Funny that Harris actually does have a very valid claim to an Indian background. OK, different kind. To add a history as a prosecutor can be spun as a big plus for a woman democratic candidate as well. Often misogynists think women can't be strong enough to be the president. A prosecutor is a hard core job. It also used to be Amy Klobuchar's job and I'm not aware that she has the same right wing baggage in that job as Harris does. Still, if I was betting money right now, I see Harris as one of the most likely or the most likely democratic contenders to be nominated, and I also think she can beat "trump" as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcambl61 Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 9 minutes ago, Jingthing said: 1 hour ago, bristolboy said: Some might see irony in a die-hard Trump supporter questioning another candidates qualifications. Enough irony to drown an elephant! Edited 8 minutes ago by Jingthing so no qualifications then? or is it just a liberal progressive agenda that is enough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lannarebirth Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 8 minutes ago, Jingthing said: I'm not really up on her full history but see that she is positioning herself policy-wise as a progressive which is clearly where the democratic party is at now. The problem she has which is out there in the media is her history as a prosecutor that including policies that can fairly be seen as way too right wing for progressives to be comfortable with. All candidates have problems of some kind to overcome. There is no perfect candidate for all constituencies ever. I see that problem as something a skilled politician can overcome. I'm less confident that Warren can ever overcome her embarrassing background with Native American identity claims. Funny that Harris actually does have a very valid claim to an Indian background. OK, different kind. To add a history as a prosecutor can be spun as a big plus for a woman democratic candidate as well. Often misogynists think women can't be strong enough to be the president. A prosecutor is a hard core job. It also used to be Amy Klobuchar's job and I'm not aware that she has the same right wing baggage in that job as Harris does. Still, if I was betting money right now, I see Harris as one of the most likely or the most likely democratic contenders to be nominated, and I also think she can beat "trump" as well. Are there really no Californians on this board? She's the cute chick in the prosecutor's office that caught Willie Brown's eye. She benefitted greatly as his mistress as did the one's before her and afterwards. Wille knows how to dole out the patronage. and get his mistress salaried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spidey Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 28 minutes ago, lannarebirth said: Yeah, yeah. Let's see who's funding them. Bet it's not the Russians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorecard Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 4 hours ago, canuckamuck said: Isn't it the land of the free anymore? Nobody said it isn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedro01 Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 I presume she considers herself a 'firebrand' - she's just outright rude here as she was in her questions to Kavanaugh. She'll find this doesn't work well against her fellow Democrats who will have her ousted early on. She'll never be in a race against Trump because she won't win a race against her fellow Dems. The massive chip she's carrying on her shoulder will see to that. I find Warren a much more suitable and likeable candidate. I thought the vid of her chugging a beer with hubby was cool. She has the 'auntie quality' she could certainly use against Trump. Nobody wants to see their Auntie getting beat up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riclag Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 6 hours ago, webfact said: Harris, a former California state attorney general, has become popular with liberal activists for her tough questioning of Trump administration appointees and officials, including Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, during Senate hearings. Just what America needs,another liberal activist that started her political career as a DA in San Francisco! "As a woman of color, she embodies two key Democratic constituencies, and she is beloved by the wing of the party that broke for Hillary Clinton. But among those on the far left, including many die-hard Bernie Sanders supporters, she’s an object of disdain, a Hillary-bot with weak progressive credentials. While that segment of the left might oppose anyone who isn’t one particular septuagenarian, the Week summed up this critique when it slammed Harris for her “rather Hillary Clinton-esque tendency to say the right thing but not follow through.” https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/01/the-secret-to-understanding-kamala-harris/ "Not follow through"-In other words a Politician Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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