Kamala Harris Announces Candidacy for President

On January 10, I noted that Senator Kamala Harris was reportedly close to making a decision about whether to run for president in 2020, and yesterday she made it official. In a piece published at Medium, she wrote:

I want to be clear: ours will not be a campaign against our current president. It will be a campaign FOR the very future of our country. FOR the people.

Together, we will fight FOR a country with strong public schools in every zip code. A country where one job is enough to pay the bills. A country with full, universal health care for every single American.

Together, we will fight FOR a country where getting a college education doesn't mean taking on a lifetime of debt. Where middle-class and working families are prioritized with tax breaks, not corporations or the wealthiest 1%. Where every single person can retire with dignity. Where every single person can breathe clean air and drink clean water. Where black women aren't three to four times more likely to die in childbirth than white women. A country where for-profit prison businesses — a billion-dollar industry — are a thing of the past. We're going to fight FOR an America where all our civil rights are respected.

We're going to seek truth and speak truth. That's my promise to you.

Ours is a fight born of optimism — of the promise of what our country can become if we unite behind a common cause. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to earn your vote and — most importantly — your trust.

Let's do this,
Kamala Harris

Because Harris is the former Attorney General for California, many of the decisions made by the AG's office during her tenure are being scrutinized, the most contentious of which so far has been her position on healthcare access for incarcerated trans people. She is addressing that straightforwardly, and, although not everyone will be satisfied with her answers, it's good that she isn't trying to hide from it. As I've previously noted many times, a willingness to progress is an important quality in progressive leaders.

When Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced that she is running, I wrote: Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden have both been using that old line about how they'll only run if they think no one better positioned to defeat Trump runs. As the women throw their hats into the ring, do those dudes really want to join the fray on a message that they think none of the women can win? Maybe just sit this one out, fellas.

There are now three female Senators officially running: Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Elizabeth Warren. I certainly hope that Sanders and Biden are paying attention.

Anyway. Congratulations to Senator Harris on her shiny new campaign! I already regret the ugly misogynoir she'll be obliged to navigate and respect her for having the gumption and patriotism to do it.