Kamala Harris Is Breaking Barriers. She Just Isn’t Talking About It.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/31/opinion/kamala-harris-gender.html

28 Comments

  1. SquattyLaHeron on

    “We’re only beginning to grapple with the audacity of what Kamala Harris is doing: She’s trying to take identity politics out of presidential politics.”

    Brava! My kids are biracial, identity politics is just an ugly place for them. They almost have to condemn half their ancestry. Better to get rid of it and just be ourselves.

  2. This is exactly what we need from our candidates
    Talk about issues that are relevant.

    The rest of the pieces will all fall together. Let history be made by itself, but do not force its hand.

    Hillary was all about her identity in 2016 and did not really touch on what she would do to change the politics and that’s what cost her the election in my opinion.

  3. This is the way to go. The best campaigns should be about the people not the candidate. In 2016 Trump at least pretended that the campaign was about the people. This election is a complete inversion of the 2016 election.

  4. code_archeologist on

    This is the Obama method. Do a bunch of stuff, break a bunch of barriers, and never talk about it in terms that explicitly identify it.

    Kind of like a story from a reporter on how one his middle class tax plans was also one of the most transformational anti-poverty policies since LBJ. And when the reporter pointed this out to Michelle Obama in an interview, she just put her finger to her lips in a shushing motion.

  5. That’s the trick that Obama taught us. You don’t have to talk about the things that shouldn’t be important. Stick to the issues.

  6. RepulsiveLoquat418 on

    i’m incredibly impressed with how well she is reading the room. she keeps focusing on what most people want to hear about, and keeps brushing off the constant distractions the media and trumpworld throw her way. it’s wonderful that she’s on the cusp of breaking the glass ceiling but that’s not why we want to vote for her, and she knows it.

  7. There you have it. Kamala is a vandal. She breaks stuff and tries to cover up her crimes. She isn’t any better than her skin color or gender would suggest (women are terrible drivers and often notice barriers only by the noise when they are crashing into them. Postmenopausals are the worst offenders).

  8. ImLikeReallySmart on

    Damn right. And I think the news media is pissed about it.

    It should be up to historians to take note of it, not herself nor the contemporary news media. Especially not before anything’s fully been achieved.

  9. I’m glad she handled that question about her identity Dana Bash tried to get her take the bait for. “Old and tired, next question” was a brilliant response.

  10. I’ve been so depressed this last year about politics and the debate was such a low point. The return of trump has felt inevitable. It will be extremely exhilarating to see someone so sharp and intelligent debating that old racist moron. She’s going to win and i think it won’t be close

  11. If she did all we would hear is that she is “playing the woman/black card” and identity politics now she’s just talking about her policies, it is not enough. It is ridiculous

  12. icouldusemorecoffee on

    The political press *loves* identity politics because it’s easy to report on it and it create a simple one side vs. the other side narrative. It’s an inherently lazy approach to journalism that does, literally, nothing to communicate to the public who would be a better President and how their policies would impact our lives. Identity politic is something created by the media, weaponized by the GOP, and perpetuated by lazy and unserious people in positions of influence.

    Harris is doing an excellent job so far pushing back on it by not giving it a lot of air. The current crop of media influencers, particularly at the corporate level, will continue to push identity politics because it’s all they know and creating narratives instead of communicating facts to the public is easier even though we deserve better. All attempts at identity politics should be met with loud pushback, directly at the persons pushing it and their superiors.

  13. Sure is, her numbers are beginning on the down slide. She is not capable of being president of anything.

  14. This is something I really like about Harris. While Hillary Clinton could not give a speech without saying “it’s time for a woman!”, Kamala Harris just focuses on her credentials and accomplishments. I’m glad to vote for a woman, but I want the fact that she is a woman to be a moot point in the face of the overwhelming support I feel for her policies.