Kamala Harris : dividing progressives

Populaire, mais pas totalement...

Deuxième femme noire de l'histoire à être entrée au Sénat et première femme de couleur à avoir été choisie pour seconder un candidat à la présidentielle, Kamala Harris défie tous les pronostics et représente pour beaucoup le nouveau visage du parti démocrate. Mais cette politicienne centriste ne fait pourtant pas l’unanimité. Certains auraient préféré un choix un peu plus risqué...

From the moment Bernie Sanders exited the presidential race in early April, many activists, organizers, progressive groups and elected officials had held out hope that Joe Biden would elevate one of their ideological allies to the vice presidency — someone like Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts or Rep. Karen Bass of California. Kamala Harris, an establishment-friendly senator from California and more of a moderate, was near the bottom of their list. 1. race course (à la présidence) / to held, hold, hold out hope nourrir l'espoir / ally allié; ici, candidat avec les mêmes opinions politiques / bottom bas. 2. So when Biden announced Tuesday that he had selected Harris as his running mate, his choice reaffirmed what many progressives had long feared: that any potential Biden administration would govern as the former vice president had spent most of his career — firmly rooted in Democratic establishment politics.

3. But rather than revolt, many progressive activists and elected officials immediately snuffed out their criticisms and instead proclaimed their support, applauding the selection and reiterating that removing President Donald Trump from office was their electoral priority. Even those prone to denouncing Biden and other moderates largely tried to make peace.

4. “At the end of the day, this isn’t some democratic decision,” said Evan Weber, the political director for the Sunrise Movement, the climate advocacy group, which endorsed Sanders in the primary. “This was always going to be a decision that was up to the vice president and a personal one of his.” 5. Larry Cohen, the chairman of the Sandersaligned group Our Revolution, described Harris as “extremely competent.” “She’s not Warren or Bass in terms of her background, but I don’t think it makes sense for us to criticize the reality,” he said.

(VICE-)PRESIDENT HARRIS?

6. The public declarations of enthusiasm for Harris underscore how delicately progressives are approaching this moment, as they try to balance their demands for change with the understanding that Democrats across the spectrum must remain united behind Biden to defeat Trump. They are also negotiating another political reality: that Harris could be the party’s face of the future, and crossing her now will have political consequences that did not exist at the week’s outset.

7. Unlike Biden, who became vice president after decades of establishing himself as a Washington

moderate with a talent for wheeling and dealing, Harris remains somewhat ideologically undefined. In treading lightly, some progressives are hoping that it allows them to make inroads in her circle of influence and create openings that may not exist with Biden.

8. “I don’t know that the left is more excited by the Harris-Biden ticket than they would’ve been otherwise,” Weber said. “But it’s clear that she’s to the left of Biden and she’s been more accountable to movements throughout her career.”

''BUT, AS A PROGRESSIVE...''

9. But while many groups and officials tended to toe the party line, others spoke more cautiously of their support. Cori Bush, a progressive activist who will almost certainly head to

Congress after unseating a House member in a Democratic primary this month in St. Louis, said she was “torn” about the selection of Harris. “I’m not going to tear down another woman of color,” Bush said. “But as a progressive, I have to stand with my progressive values.”

10. Bush acknowledged the magnitude of the moment, especially for older Black women who were excited to see — and vote for — another Black woman on a national ticket. But she also said that Harris’ rise to prominence discounted some historically marginalized communities. “I applaud her for the way that she has evolved, but people were hurt while she was figuring out how to evolve,” she said, referring to Harris’ oversight of the criminal justice system in California. “And we cannot forget that those people matter. I stand with them and want them to know I will represent them as hard as I can.”

11. In the months since Sanders dropped out of the race, effectively making Biden the nominee and starting the clock for the vice-presidential selection, progressives have had a string of victories further down the ballot. Challengers backed by groups like Sunrise and Justice Democrats won in New York and Illinois, including in some races against prominent House incumbents. Each member of the socalled Squad, the group of progressive women of color in the House who have at times rankled House leadership, secured reelection with comfortable margins. 12. This leftward shift could change the dynamics in Washington, said Mondaire Jones, a lawyer who won the primary in New York’s 17th Congressional District and is most likely headed to Capitol Hill in the fall. Jones praised Harris’ selection as historic, but suggested that liberals would continue to press their agenda.

13. “The left in recent years has never shied away from a fight with members of the Democratic Party, and I see no reason why we won’t flex our newfound muscle in a Biden-Harris administration,” Jones said. “Biden and Harris would be working with the most progressive Congress we’ve seen,” he said. “And I’m ready to make sure they’re sticking to their promises and will be part of the effort to push them to be more in line with progressive values.” to wheel and deal magouiller; ici, négocier des arrangements politiques / somewhat quelque peu / to tread, trod, trodden lightly avancer prudemment / to allow permettre / inroad incursion, percée, to make, made, made inroads rentrer.

8. otherwise ici, avec d'autres candidats / accountable loyal (ici, à ses idéaux politiques, aux mouvements qu'elle soutient) / throughout tout au long de.

9. to toe the party line s’aligner sur le parti, se conformer, obéir à la ligne du parti / cautiously prudemment, avec (beaucoup de) réserve / to head to ici, rejoindre / to unseat renverser, battre / House = House of Representatives, Chambre des représentants / to be torn être partagé, tiraillé / to tear, tore, torn down démolir; ici, dénigrer / to stand, stood, stood with ici, rester fidèle à.

10. to acknowledge reconnaître, admettre / magnitude importance / national ticket liste des candidats à la présidentielle / rise ascension / prominence notoriété, célébrité / to discount ici, mettre à l'écart / to hurt, hurt, hurt blesser / to figure out ici, chercher à / oversight supervision, contrôle / to matter compter, avoir de l’importance / to stand, stood, stood with ici, se tenir aux côtés de.

11. to drop out abandonner, renoncer à / nominee candidat / a string of une série de, plusieurs / further down au-delà de / ballot scrutin, élection, vote / challenger ici, candidat (opposant du parti au pouvoir) / to back soutenir / incumbent (député) sortant / so-called ici, fameux / to rankle ulcérer / to secure assurer, garantir.

12. leftward vers la gauche / shift revirement / lawyer juriste, avocat / likely probablement / fall = autumn (GB) / to praise saluer, applaudir / to press ici, faire valoir / agenda programme (politique).

13. to shy away from esquiver / to flex one’s muscle faire jouer ses muscles; ici, faire étalage de sa force / newfound nouveau / to stick, stuck, stuck to se conformer, rester fidèle à / to be in line with être en accord avec.