Colour, gender and Silicon: Why Kamala sits well with a cup of Joe
KAMALA HARRIS IS THE LATEST EXAMPLE OF ‘BAY AREA LIBERALISM’. ARISING OUT OF SAN FRANCISCOSILICON VALLEY, THESE DEMOCRATS MIX ARDENT IDENTITY AND GREEN ACTIVISM WITH A BELIEF IN TECHNOLOGY AND BUSINESS
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden received $10.8 million of campaign donations in the four hours after he announced Kamala Harris as his running mate - four times more than normal. Biden will see this as a sign that he and Harris, the first Indianamerican and first black American woman to achieve such political prominence, will be greater than the sum of their parts. President Donald Trump is already tweeting hard to ensure Harris becomes a liability and undermines Biden’s 10-point lead in the polls.
That Harris is black, Asian, and a woman, weighed heavily on Biden’s decision. He had promised to have a woman vice-president. He wanted to thank blacks for saving his candidacy. Her Indian background was arguably the least important factor in his choice.
The choice of Harris is still more than just genes and gender. Biden says he will be a “transition” and “bridge” president, indicating he won’t run for a second term. His vice-president will be frontrunner for the Democratic presidential candidacy in 2024. And being 77 years old, he wanted a running mate who had gone through the US election grinder, sought to be president, and had shown the steel to take on the Republican troll army.
Harris alone fit the bill.
Kamala Harris is the latest example of “Bay Area liberalism”. Arising out of San Francisco-silicon Valley, these Democrats mix ardent identity and green activism with a belief in technology and business. Their clarion calls are climate and data, gay rights and internet rights. In Washington, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Harris are the most prominent representatives. Harris on the ticket complements Biden’s more traditional base of East Coast liberals and union workers. These origins are also why one does not hear Harris talk of breaking up Big Tech and imposing a wealth tax. Politico.com argues that since San Francisco politics is blue vs blue it encourages politicians good at bridging ideological divisions. Harris “has demonstrated an ability to appeal to liberal voting blocs…without alienating moderate allies.” This would appeal to Biden who sees his main task as healing the social wounds left by Trump.
Silicon pragmatism explains Harris’s record of “talk left, walk right” on many liberal issues. When seeking election as attorney general, she campaigned on criminal justice reform for minorities but once in office she made concessions to the police unions. As an Oval Office candidate, she signed up for nationalised health care but her platform supported a mix of public and private. As a senator, she scored close to socialist Bernie Sanders in sponsoring leftist legislation. But Harris never did the legwork to get any of the bills passed. Trump is already trying to turn Democrats against her, calling her “Phoney Kamala.” Biden, however, sees this as common sense politics. He has to win a lot of right-leaning independent voters to win. After he wins, he may have to work with a Republican Congress. A pragmatic vice-president is what he wants.
How would a Vice-president Harris look at a Narendra Modi government?
After India ended Kashmir’s special status, she reportedly said in a fund-raiser: “We are keeping track of the situation. There is a need to intervene if the situation demands.” However, the source is a single Pakistani television station. She declared support for another Indianamerican lawmaker, Pramila Jayapal, who was rebuffed by Indian foreign minister S. Jaishankar for trying to score points with the Kashmir issue. Yet Harris has never taken any concrete moves against New Delhi and, as a candidate, her formal policy statements were silent on Modi. One can only surmise that a Bay Area politician would find resonance with the Indian Prime Minister’s digital focus, climate commitment, and actions on transgender rights.
Harris, who was largely raised by her Tamil mother, has stayed close to her relatives in Chennai, and visits them almost every year. Her personal motto, adopted from her mother, is, “You may be the first, but make sure you’re not the last.” As US vice-presidential candidate she has already fulfilled the latter half of the motto. Come November, she may accomplish the earlier part as well.