Opinion | A Hopeful Beginning

Yusuf Baqai, president of Chapman Democrats, junior political science major

Kamala Harris’ appointment as Joe Biden’s running mate is truly an astonishing feat for the Democratic Party. The United States has had a systemic problem of preventing people of color to reach high positions of power; although this move does not necessarily resolve that problem, it is still a step in the right direction. If elected, she will also be the first woman to be vice president, which will establish an important precedent for those running in the future. I believe California Sen. Harris is a strong choice since she is already breaking boundaries as the second African American and first Indian to serve in the U.S. Senate. This next step in her path of running as vice president poses a greater challenge, as she will be facing the entire U.S. population. However, given her career experiences, she is more than capable of facing this new path.

Harris has faced backlash, as many politicians do, and it is important to establish these issues as she needs to learn from these past mistakes. Otherwise, we as citizens cannot move forward. She has been criticized by many for her past as a prosecutor, district attorney and state attorney general before running for the U.S. Senate – specifically, she has been accused of harmful actions in these positions. Harris had created programs such as anti-truancy that threaten “the parents of students who skipped school with criminal charges, and various failures to hold police and prosecutors accountable for misconduct.” Clearly, these are problems that we should not ignore as they damage people’s lives.

Also, given that she is running as vice president, it is important to mention these issues as they could affect her decisions when elected if they go unnoticed. She needs to be held accountable and learn from these past mistakes; otherwise, she cannot honestly say that she in fact represents everyone. Yet Harris has also achieved some beneficial acts during her past as attorney general, such as creating Open Justice, a database that improves cop accountability. She has also addressed this issue as senator and, according to the Los Angeles Times, she is currently supporting a bill that will have reforms such as “making it easier to sue police officers for misconduct in civil court” and to prohibit the use of chokeholds. 

The reforms in this bill present good changes based on her past critiques, and they address police brutality, an issue impacting the United States throughout history. This bill is just the beginning, however, as Harris has more work to do if she wants to adequately address police brutality and many other issues. Hopefully, with continued support from the Democratic Party members, these reforms persist with this trend. In turn, she will make a good running mate for Biden that will work to represent everyone in the United States.