Opinion | Kamala: the worst choice for Biden may have cost Democrats the election

Diana Abyad, member of Chapman Republicans, senior accounting major

California Sen. Kamala Harris served as district attorney of San Francisco from 2004 to 2011 and attorney general from 2011 to 2017, and is currently a U.S. senator and now Joe Biden’s vice president.  

It is evident that Biden is a weak link for the Democratic Party. He is unpopular among younger voters due to his perceived lack of progressiveness. To begin with, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, also known simply as the “1994 crime bill,” was a disaster Biden helped write, as it was one of the key contributors to mass incarceration. He is also known for touching women and young children inappropriately. He has embarrassed himself numerous times on national television, making racially charged statements such as: “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t Black,” the conclusively false statement that “we have over 120 million dead from COVID” and the laughable moment where he misquoted the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident. All men and women are created, by the, you know, you know the thing.” He has not held a rally, nor can he even form correct sentences. It is evident he will not be able to debate President Donald Trump, who is a strong, witty speaker. With that being said, the Democrats needed to pick a strong vice president to overcompensate for their weak presidential candidate.

Personally, I thought the Democrats would pick a candidate in a swing state, someone uncontroversial so the Democrats could try and get the votes of the moderate-left and the moderate-right who find Trump rather unsavory. I assumed Biden would select someone like Florida Rep. Val Demings of the 10th Congressional District. Florida is a swing state, which is critical for Biden to win if he hopes to win the presidency. Early in her career, Demings worked as a social worker to protect foster children and then worked with the police force. She certainly has a cleaner record, has made tangible and effective change and lived in a state that could help Biden win, but the Democratic National Committee selected Harris.

Harris was the worst choice for the Democratic Party. First, Biden is already going to win California since it is a blue state, and has been for decades. Second, Harris has a horrible record as a prosecutor. She did not release people who were convicted of low drug crimes even though she had the option, such as marijuana possession, and wrongfully convicted people leading them to be kept behind bars. Kevin Cooper, for example, is on death row, a situation in which Harris had the power to change the outcome by asking for DNA testing, but the State of California has refused.

Thus, the policies that she advocated for as attorney general in California are a part of the mass incarceration that she and other Democrats tend to be extremely outspoken against. These policies have affected poorer communities, particularly communities of color, but Harris did not seem to care. She even laughed when claiming she smoked marijuana, after sending over 1500 people to prison for the exact same action. In January 2019, actor Jussie Smollett faked a hate crime against himself, after which Harris tweeted, “He is one of the kindest, most gentle human beings … this was an attempted modern day lynching. No one should have to fear for their life because of their sexuality or color of their skin.” Despite there being a confirmation that Smollett lied, Harris did not retract her statement from Twitter. 

During the Brett Kavanaugh trials, she ensured that Dr. Christine Blasey Ford was heard, and frequently spoke out in support of her providing her testimony. Now however, Harris is silent not only about Tara Reade’s accusation, but the accusations of other women who have spoken out against Biden’s inappropriate conduct with women. It seems rather odd that her silence coincides with her transition from campaigning for president to campaigning for vice president, a move which evidently worked in her favor.

I cannot think of a worse possible candidate than Harris. She is not a popular politician, even within her own party. Especially today with the Black Lives Matter movement so prevalent, her beliefs and actions as chief prosecutor for the State of California do not represent or align with that movement, which she so strongly claims to support. I firmly believe that the choice of having Harris on the ticket with Biden will cost the Democrats this election, and that Trump will win come November.