By Shibi Prabhakar a student submission
As the midterm elections just ended, the next big race to focus on is the Presidential election in 2024. Everyone is wondering who it will be in 2024. I believe the best and most qualified candidate would be Vice President Kamala Harris.
As a political science student and as a fellow South Asian American, I feel so proud when I see Harris on the stage representing us as a country and representing people like me.
Harris began her career as a prosecutor in the 90s and was a prosecutor in San Francisco by 2003. Elected attorney general of California in 2011. She then went on to be elected to the U.S. Senate in 2017 and, in 2020, was asked to be the vice-presidential candidate for Joe Biden’s presidential ticket.
Harris has been the first Black and South Asian woman in every office she has held.
I feel people have not realized all her accomplishments and the magnitude of her representation.
Harris has never been afraid to put her voice out there and be considered controversial. For example, when David Hill killed officer Isaac Espinoza, she stood up against the death penalty.
Plus she defended same-sex marriage even when it was not considered a widespread political issue. Harris has also been a part of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), protecting and defending the rights of LGBTQ Americans.
When looking at her policy, she has significantly impacted the government on a local and national level. As an attorney general, she created the “Back on Track Program” to help people with drug convictions to have a fresh start by earning their GED and participating in the community. This program has been an enormous success.
During the mortgage crisis, according to Reuters, Harris got $20 billion from big bank corporations for homeowners, which helped around 150,000 homeowners.
As a senator, according to ProPublica, Harris sponsored 52 bills from the 2017-2018 term and 80 bills in the 2019-2020 term, which is a total of 132 bills in four years tackling different political issues from LGBTQ equality, climate change, women’s rights, and so much more. So, to anybody that says Harris has not done anything in the Senate, she has done plenty.
She is absolutely a force to be reckoned with. I still remember when she was questioning now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearings, asking him, “can you think of any laws that give the government the power to make decisions about the male body?” And Kavanaugh didn’t have an answer. That’s the Harris that I know and love.
Nowadays, people say they do not see much about her and do not know what she does as the vice president. The truth is that a person who follows her social media will know that she is meeting different world leaders and strengthening our country’s relationships with them.
During midterms, she traveled across the country to help endorse political candidates. I feel that racism and misogyny played a significant role in her media representation. I am not the only one to feel this way. According to a “times up report,” adjectives describing Harris are more pessimistic. Over 36% of media coverage focused on her race rather than her professional accomplishments when she was just the VP candidate.
Many still feel that 2024 is far away, but the truth is that 2024 is fast approaching. We must look at the political possibilities. President Joe Biden is too old to run for office again and needs to put a fresh face on the party.
Also, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has not expressed interest in running for the 2024 election. Then there is Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who, in my opinion, needs more geopolitical experience to grasp our country’s needs better.
So, because of those reasons regarding different possible candidates, I feel that Harris is not only the most qualified person for 2024 but is the right person for the democratic ticket based on her political experience and the work she is continuing to do.
So don’t count Harris out, folks.
Nice article Shibi, Truly US needs a dynamic President like Kamala Harris..