Sen. Kamala Harris (D): Endorsement of Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) for President

08 Sunday Mar 2020

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

Tags

endorsement, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, president

“…I believe in Joe Biden and will do everything in my power to help elect him the next president of the United States.”

Senator Kamala Harris (D) has endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden (D) for president.

Senator Kamala Harris (D) [2019 file photo].

The statement:

[….]

“When I started my run for president, I said America needs a president who reflects the decency and dignity of the American people; a president who speaks the truth; and a president who fights for those whose voices are too often overlooked or ignored.

“I still believe that to this day. That is why I am proud to announce I am endorsing my friend, Vice President Joe Biden, for President of the United States.

“I got to know Joe more than a decade ago through his son – my dear friend, the late Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden. As attorneys general during the financial crisis, Beau and I were leaders in the fight to take on the biggest banks in the nation and secure billions of dollars in relief for homeowners across the country. And I can tell you that Beau inherited his strength of character, selfless courage, and commitment to public service from his father, Joe.

“As I reflect on my own time on the campaign trail spent listening to people’s hopes, dreams, fears, and daily struggles, I know what Americans want and deserve in their next commander-in-chief.

“Americans deserve a president who confronts the daily challenges facing working people with the same determination and steady leadership they apply to addressing the most serious crises facing our nation. We deserve a president with the knowledge and experience to reassure a nation weary of tweets, lies, and incompetence. And we deserve a president who speaks to the best of who we are and challenges us to live up to our ideals.

“There is no one better prepared than Joe to steer our nation through these turbulent times, and restore truth, honor, and decency to the Oval Office. He is kind and endlessly caring, and he truly listens to the American people. You can see in his eyes how he takes to heart the experiences of mothers and fathers working to make ends meet and worrying about whether their children can be safe in their classroom, or young people who fight tirelessly to tackle climate change as they ask for a fair shot at the future in front of them. And with a lifetime in public service, Joe has a proven track record of getting things done.

“Like many women, I watched with sadness as women exited the race one by one. Four years after our nominee, the first woman to win the nomination of a major party, received 3 million more votes than Donald Trump but still lost, we find ourselves without any woman on a path to be the Democratic nominee for president. This is something we must reckon with and it is something I will have more to say about in the future. But we must rise to unite the party and country behind a candidate who reflects the decency and dignity of the American people and who can ultimately defeat Donald Trump.

“I truly believe our nation is at an inflection point. And the decision voters make this November will shape the country and the world our children and grandchildren will grow up in. I believe in Joe Biden and will do everything in my power to help elect him the next president of the United States.”

[….]

Uh, yep.

Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) [2020 file photo].

#PresidentWarren it is

17 Monday Feb 2020

Posted by Michael Bersin in media criticism, meta

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

caucus, Cory Booker, Democratic Party, Elizabeth Warren, Julián Castro, Kamala Harris, media criticism, meta, nomination, president, Primary

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) [2019 file photo].

I hate meta. And yet, here we have it.

We are an impatient people. We watch impatient old media. They create narratives because they are impatient. We listen to those tired narratives because we are so predictably impatient.

The old media hand wringing on the evening of the Iowa Caucus was a thing to behold. I spent my time watching their coverage screaming obscenities at the onscreen talking heads throughout the night. You’d have thought the cable networks had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on their brand new sets and on their ominous, yet vaguely patriotic, “Decide Something 2020” theme music. Instead, we got a really bad remake of the 1970 Mary Tyler Moore Show election night blizzard episode “The Snow Must Go On”. Watch the original, it’s hilarious.

Old media had to wait, what, seventy-two hours, for an approximation of the final results of a CAUCUS, the first voting event in a line of fifty-seven or so (states, commonwealths, territories). They wanted to declare an ultimate winner THAT VERY NIGHT. How dare the Iowa Democratic Party hold a caucus like that. You know, with (very public) formulas and arcane rules. Yawn.

If you’ve ever participated in a caucus they’re all like that. [Raises hand: Missouri, 1992.] Forget that it took months for an “official winner” of the Iowa republican caucus several cycles back.

The 2020 Iowa Caucus was the best thing to happen to presidential politics in America in a long time. Maybe 2020 will be a final stake in the heart of this money sucking, faux populist, abomination of true Democracy.

Caucuses are inherently undemocratic while simultaneously being small “d” democratic. You can’t “vote” at will over a period of your choosing in the hours between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on the day of the caucus. You have to show up before they figuratively “lock the doors” at the appointed hour and then you have to stay for the duration to have your vote counted. Who does this cockamamie process exclude? I’ll wait.

Candidates spent tens of millions in Iowa. Several campaigns, with stellar candidates, ran out of resources and the approval of conventional wisdom long before the first vote was cast. That’s a tragedy for all of us. The candidates spent tens of millions of dollars in Iowa. Think about that.

It’s on us because we let this happen, election after election.

There’s a lot to be said for retail politics, the art and charm of presidential candidates getting out there and engaging voters one on one. Get over it. You don’t live there. There are a lot of Americans who don’t get that opportunity to engage with candidates who want to be their president, because somehow we’ve anointed two small states with a tiny percentage of voters (and low turnout) and with a minimal number of nominating delegates at stake to act as the final arbiters and gatekeepers of our viable and/or electable candidates for president.

Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Julián Castro, to name a few, are no longer candidates. Tulsi Gabbard hangs on, still. I rest my case.

Senator Kamala Harris (D) [2019 file photo].

Senator Cory Booker (D) [2019 file photo]

Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro (D) [2019 file photo].

So, here we are, with eight or so candidates remaining in the Democratic Party presidential nominating process and old media chomping at the bit to create winners and losers narratives. The next two components of the process include another arcane caucus and an honest to goodness primary. We’ll see what happens. Old media will lazily build on their previous narratives or gaslight us all if they change them. Then it’s fifty-three or so primaries or caucuses to go. Get my drift?

In the meantime, a trend on social media:

Adam Best @adamcbest
#PresidentWarren is trending because despite her being 3rd in delegates, 3rd in most national polls and 2nd in endorsements, the media acts as if she doesn’t exist. So her supporters are dealing with this blackout by making sure voters know she’s still here and still kicking ass.
3:40 PM · Feb 17, 2020

#PresidentWarren

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) [2019 file photo].

Dude’s gotta go

03 Tuesday Dec 2019

Posted by Michael Bersin in social media

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

bribery, Donald Trump, extortion, impeachment, Kamala Harris, Russia, social media, trial, Twitter, Ukraine

Bad combover. Check. Too long red tie. Check. Orange spray tan. Check. Tiny hands. Check. Cluelessness. Check…

Early this evening:

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump
Too bad. We will miss you Kamala!
[….]
5:25 PM · Dec 3, 2019

Ten minutes later, a response:

Kamala Harris @KamalaHarris
Don’t worry, Mr. President. I’ll see you at your trial.
[….]
5:35 PM · Dec 3, 2019

There is a difference.

He ain’t too bright, is he?

Senator Kamala Harris (D) [2019 file photo].

Yes, we will.

Previously:

Sen. Kamala Harris (D): “We will keep up that fight.” (December 3, 2019)

Sen. Kamala Harris (D): “We will keep up that fight.”

03 Tuesday Dec 2019

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

campaign, Kamala Harris, president

A short while ago:

Douglas Emhoff @douglasemhoff
I’ve got you. As always.
[….]
12:08 PM · Dec 3, 2019

From Senator Harris (D):

I am suspending my campaign today

Kamala Harris
Dec 3

Eleven months ago at the launch of our campaign in Oakland I told you all: “I am not perfect. But I will always speak with decency and moral clarity and treat all people with dignity and respect. I will lead with integrity. I will speak the truth.”

And that’s what I have tried to do every day of this campaign. So here’s the truth today.

I’ve taken stock and looked at this from every angle, and over the last few days have come to one of the hardest decisions of my life.

My campaign for president simply doesn’t have the financial resources we need to continue.

I’m not a billionaire. I can’t fund my own campaign. And as the campaign has gone on, it’s become harder and harder to raise the money we need to compete.

In good faith, I can’t tell you, my supporters and volunteers, that I have a path forward if I don’t believe I do.

So, to you my supporters, it is with deep regret — but also with deep gratitude — that I am suspending my campaign today.

But I want to be clear with you: I am still very much in this fight.

And I will keep fighting every day for what this campaign has been about. Justice for The People. All the people.

Our campaign has been about fighting for people whose voices that have not been heard or too often ignored.

We will keep up that fight.

Let’s remember: we were the first to put the injustice of inadequate teacher pay on the national agenda.

We will keep up that fight.

We were the first to demand justice for our children, declaring we would take bold executive actions to stop gun violence.

We will keep up that fight.

We were the first to demand justice for women with a plan to block unconstitutional state abortion laws.

We will keep up that fight.

And our campaign uniquely spoke to the experiences of Black women and people of color — and their importance to the success and future of this party. Our campaign demanded no one should be taken for granted by any political party.

We will keep up that fight because no one should be made to fight alone.

And I believe our campaign showed every child in America — regardless of their color or gender — that there are no limits to who can lead and hold positions of power in our country.

In that way — this campaign has been so much bigger than me.

I am extremely grateful to the hundreds of staff who moved and uprooted their lives and sacrificed time away from their families. I know our fight has been personal for each of them.

Of course, I could not have done this without my husband Doug and my entire family and friends who gave up so much to embark on this journey with me and have supported me every step of the way.

And I am grateful to the thousands of volunteers and contributors who chipped in, who knocked on doors, who made calls and who put their faith and trust in me. It has been the honor of my life to be your candidate.

And I want to be clear: although I am no longer running for President, I will do everything in my power to defeat Donald Trump and fight for the future of our country and the best of who we are.

I know you will too. So let’s do that together.

Let’s keep fighting for the America we believe in, an America free of injustice. An America that we know we can be unburdened by what has been.

Thank you.
— Kamala

Damn.

Senator Kamala Harris (D) [2019 file photo].

Previously:

Telling (September 27, 2018)

Sen. Kamala Harris (D) – West Des Moines, Iowa – August 10, 2019 (August 11, 2019)

Iowa – Meta – #ForThePeople – August 10, 2019 (August 11, 2019)

Sen. Kamala Harris (D): Iowa bus tour campaign ad (August 28, 2019)

He ain’t ever been the brightest bulb in the chandelier (October 11, 2019)

Mic drop (October 26, 2019)

Sen. Kamala Harris (D): Iowa bus tour campaign ad

28 Wednesday Aug 2019

Posted by Michael Bersin in meta

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

ad, Iowa, Kamala Harris, meta, president

Senator Kamala Harris’ (D) presidential campaign has released a new ad commemorating her August Iowa bus tour.

And there I am, ever so briefly, twenty-two seconds into the ad:

The ad:

One of the greatest strengths about who we are as a people is in our core, in our heart, we know we all have so much more in common than what’s…

Senator Harris is kicking off a five-day bus tour… [….] I love being in Iowa. You have made me a better candidate…

Today California Senator Kamala Harris will be making a stop right here in Sioux City.

It is the conversations that we’ve been having that have really given me a lot of perspective on some of the biggest issues that are facing us as a country.

There are two groups of people raising our children. Parents, often with the assistance of grandparents and aunts and uncles, and our teachers but we are not paying them their value.

[….]

If we have faith to see what can be, unburdened by what has been, we move mountains.

Let’s have a problem-solving president, let’s deal with the issues that are challenging us, and let’s write the next chapter about the America we believe in.

This campaign is about all of us. It is so much bigger than me. I cannot do this without you. I need you. Everything that you guys are doing out there that is about touching your neighbors and your friends and perfect strangers, it’s about all of us knowing our power, each of us to lift people up, right, and to remind them that we see them and we hear them and that they matter.

Senator Kamala Harris (D) – West Des Moines, Iowa – August 10, 2019.

Previously:

Sen. Kamala Harris (D) – West Des Moines, Iowa – August 10, 2019 (August 11, 2019)

Iowa – Meta – #ForThePeople – August 10, 2019 (August 11, 2019)

Iowa – Meta – #ForThePeople – August 10, 2019

11 Sunday Aug 2019

Posted by Michael Bersin in meta

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Iowa, Kamala Harris, meta, presidential campaign, rally, West Des Moines

We receive media advisories for somewhere around ten of the current Democratic Party presidential candidate campaigns. Others? We’re not really interested in driving any distance to cover (Tulsi Gabbard? Really? What were the Russians and Syrians thinking?). Plus, at this point the advisories are coming in so thick and fast it’s like trying to take a sip from a firehose. A couple of weeks ago we received one notice for a five day, eighteen stop bus trip from northwestern Iowa through to southeastern Iowa, from the Missouri River to the Mississippi, following Senator Kamala Harris (D). This cycle we had already spent four days covering various candidates (one event, a cattle call of sorts). The thought of spending five days on the road, while doable from scheduling and financial standpoints (we’d have to pay our own food, lodging, and for our transportation on the press bus), wasn’t attractive from a personal wear and tear perspective. We’re getting older. What I did do was send a media RSVP for one of the stops on the tour, a campaign rally in West Des Moines, Iowa, for early Saturday evening, the location a relatively short four hour or so drive from our base in Missouri.

I looked up the satellite photo of the venue to check on parking. There was plenty of free public parking.

The campaign advisory stated the doors would be open for the public at 4:00 p.m., with the event scheduled to start at 4:45 p.m. Rule No. 2 of campaigns: Nothing ever starts on time.

I loaded up the equipment (two cameras, lenses, tripod, monopod, two digital audio recorders, batteries, chargers, spare memory cards, ID, etc.). I decided not to bring the laptop to save on weight. If this had been a multi-day road trip I would have brought it to process photos. We departed west central Missouri at 10:30 a.m. Rule No. 1 of campaigns: Never pass up an opportunity to use the restroom. Travel time was added for Rule No. 1 and for fueling up the vehicle.

We arrived at about 3:00 p.m., parked the car, and walked into the venue. Campaign advance staff spotted me (a large camera bag, the tripod and monopod, and my outlet photo ID on a clip gave me away), asked who I was, recognized the outlet (that’s the beauty of the media RSVP), and retrieved my event press pass. The staffer noted I had a safety pin on my ID clip. This was not my first rodeo. I didn’t actually say that, I just thought it.

I waited about thirty minutes in the entry area before I was told to proceed to the press riser. I picked a corner next to the riser entry stairs. The venue was very well lit. As I set up my tripod advance staff asked me not to do so because they were expecting a lot of press for the riser space. That’s the reason for bringing the monopod. A long lens on a full frame camera with an external flash attached weighs a lot after about three minutes of handheld photography.

I was instructed to leave the center of the riser for the traveling press (the people on the bus). I was also instructed that we would be escorted to the cut riser on a rotating basis. And, after her speech the candidate would be working the rope line and that we would be escorted from the main riser. The room and the risers were too crowded for that to work. Once I was on the riser I was stuck.

At around 4:00 p.m. the venue was opened to the general public. And they streamed in:

“America needs clean water”

“We should all be feminists”

“America needs librarians”

“I do care and I vote”

“Moms demand action”

“Nasty woman”

“America needs public schools”

Not your typical unengaged or uninformed voters.

Because I couldn’t hang my primary digital audio recorder from my tripod I had to set it on top of my camera bag behind me at foot level at the back of the main riser. Unfortunately, two individuals took time at this event to stand at ground level and have a lengthy, if intermittent, conversation unknowingly speaking directly into that recorder while the candidate was speaking. Which brings us to Rule No. 3: Always have a “Plan B”. I have a second digital recorder running as a backup on me – connected to a lavalier microphone attached to me. I had to use this backup recording, hence you can easily hear the incessant shutter bursts of the still camera.

Waiting is always a staple at every campaign event. Ever.

Media interview in the crowd:

And, waiting…

The campaign field organizer speaks. This individual is responsible for West Des Moines. And as part of the campaign organization (along with other staff and volunteers) will be charged with identifying and getting Harris supporters to the February caucus.

You can always tell when the candidate is about to take the stage. The haggard and harried traveling press rush the press area and main riser.

Aside from a few Iowa print reporters, a sound guy with a boom microphone (covered by a dead cat), and me, all of the media present at this event (print, video, still) looked to be around twelve years old. Think about it. It’s a young person’s game. That, and almost all of the candidates were in Iowa campaigning somewhere. That’s serious saturation, so it has to be ‘all hands on deck’ for coverage.

The candidate:

Senator Kamala Harris (D) – West Des Moines, Iowa – August 10, 2019.

As the crowd dissipated somewhat at the end of the event and the candidate was still on the rope line I was able to squeeze off the main riser and get out of the roped off press area. Someone was kind enough to unhook the barrier and let me pass. I managed to get a few closer images.

Senator Kamala Harris (D) – West Des Moines, Iowa – August 10, 2019.

The venue cleared out fairly quickly after the event. The traveling press departed on their bus, and the tear down staff started on their work, removing risers, lighting, sound system, and banners. I packed up my cameras and audio recorders and we walked to our car in the now mostly empty parking lot for the 225 mile drive home.

This is going to continue at an increasing pace in Iowa until the beginning of February.

Previously:

Sen. Kamala Harris (D) – West Des Moines, Iowa – August 10, 2019 (August 10 2019)

Sen. Kamala Harris (D) – West Des Moines, Iowa – August 10, 2019

11 Sunday Aug 2019

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Iowa, Kamala Harris, presidential campaign, rally, West Des Moines

Early Saturday evening Senator Kamala Harris (D) spoke at a rally in West Des Moines, Iowa, one of eighteen stops for her presidential campaign’s five day bus tour from northwestern Iowa across the state to southeastern Iowa, from the Missouri River to the Mississippi. 300 to 400 individuals attended the event. Update: The campaign head count (they sign people in) was over 450.

Senator Kamala Harris (D) – West Des Moines, Iowa – August 10, 2019.

Senator Kamala Harris (D):

…I’ll tell you, I love being in Iowa. I really do. And, um, you have made me a better candidate. You have helped me to think about and understand the issues that are the issues that keep people up in the middle of the night – and prioritize those. You have helped me, actually my first visit to Iowa as a candidate, I’ve been here before, but my first visit as a candidate, among the many meetings I had with a group of teachers who really made clear to me the issue of teacher pay – which is why that was the first initiative I rolled out as a presidential candidate.[applause]…

…I know we are all here for one reason in particular. And it is because we love our country. [applause]…

…So, let’s, let’s get into it. Let’s get into it. Uh, so I think we all know this is an inflection moment, inflection moment in the history of our country. This is a moment in time that requires each of us, as individuals and collectively, to look in a mirror and ask a question. That question being – who are we? And I think we all know part of the answer to that question is – we are better than this. [applause] So this is a moment in time then that requires us to fight for the best of who we are and fight we will…

…My mother, um, she raised my sister Maya and me, and she was tough. Um, our mother was all of five feet tall, but if you ever met her you would have thought she was ten feet tall. And, um she was a parent who would say to us, you will be judged, and you should be judged, based on how you serve your community and those that you lift up. It is not about yourself. It is about those that you serve. My mother would say listen, you Kamala, you may be the first to do many things but make sure you’re not the last. Um, she would say, don’t you let anybody tell you who you are, you tell them who you are. Um, but she was tough. You know, she would also, if you ever came home, if you ever came home complaining about anything our mother would look at you with a straight face, maybe one hand on a hip, and she would say, well, what are you gonna do about it? So I decided to run for President of the United States…

…So, let’s talk about the current occupant of the White House, shall we? No, we must. Context. We must. So, here’s a fellow that came into office on a campaign slogan about ‘Make America Great Again’. Which of course, for many of us begged a question, again, exactly for whom? [laughter] And for all of us, made us realize he was talking about going backward. Which then prompts the question, back to what? Back before the Voting Rights Act? back before the Fair Housing Act? Back before the Civil Rights Act? Back before Roe v Wade? Back before Federal minimum wage? ‘Cause we’re not going back. [applause] We are not going back…

… He puts in place a so-called trade policy, by Tweet, based on unilateral action borne out of his fragile ego that has resulted in farmers here in Iowa looking at bankruptcy, with soybeans rotting in bins, why, because over the period of at least a decade folks have built up a market in China that is now cut off to them. We’re looking at, because of this so-called trade policy, Autoworkers, as many as three-hundred thousand, that may be out of a job by the end of the year. American families, because of this so-called trade policy that I call ‘the Trump trade tax’ are paying one point four billion dollars more a month on everything from shampoo to washing machines. He came in making promises and he betrayed people. He betrayed people. And so, there is no question that we need to make the statement: That dude gotta go. [cheers, applause]…

The rope line:

Telling

27 Thursday Sep 2018

Posted by Michael Bersin in social media, US Senate

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, social media, Twitter, U.S. Senate, U.S. Supreme Court

From Senator Kamala Harris (D):

Kamala Harris @SenKamalaHarris
My final question for Judge Kavanaugh: Did you watch Dr. Ford’s testimony?

His answer: “I did not.”
5:59 PM – 27 Sep 2018

“I did not.”

That’s all you need to know.

Remember in November.

Show Me Progress

~ covering government and politics in Missouri – since 2007

Tag Archives: Kamala Harris

Sen. Kamala Harris (D): Endorsement of Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) for President

#PresidentWarren it is

Sen. Kamala Harris (D): “We will keep up that fight.”

Sen. Kamala Harris (D): Iowa bus tour campaign ad

Iowa – Meta – #ForThePeople – August 10, 2019

Sen. Kamala Harris (D) – West Des Moines, Iowa – August 10, 2019