The K-Hive Knows Kamala Harris is Brat!!!
Biden withdraws from campaign endorses Kamala quickly followed by Charlie XCX
Four years ago Kamala Harris competed in the 2020 Democratic Primary for President. She had been a prosecutor then California Attorney General for 20 years. She was the Senator from California for 4 years. A woman of colour, a former prosecutor, a senator, but this was the year of George Floyd. A year when people were questioning the methods of the police and the justice system when dealing with people of colour. Her origin story as a prosecutor was toxic.
She never could explain who she was or why people should consider her for President. She folded her campaign faster than Yogi Bear dancing on a tent, failing before even the first primary vote had been cast but not before she had thrown a sharp barb at the man who would become the front runner in that race. She wounded Biden in the only debate they had together.
Biden would go on to win that debate, that primary and the nomination for President while Harris went home early. Except Biden pulled her back into the race. He elevated her as his Vice President and the world changed for Kamala. The Biden/Harris campaign went on to win the 2020 election and Harris became the first woman and woman of colour to be Vice President of the United States. Celebration was in order. She got the cover of Vogue. She was put in the spotlight in those first months of her Vice Presidency but she didn't find her footing. Her staff left her and claims of disorganisation and bad treatment followed her. Her appearances and speeches were ridiculed.
She laughed too loudly, when she spoke it was in word salads, her look was off. She was accused of not doing the work that was necessary of a VP. Â But a funny thing happened over the next 3 years. She learned her craft. She found her voice.
Time has passed and the tough on crime prosecutor that was unwanted in a Liberal Democrat primary has become a valuable character in a general election that needs to move to the centre and look strong against crime. When Biden left the race on Sunday, Kamala stepped up and stepped into a whirlwind. She made over 100 phone calls on Sunday and Monday to earn the support of the party. Her campaign is taking the USA by storm. Obama 2.0?
What Biden couldn’t do, Kamala has done in the last few days. The enthusiasm for a young new generation of Democrat leader is changing the tide. As one writer put it, all candidates need tangible credentials but successful candidates have an intangible aspect as well. Kamala always had the tangible story. She was a prosecutor, an Attorney General, a Senator and a Vice President, but now she’s battle hardened in a way that doesn’t come unless you’ve experienced the kind of political losses that she experienced in the first months of her vice presidential term. The last few months she has been under incredible pressure and she hasn’t faltered.
She has delivered hard hitting speech after speech. Speeches about reproductive rights, about health care, about childcare, about manufacturing jobs, about unions and speeches the take the fight straight to Trump. The word salads are long gone and she has a prosecutor's skill in challenging the Trump campaign. People are getting excited about her.
A vast array of online liberals have proclaimed themselves coconut-pilled making memes out of a quirky story Kamala likes to tell. Videos of her describing recipes circulate the internet and her dances get set to music . She’s not connecting just because she can take on Donald Trump in tour de force speeches. She’s connecting because she’s her. Because she has found her intangibles. She has found her authentic, messy self. Sans Trump toupee. She is Brat and the party is converging around her and it's exciting.
Her elevation to the top of the ticket has enthused young people, black people, latinos, liberals and centrists. She has found her intangibles. She shouts out her origin story now and uses it to confront Trump. The prosecutor verses the felon. The intangibles are an ability to connect to the people, the extra something that makes the difference between winning and losing. She still has to prove that she can fire back at the obvious barrage of crap that will be swung at her by the opposition. And she has to pick a VP that will boost her and be a strong partner in the fight. Someone who can broaden and strengthen the coalition voters she is building.
Before her race for the Senate she wrote an autobiography. And after explaining how she grew up with a divorced family. Her mother was a biochemist. Her father was an economist and professor at Stanford. She grew up believing that people had a right to be safe. Safety was her raison d'etre. Ensuring safety for the people was why she became a prosecutor and later a politician. It answers the 'why' of her campaign. It's what drives her.
Since Biden endorsed her as his replacement she has raised more than $100 million which is an astonishing amount in just a couple of days. More than 58,000 new volunteers have signed up for her campaign. She has lined up over 100 delegates and every day more of her colleagues and independent organisations have endorsed her. The excitement for her campaign is palpable and she has a route to winning. She just needs to keep believing in herself and continue being her authentic self. In other words she needs to stay 'Brat'. Gen Z for being messy, authentic, true, and driven. If she does, she might even build a coalition that can beat Donald Trump and win for democracy.
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