Senator Harris was my first choice. I thought that she was progressive enough to unite most of the left, represent and put people of color front and center in our candidacy with criminal justice reform and civil rights, unite our party including our base, prosecute the criminal in the White House, and win 270 electoral college votes. I think the candidate was better than the campaign and than the staff. I think the staff let her down. I think it is a crime that we have billionaires in our primary whose ability to self-fund kept them in the primary even though they were not polling better than her.
Today is a day of grief for me. I think now is the time, as difficult as it is, to think about our choice. I knew her donations were struggling, but I lied to myself. Nobody for me is Senator Harris. I think she has the combination of strengths that none of the others had. She was and is a star. The first thing I think of is that people of color are not front and center for anybody else and Biden is not centering his campaign on people of color either. Still, we have to make a choice. Of the remaining candidates, who is closest to her ideologically ?
I know Senator Warren is “a white liberal woman” who is appealing to white liberals. I know some of us have fears about whether Senator Warren can win the rust belt while campaigning on Medicare for All. However, she is the last remaining progressive woman on the stage. Senator Gillibrand was / is a progressive, but she left. Senator Harris was pretty progressive, but, unfortunately, she left. While Senator Warren has campaigned more on and talked more about Medicare for All, Senator Harris did say that she supported Medicare for All as well. While Senator Klobuchar is better than Joe Biden, I think it is fair to say that Senator Klobuchar is pretty far from Senator Harris. As a San Antonian, I like Julian Castro a lot. However, his polling is worse than Senator Harris and while he is progressive, I feel we need a woman representing the voice of women in the White House. Senator Booker should be doing better with his speaking ability. He is very empathetic and charismatic. On the other hand, he is a moderate and perhaps the lane was full or it is difficult to win as a moderate. I like Mayor Pete Buttigieg . I think he is the best speaker, debater, campaigner in the primary. However, can he win the general election ? Can he win over African Americans in the primary ? Can somebody who is struggling so much to win African American votes be the voice of Senator Harris ? I think it is clear that 70 year old white men , no matter their virtues, are not close to being the voice of Senator Harris. This primary has revealed that Biden himself still has unresolved issues and Senators Harris and Booker would say the same.
I closed my eyes. I thought about the voice of the major candidates left for me. I thought about the voice of Senator Harris. Whose voice was closest to that of Senator Harris ? For me, this test gave me Senator Warren. I have heard her give expression to the experience of African Americans . She knows the playing field is not level for people of color. She has plans to address this truth. As a woman, she gives voice to the experience of women. I think only a passionate progressive really understands the depth of injustice, xenophobia, bigotry, and misogyny because only a progressive is going to truly address the depth of the problem in their plans and policies. If you think that there is only a minor inconvenience that people of color have lived through and experience and that the outcomes today do not reflect a great disparity in opportunity, then you will not propose a sweeping policy to right the wrongs. In housing, in civil rights, in voting rights, in being paid equally, in outcomes of pregnant women, in education, in healthcare, in criminal justice reform, d…. Of the candidates left, the candidate that have heard address this passionately with bold policies and address it righteously is Senator Warren.
Senator Warren understands the impact that racism and bigotry, misogyny and xenophobia, have had upon our people. I hear it in her voice. The passion and the righteous rant ! I read it in her policies and I hear her tell it like it is ! We will not get change if we do not righteously demand it ! We need a leader who will do that ! Our remaining realistic choices, those left who have a realistic chance to win the nomination, are all moderates [except Senator Sanders whom as much as I like him cannot win 270 electoral college votes and is not going to win the nomination ]. Senator Klobuchar is a moderate. Mayor Pete Buttigieg is a moderate. Joe Biden is a moderate. Ultimately, I want the most progressive candidate who can win 270 electoral college votes. By far, Senator Warren is the most progressive candidate of the remaining candidates who have a realistic chance of winning the nomination and 270 electoral college votes.
Obviously, I speak only for myself, but I wanted to share my two pennies (probably overpriced) with my fellow Senator Harris supporters.