Why leftists don't trust Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, and Deval Patrick

[prehnite]

The contest for control of the Democratic Party between left and center is continuing apace. The latest battleground is over a handful of minority Democrats being groomed by the centrist establishment to run for office: Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.

If the center wants to win

Comments

[natyanayaki]

i kind of hope a bunch of these donor-backed centrist pseudo-leftists run and steal votes off each other (tbf, i hope several actual leftists run as well).

regarding harris, chelsea manning pointed this out and to my knowledge harris hasn't responded or apologized? http://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/05/05/harris-renews-effort-to-block-gender-reassignment-for-trans-inmate/

[lightframes]

Harris needs to come out strong on criminal justice reform. Inmates' human rights still matter.

[natyanayaki]

reading some of the comments is so disheartening because so many people don't think of gender reassignment surgery as necessary :/

[lightframes]

Not that people are any nicer to trans people in the general population, but way too many people think that as soon as you're even accused of a crime you don't matter anymore. It's a huge mess and I don't know how to change that mindset when it's so widespread.

[lovedforaday]

so it begins.

i can't wait for the barely contained hate directed at Black women voters if one of those 3 wins the nomination.

[lightframes]

I mean since we're basically the only group who votes I think we deserve a cake

[backincharge]

Sorry but none of them do it for me.

It's time for something different and none of these people will do shit.

[queerbychoice]

https://www.bustle.com/p/what-kamala-harris-critics-dont-understand-about-female-politicians-74317

[lightframes]

Thanks.

Regarding the corporate money, that's basically how I felt about HRC - I didn't hate her for taking the money, I wish the system wasn't built that way to start with so she didn't have to.

[queerbychoice]

Me too

[lightframes]

Even the article admits Harris supports a lot of the things leftists are looking for, so she's off to a great start imo

I don't think she'll have a hard time explaining her past either. All she has to do is say she wants to change the criminal justice system she worked within and can now work to change on a large scale. All our state attorney said was she won't pursue the death penalty because it's applied unfairly (it is) and our governor is trying to ruin her career. I hate this system that makes it so hard for people to do what's right. I don't think that excuses Harris but it explains it.

[lightframes]

Calling saying the right thing but not following through isn't "Hillary Clinton-esque", that's just a politician thing generally

But if they just want to have a retread of the 2015-16 primary, the center could just try to win dirty. The left, they might say (working hand-in-glove with sympathetic columnists), just doesn't like minority or female candidates because they are racist and sexist.

This leaves such a bad taste in my mouth, like... pointing out racism and sexism isn't a strategy, this is how we have to live life. I thought we all agreed accusing POC of "playing the race card" is just a way to silence us. (I went to the source and it looks like this was written by a white guy? Bad move, bro. Not your call to make.)

I wouldn't put Harris in the same category as Booker and Patrick, either.

[natyanayaki]

i think it's a silencing tactic used in both directions. people who point out racism are silence, but it's unfair to dismiss the fact that supporters will use racism, and sexism as a silencing tactic against critical individuals despite the fact that many of these critical individuals are minorities, women, and/or minority women (and much of the earliest criticisms of booker and harris came poc/communities of color).

hrc has been using this tactic go male-wash her opponent's supporters since 2008, and malewashed and whitewashed her opponent's supporters in 2012 (despite some surveys indicating otherwise) and i see so much of that when it comes to the defense of these three that it's disheartening. you're not going to win over poc when you call them racist for questioning deval patrick's ties to bain.

[lightframes]

Within communities of women or people of color, of course we can talk about criticism that comes from the heart and how the person being a woman or minority doesn't invalidate that. But the author of this article isn't going to tell me that's a "tactic" used to avoid criticism. The amount of times it's used as a "tactic" is probably about 10% compared to the 90% someone is actually being subjected to racism or sexism, so I just find it hard to spend that much time worrying about it. I think something people (not you) tend to forget is that a woman's criticism of a woman can still be sexist and a black person's criticism of a black person can still be racist, so that's not a total defense, either

[natyanayaki]

i don't think that being called a racist inaccurately is as bad as being accused of playing the race card, and i agree that one can be a woman/minority and still say sexist/racist things (and in terms of racial minorities it's super complicated -- indians can be super anti-black for example