Op-Ed: Kamala Harris Deserved A Longer Marketing campaign Run
Full disclosure: I used to be not the largest fan of Senator Kamala Harris’s run for president.
However whereas mentioning this, I have to say that I’m shocked she determined to abruptly droop her presidential marketing campaign this week.
“I’ve taken inventory and checked out this from each angle, and over the previous couple of days have come to one of many hardest selections of my life,” Harris wrote in a Medium submit. “My marketing campaign for president merely doesn’t have the monetary assets we have to proceed.”
RELATED: Sen. Kamala Harris Drops Out Of 2020 Presidential Race
Whereas some will attempt to scapegoat a number of marketing campaign errors on her half, it’s onerous to disregard the obvious double requirements she confronted—Harris was the one Black lady operating in a race that had a number of billionaire candidates.
The stakes had been stacked towards Harris from the soar, earlier than she even offered her platform.
She was a Black lady who didn’t come from deep pockets or have a ton of marketing campaign money available.
Regardless of this, Harris was typically within the high tier of Democratic candidates who certified for debates, typically outpacing different candidates of coloration within the polls — akin to Senator Cory Booker, former Obama cupboard member Julián Castro, and businessman Andrew Yang.
Her dropping out of the race has made the upcoming Democratic presidential debate an all-white occasion, as no different candidates of coloration presently qualify to be on stage.
Castro, who didn’t qualify for each the November and December debates, got here to Harris’s protection within the press, blaming the media for holding candidates of coloration to “a unique customary.”
RELATED: Julian Castro Slams Media’s ‘Double Commonplace’ For Candidates Of Coloration After Kamala Harris Drops Out
“To me, they held her to a unique customary, a double customary, to different campaigns. And I don’t know if it impacted her choice to withdraw from the race or not, however I’m certain it didn’t assist,” Castro advised BuzzFeed Information on Tuesday. “This was a story from very early on. … From the earliest critique that she has no Black assist, the [Congressional Black Caucus] goes different instructions. It’s simply holding individuals to completely different requirements.”
And whereas a few of Castro’s issues are believable, I believe it might be extra truthful to argue why a number of of the white candidates operating haven’t been scrutinized on the similar degree and frequency as Harris.
For instance, as Mayor Pete Buttigieg begins to rise within the polls, solely now are we starting to see extra nuanced critiques about his insurance policies and former stances. One may argue that regardless of low polling numbers, there hasn’t been sufficient dialog on the electability of billionaire Tom Steyer as he continues to qualify for presidential debates. One may additionally argue that early critiques of Harris’s political historical past dampened her possibilities despite her regular debate appearances.
I can admit that my disinterest in Harris’s presidential bid initially stemmed from the early press I examine her. The fixed critique of her each transfer within the media disproportionately influenced my ideas about her.
However among the tone-deaf selections she made throughout her marketing campaign, akin to rapidly attempting to money in on her passionate “that little woman was me” discrimination speech at former Vice President Joe Biden, didn’t assist.
I discover myself changing into much less keen on all of the candidates as extra tales reveal their contradictions. But it surely says one thing that Harris was one of many first I used to be able to depend out given what I examine her.
RELATED: Sen. Cory Booker And Julián Castro Name Out Potential All-White Democratic Debate Stage
Might extra time campaigning and evolving across the points have made a distinction for Harris? I’m unsure. However the truth that a Black lady operating for workplace wasn’t prolonged such grace speaks volumes—particularly for a Democratic celebration that depends closely on Black ladies to safeguard their elections.
Because the pool of high presidential candidates turns into more and more extra white because the race continues, voters ought to suppose extra critically concerning the protection surrounding these of coloration left operating.
Now would even be an excellent time, for individuals who have the chance, to have interaction the white candidates on any controversial stances they’ve beforehand taken.
If I had been given the time to speak to Harris extra on her previous felony reform measures, I’d have completed so in a heartbeat.
With Harris dropping out, all of us must rethink how we’ll prioritize range inside this slate of Democratic candidates.
Based mostly in Philadelphia, Ernest Owens is an award-winning journalist and CEO of Ernest Media Empire, LLC. Chat with him on Twitter @MrErnestOwens.
(Heidi Gutman/Walt Disney Tv through Getty Photographs)
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