Reminds me of an old song back in the 60's. "What Ever Happened to
Hubert?" When LBJ won the election, his out spoken running mate
suddenly couldn't find the door knob to the Oval Office.
It says a great deal when even a Centrist like Kamala Harris finds
herself out of step with "her Party"....hmm...what was the last name
of Hubert...Hughbert Hubert Humdiddleedoo?
Thank the good Lord we have freedom of speech. Now what we need is
Freedom to Hear those who are speaking freely.
Carl Jarvis
On 12/27/20, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Where in the World Is Kamala Harris?
By David Sirota and Andrew Perez, The Daily Poster
27 December 20
The vice president-elect made headlines pushing $2,000 checks, but suddenly
she's nowhere to be found on the issue.
After Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar humiliated herself by throwing cold
water on the idea during an MSNBC appearance, Democratic lawmakers from
across the country seem to have finally woken up and realized that there's
an economic emergency unfolding and that "let them eat Federal Reserve
lending facilities" is not a compelling message.
But one unique and much-needed voice is bizarrely muted: Vice
President-elect Kamala Harris.
Before we get to the California lawmaker, it's worth noting that her boss,
president-elect Joe Biden, seems to have completely checked out of the
current debate, after helping create a debacle.
He reportedly convinced congressional Democrats to get steamrolled by Mitch
McConnell and agree to provide just $600 in direct aid - which Georgia
Democratic senate candidate Jon Ossoff rightly called "a joke." Biden has
vaguely promised to push more aid in 2021, but he is not weighing in
forcefully on the budget showdown that is unfolding right now. An austerian
to the core, Biden took a dump in the middle of the process, and is now
running away from the mess he helped create.
Harris's absence is more notable and perplexing considering that she is in
a
position to play a direct role in the legislative standoff. She isn't just
the vice president-elect and she isn't just any old member of the U.S.
Senate that could ultimately decide the fate of the stimulus bill. Harris
also happens to be the lead author of legislation to provide $2,000 a month
to individuals during the pandemic.
This wasn't some small initiative - this was Harris's big headline-grabbing
idea she was making her namepushing during the veepstakes. This was
supposed
to be a proof point illustrating her progressive credentials and her
appreciation of the magnitude of the crisis America now faces.
So where is Harris now?
It's hard to know what's happening behind the scenes, but at least in
public, she's been quiet on the issue. Indeed, while she has made some
generic comments about Congress needing to pass some form of stimulus, she
has not been an aggressive leader on the question of direct aid in the
current legislative package. Take a look at her social media feeds and
peruse Google News for her mentions - there doesn't seem to be much of
anything from her in the middle of the central budget controversy of the
entire crisis.
Why?
Perhaps she is just following Biden's lead. Or maybe she believes some
ridiculous 17-dimensional-chess theory that staying out of the fray will
help secure a good outcome, in the same way Democrats always come up with
rationales to live to never fight another day. Or maybe there's a more
innocent explanation - maybe she just hasn't gotten around to it but is
about to weigh in.
Whether or not she does will tell us a lot about what we can expect from
her
in the Biden administration. More specifically, it will tell us a lot about
whether she plans to be an envoy for the progressive causes she purported
to
support during her presidential run - remember when she laudably said it
was
time to end the private health insurance system? - or whether she will just
appropriate Biden's austerity ideology as her own.
The significance of this moment for Harris cannot be overstated. As the
incoming vice president, a sitting senator and the author of a much more
expansive version of the $2,000 proposal right now in front of Congress,
she
can play a singularly significant role in galvanizing her party behind a
desperately-needed policy that polling data shows is wildly popular.
This is her chance to lead Democrats to a big win over McConnell in support
of a policy that will help millions of people. Let's hope she seizes the
moment and doesn't decide to just disappear.