Tag Archives: Kamala Harris

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I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER

It was an incident after one of my happiest moments of 2024 – and it served as a warning that I didn’t see until now.

The New York Mets had just won the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies last month. Euphoric fans – including me – jammed the platform for the No. 7 train to Manhattan.

It originated at Main Street in Flushing and there were passengers aboard before the Citi Field stop. As joyous fans jammed the train, a young Hispanic man was standing by the opposite door.

He could tell the fans were happy, so he shouted “Let’s go Mets!” Which I thought was cute.

But for some reason that I’ve thought about since that moment, he shouted “Let’s go Donald Trump!”

Why the hell he would shout that-  at that moment – bewildered me. Not enough, however, to stop me from shouting back “Fuck Donald Trump!” – language I don’t use in public. (Although I suspect I’ll be using it more for awhile.)

What was going through his mind that he would shout his support of Trump in as unsuitable a moment as that?

Tonight, I found out. According to CNN’s exit polling, Latino men voted for Trump more than ever before – in some states, a majority of them voted for a guy who has belittled or diminished Hispanic Americans for decades. 

It’s amazing. He was first elected because of his racism toward Mexicans and Central Americans. And now some of those people are sending him back to the White House.

Why? 

Is it the phony toughness he projects? Like those wrestlers he admires and who seem to support him en masse. 

Were they suckered by “The Apprentice” into thinking that a guy who has claimed bankruptcy four times actually knows what it takes to make them more financially secure?

Can it be that they associate with his outlaw status? That they think he’s been railroaded they way some of them perceive themselves to be?

Do they, like some spoiled-brat white folks, believe there are people getting “free stuff” that they’re not getting- and either they want some, too, or no one should have whatever that stuff is?

And is the idea that a woman – and it doesn’t matter if she’s white or Black and South Asian – could be the most powerful person in the world so threatening and offensive to them that they’d put an incompetent male in the White House instead? Twice!

I’m angry and sad in a way I haven’t been in eight years. And what makes me most sad is seeing people voting against their own interest, taken in by a conman who is now going to avoid prison by claiming he’s above the law.

Or worse, that he is the law.

I do not pretend to understand why anyone sees a hero in Trump. There is nothing admirable or compassionate about him. He has no respect for people other than himself and anyone who can help enrich him.

It’s bewildering that anyone thinks the guy whose pathetic mishandling of the COVID crisis contributed to the inflation endured between 2021 and 2023 is the guy to bring down the price of eggs.

And because he respects tyrants, this is a moment of triumph from a diverse set of the world’s rogues – from Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinpeng to Benjamin Netanyahu and Viktor Orban.

I suppose the people who voted for Trump would say I’m being paternalistic – that they can look out for their own self-interest without my help. 

Kamala Harris ran as good a campaign as I’ve seen in my lifetime – and she will have nothing to show for it. I’m certain that a key factor in her defeat is that, well, she’s a she. And that she’s also a Black she and a South Asian she.

But the loser in a democratic election concedes. With the grace that Trump refused to give Joe Biden four years ago.

I just hope she doesn’t congratulate him. He doesn’t deserve it. Neither do the people who voted for him. 

As I said at a moment when some jerk zapped my joy of a Met win, “Fuck Donald Trump!”

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TURN THAT DIAL

Because it evades my understanding, I’ve tried to imagine why anyone supports Donald Trump.

When he first announced his candidacy for President, back in 2015, I thought it was a joke. I brazenly told my brother that he’d lose all 50 states if he was the Republican nominee.

One reason for my stance was that Trump was a walking punchline in New York. His braggadocio wore thin when he filed for bankruptcy umpteen times. He was obviously not the business genius he claimed to be. 

But I should have gotten a hint when I went to a party and people were raving about “The Apprentice.” It gave him an image of strength and savvy that was, like everything else in his life, a fraud.

He built a following. Republican politicians didn’t take him seriously. Democrats didn’t take him seriously.

Nine years later, he’s still here. His sense of grievance struck a chord with millions of Americans. And, despite botching COVID, leading an attempted coup and being convicted on 34 counts of fraud, he stands a decent chance of becoming our 47th President.

Why? What’s the appeal?

TV. 

My generation – the baby boomers – are the first people to have grown up in a completely televised age. 

My parents used to talk about listening to Jack Benny and Bob Hope on the radio. That didn’t happen for us. We watched everything – I’m old enough to remember black-and-white – every night. 

And it was simple. There were three major networks. If you lived in a big city like New York, there were a couple of independent channels. There was no concept of the choices we face today.

So the TV you watched was pretty streamlined in the values and concepts it conveyed. Crime shows depicted a dangerous world that could only be preserved by steadfast law enforcers. Westerns showed the power of the good gunman. Game shows gave away dreamy prizes. All the people in sitcoms lived in houses that were much nicer than yours.

It was an aspirational world. And I think maybe my generation – and the generations that have followed – thought that. I can be a civilian and stop a criminal mastermind. I can be a factory worker and still have a 4-bedroom home. I can ride a horse into the sunset.

When our lives didn’t measure up to the ones we saw, it frustrated us. It’s not that easy to be Perry Mason or Dr. Kildare or Joe Friday. 

I think maybe Trump’s appeal is to that frustration that we didn’t get the lives we fantasized on TV. And if we did – if we did get the McMansion in Bergen County or the beach house in Hyannis – we know there are people out there who want it, too. 

And for both groups, there’s the perception that there are people who are newcomers or just different from us who are getting something for free – getting to that dream life we want – without the travail we endure.

When Trump talks about making America great again, he’s talking about that romanticized view of America and the disillusion that’s spreading from the boomers to those younger – and even to some who are not white, because they sense that they’re getting shut out, too.

Over the past days, I’ve tried to share my thoughts about Kamala Harris’ policies, particularly ones I believe show her aptitude and understanding of what America’s problems really are. They’re not magic cures. But they are ways to move the country forward.

She hasn’t been able to get her ideas heard because her opponent’s best chance is to manifest grievance. 

It’s cynical and sad. Giving Trump another chance will tear us apart. It will end with the demise of American greatness and consequences that are almost unimaginable.

There is no alternative to Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. In the next few days, we’ll find out if we’ll make it.

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THE UNSOLVABLE SOLVABLE PROBLEM

Let me throw this out there: The immigration “crisis” is hardly that.

This is a solvable problem. It is one for which Americans should relatively easily find common ground.

If that sounds crazy to you, after the past 20 years of xenophobia and jingoism, do a reality check. Because this is the reality:

— Yes, there are lots of people trying to get into the United States through its southern border. Most of them are desperate to escape poverty and violence – in Central America, in the Caribbean, and even in Asia and Africa.

— Many of these people are taking jobs in the United States. But whether they’re taking jobs away from Americans is highly doubtful. Most undocumented immigrants find work doing stuff that folks born here aren’t interested in doing: mowing lawns, picking crops, working in slaughterhouses and on mindless assembly line jobs.

— The trafficking of these people is a humanitarian nightmare. They are put in compromising positions by criminal gangs, extorted and exploited. 

— The borders do seem like a way for terrorists to penetrate our country – a country whose older citizens still hold dark memories of September 11, 2001. Not that the people who perpetrated that attack snuck in to the United States – the Al-Qaeda gang came here legally. But it’s understandable that people want vigilance on this matter.

There are multiple issues that concern liberals and conservatives. Republicans and Democrats. Responsible people in all 50 states.

But solving a problem means you can’t exploit it. And there seem to be a whole lot of people, mostly on the right, who much prefer making hay on an issue than eliminating or mitigating it.

Democrats and Republicans reached compromise on a bill earlier this year that would have addressed concerns on both sides. Increased security staffing. Guideposts for determining who should stay and who is too dangerous to stay. Fairness and humanity for families. A path to citizenship for those who are here without documentation.

It’s not as easy to scare people when you solve a problem. And that problem can’t be used as your gateway to exploit other issues.

I firmly a President Kamala Harris will not rest until she has some kind of deal that defuses and diminishes immigration as a flashpoint in American life. It would be her signature accomplishment if she succeeds. And with so many conservative Republicans signing on to her campaign, the opportunity to end the constant harping about this issue might never be more readily available.

Because otherwise, we’re going to hear about “caravans” every time wants to stymy a Democratic initiative. We’re going to hear about “broken borders” and “mules” and all the other crap.

Solve the damn problem. Show the world why America is so great,

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HOLDING THE COURSE IN CHOPPY SEAS

If you have a casual familiarity with world history, you know that empire building is a key part of it. The Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Ottomans, the British.

And now us. Like it or not – and, trust me, a lot of people don’t – the United States is the world’s most powerful nation. It has a fearsome military force, has its thumb on just about everybody’s economy and is the cultural touchstone of the planet.

It’s a privilege and a burden. The world’s lesser powers will either accept American leadership or see it as something to throw rocks at. 

Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong-Un, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. All of them can’t stand the idea that the United States stands in the way of their designs for dominance. At the same time, responsible leaders around the world seek our help in securing their way of life amid peace and prosperity.

No one seems to have understood this better than the 46th President of the United States: Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

Biden has always had a feel for global matters. He’s sought alliances and been a good partner throughout the world. He has led without dominating and reaffirmed American friendship.

He’s also stood up for what’s right.

Ukraine is the best example. Putin wanted this democracy nowhere near his turf. He did everything he could to undermine it. When it didn’t work – and the Ukrainians elected a comedian who turned out to be a real world leader – Putin launched a hideous war against people who just wanted to be left alone.

That Ukraine stands independent today – in what seemed like a considerable overmatch – is largely because of Volodymyr Zelinskyy’s leadership and the grit of its people. It also has a lot to do with Biden, the United States and the coalition of democratic powers that banded to give Ukraine the resources it needed to fight.

The situation in Gaza is a bit more complicated.

The United States has a long-standing and honorable commitment to the security of Israel. We recognized its independence in 1948 within minutes of its declaration. There are ancestral, social, economic and religious ties with the nation.

When Hamas launched the horrific terrorist attack on October 7 of last year, the Biden administration was obligated and inclined to support the Israelis. It has, for the most part, kept that commitment.

It’s kept that despite the fact that Israel’s leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, is probably more spiritually aligned with Putin than Biden. Keeping a nation at war – and putting the burden on non-combatants – is an evil in itself. What Netanyahu has done in Gaza is unforgivable.

Biden has needed to balance all his responsibilities in this crisis. And very few in the United States were going to be happy with whatever he did. That he owned up to the responsibility is a credit to his administration – amazingly, this crisis would be worse if he weren’t president.

It is hoped that Kamala Harris, who didn’t have particular international experience when she became vice president, has learned from Biden. And, because she’s learned for the professionals in this administration, she can be counted on to guide American foreign policy in a moral and protective direction.

She’ll have some freedom to change up a few things – dealing with Netanyahu, who is trying to stay one step ahead of the law in Israel. But she’s clear about her unbridled support for Zelinskyy and Ukraine, and will deal with bad actors directly and firmly.

What she won’t do is back down from American responsibility. She will not threaten NATO, or our partners in East Asia. She won’t talk tough about China before caving like a sandcastle in a tsunami. She’ll deal firmly and fairly with crises throughout the world.

She will not isolate us. She won’t bend under the weight of the power we wield on this planet and beyond.

You can’t say that about her opposition.

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IT’S A TRIP

Communication technology has radically changed in my lifetime – think cellphones, 84-inch TV screens, the whole freakin’ Internet.

But we’re pretty much using the same transportation technology that existed since before I was born.

I don’t imagine a President Kamala Harris is going to be as bold as to push for magnetic levitation, vacuum or anything else short of the impossible (see: “Star Trek,” transporter). So I’ll settle for improving and rebuilding our systems of getting places – and that’s a commitment that will be more of a continuation than a change.

President Biden should go down in history for what’s he captained in terms of infrastructure. It might be frustrating to get stuck in traffic caused by the umpteen highway improvement projects around the country. 

But making these roads safer and more efficient is a job that’s long overdue – and Biden did all this while boosting employment and, yes, keeping the inflation inherent in such an expansion in check. (Yes, we had inflation problems, but those were more about supply chain shortfalls caused by the pandemic.)

Improving highways isn’t the best way to meet our nation’s transportation needs. The idea is to get more people out of cars rather than into them in order to combat climate change and move people more efficiently. But that will take time.

Fortunately, the Biden-Harris administration has been clear-minded about pushing for alternative fuel – particularly, electric – vehicles. And it’s making a difference – there are lots more hybrid and electric vehicles on the road. People are starting to realize how much better life can be when you don’t need to unburden yourself of $40 or $50 to fill a gas tank each week.

Harris wants to expand the network of charging stations so that you’re never more than a few miles away from one. Her administration would also need to push automakers to improve battery life and length – long-distance trips are still a problem because of limited vehicle range.

Biden’s being a train freak has been a boon for public transportation. Improvements in intercity rail and commuter lines were prioritized – New York and New Jersey are finally building a new tunnel to replace century-old infrastructure under the Hudson River.

Now it’s time to expand. Europe and East Asia thrive on high-speed rail. There’s no reason the United States can’t. If it took less than five hours to from midtown New York to downtown Chicago by train, wouldn’t you rather take that than schlep to LaGuardia, wait for a 2-hour flight, then schlep from O’Hare to the Loop.

Secretary Pete Buttigieg – whose high profile has been a reassuring sign that Biden and Harris took transportation seriously – has pushed for an expansion of high-speed rail projects across the country. It’s going to take a while to build them – probably beyond the lifetime of many of us.

But let’s at least start.

One other transportation thought.

This summer, New York was on the verge of a bold experiment, the kind that doesn’t happen often in this country. Like several other cities around the world – London, in particular – New York was going to initiate congestion pricing – making drivers pay a toll to enter midtown and lower Manhattan.

The idea would be to unclog the narrow streets of the nation’s largest city, making it easier for vehicles that absolutely need to get around. Nothing terrifies me quite like seeing an ambulance stuck in gridlock on an impassable side street – imagine the poor person fighting for his or her life inside.

People who live in the suburbs squawked. How dare New York charge us extra to bring our pickups and SUVs into town? (Forgetting how they bar non-residents from using their parks and pools.) So the state’s governor, Kathy Hochul, caved and put off the plan’s implementation.

Should Harris win the White House, she should push to get the experiment started. And she should also, after making sure officials keep their promise to fund mass transit with the revenue from the program, pump federal money into the city to help improve the subways and buses.

Getting people from here to there – safely, quickly and cleanly – appears to be a goal of the Harris-Walz campaign. And let’s face it, it’s the only campaign thinking about something that serious.

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OLDEN DAYS

Whenever one of my contemporaries complains about the problems of getting older, my kneejerk response is “It’s better than the alternative.”

But sometimes I wonder.

Families go through hell when a parent or grandparent requires more than just routine care. In particular, dementia takes an incredible toll on a family’s psychology and finances.

There’s nothing federal or state governments can do to make the emotional pain of watching a loved one diminish. But anything that can be done to lessen the financial burden will help families deal with the heartbreak.

Earlier this month, Kamala Harris proposed allowing Medicare to help pay the costs of elderly home care. She says her administration would pay for this through some of the savings achieved through negotiating drug prices.

It’s an idea and seems worth trying. 

The details would be interesting. Would Medicare establish floors and ceilings for what care providers could receive as part of the reimbursement? Would there be minimum standards for quality?

Right now, finding people to attend to an elder in your care is crazy – at least here in New York. There are agencies and contractors, and they try to place people who might not be especially qualified for the task.

And there are all kinds of other issues. Are families in compliance with IRS regulations concerning taxes? Are the care providers in the country legally, or are they undocumented? How much of a family’s fortune needs to be spent before it qualifies for other forms of assistance, such as Medicaid?

As part of her plans for families caring for elderly members, Harris wants to end the practice of allowing the seizure of deceased recipients’ homes to help allay the costs of care. That is certainly a good thing.

Harris says she’s made these proposals after thinking about the difficulties she had when her mother was dying of breast cancer. That’s something Americans can relate to – when we talk about “economic anxiety,” that – and not some blatantly racist trope – is what we should mean.

The other key issue affecting those who are is the protection of Social Security and Medicare.

Republicans hate those two programs. They are what endear so many Americans to the Democratic Party – gifts from Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson to this generation and beyond.

Because the population is aging, the costs of these programs are taxing the systems that support them. This has given opponents an opening. For instance, they believe letting Social Security become a voucher program that allows funds to be invested as recipients see fit would help.

Which it wouldn’t. Especially now, at the point of our lives when Social Security is a crucial part of our income. It would be like gambling. And one mistake could be life-changing – and threatening.

Harris is looking at a longstanding Democratic idea – raising the ceiling at which income is taxed for Social Security and Medicare purposes. It’s ridiculous that Elon Musk pays a lower percentage of his income toward these programs – which he doesn’t need – than a teacher, a policeman or a miner.

But, as befits the point of these pieces, it’s not something you hear a lot about in the campaign coverage. Because the idea is to not let this message get heard – for fear it’s really popular among the demographic that could ensure her election.

It matters to my generation. It matters to my kids. I’ll bet it matters to you. 

In more ways than one, that beats the alternative.

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