Why Not Kamala?
Stop making me "prove" why Kamala should be the next POTUS.
I was feeling energized and – dare I say it – hopeful on Sunday after attending a gathering of local Democratic candidates and leaders, so I did what I do: I tweeted about it. Like anytime I tweet about anything even tangentially political, I expected the trolls to troll. What I didn’t expect, though, was the wave of men (white men, to be specific) tweeting back at me and baiting me to justify my support of Kamala and the Dems.
“What’s your favorite Kamala policy?” asked a dude named Sam.
To be clear, my pal Sam was asking with the same level of genuineness as Donald and Melania Trump’s love story, so I didn’t give him an answer. Neither Sam nor his bruhfriends are actually interested in a policy discussion—they’re just out there keyboard warrior-ing for sport.
But I have to give the Fighting Sams some credit, because their “prove it” campaign did get me thinking: If someone was sincerely interested in the discussion about why I’m supporting Kamala, what would I say? What is it exactly about Kamala that suddenly has me feeling cautiously optimistic for the first time in years?
I have my intellectual reasons for supporting her, of course. Her strong stances on reproductive rights and gun control are top of mind for me. It’s no exaggeration that I’ve lost sleep over both of these issues, and to hear someone speak unapologetically about access to abortion and freedom from gun violence is music to my ears.
But if I’m being honest, Kamala’s policy stances—as refreshing as they may be—don’t account for all of my newfound enthusiasm and hope. If I’m being really honest, it has nothing to do with policy at all.
It’s much simpler than that.
It’s that she’s not Donald Trump.
To be clear, I think Kamala Harris is incredibly qualified and fit to become the next President of the United States. But Donald Trump has put this country through a collective hell for the last decade. He’s a self-important misogynist and racist with no genuinely held belief system except “Me First and Only Me.” He doesn’t care about our country; he just wants the power of the Presidency.
And, as we’ve seen, he’s unbelievably dangerous. He’s a danger to women. He’s a danger to the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants, and minorities. He’s a danger to the very system his supporters claim to revere: our democracy.
So, if you’re voting for Kamala because you align with her platform, great. If you’re voting for Kamala because you align with her platform and also because she’s not Donald Trump, great. Me too.
But if you’re voting for Kamala only because she’s not Donald Trump, good for you, dammit. Because in this election, that’s reason enough.
Sam, buddy, if you’re reading this, I hope this answers your question. But now I have one for you:
Why Donald Trump?
Xoxo, Steph
Check out the full Iowa Writers Collaborative here:
You didn’t need to ‘prove it’s but you did. My wife and I are enthusiastically supporting Kamala for a number of reasons, including her positions on reproductive rights and gun control that make our daughter’s lives better.
Steph, I share your view, as does retired federal courts (conservative Republican) Judge J. Michael Luttig. In his recent endorsement of Kamala Harris, which according to the article I read will be his first ever vote for a Democrat presidential candidate, he writes, "...I assume that her public policy views are vastly different from my own, but I am indifferent in this election as to her policy views on any issues other than America’s Democracy, the Constitution, and the Rule of Law, as I believe all Americans should be."
His full statement can be found here, https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25050952-luttig-endorsement.