American Politics

  • Harris and her family

    Kamala Harris, the Democrat Presidential candidate, has jettisoned her campaign beyond its uncertain beginnings. If the exit of Joe Biden came as a surprise, the shock is a surge of support for Harris.

    However, her political career only took a form as she became the first female Vice President in American history. She served an administration that prioritised public spending and her campaign is focused on the needs of middle income families.

    The background of a candidate like this is of interest, and since pundits usually look for credibility to meet plaudits head-on, it’s worth looking at what there is to rely on.

    Harris is daughter to Donald J Harris, a Stanford economist who is also highly praised for his work in Jamaica. Her sister is a lawyer and former advisor in the Democrat party. It’s not a bad start, to be clear.

    Any belief in a candidacy does not rely solely on family, but it helps make it believable if a message is based along similar lines. The Harris family may have achieved their goals, but the real test is in the trust of America. Let’s see if they vote, and believe.

  • Harris sets her goals

    Kamala Harris is running on a ticket that promotes her gender, race, and background as selling points. If she wins, she’ll be the first female President in its history. It alone is a notable feature of the election race.

    Yet the issue is how her background influences her politics and what it now means for Americans. Harris says she grew up in a rented home and her mother brought their first house as a teenager.

    Her idea is to make it possible for more Americans to copy this example. Her key promise is to give $25,000 to help first time buyers. However, to have a home involves more than a one-off payment, as it were.

    Her other proposals include tax reliefs for families and lowering prices by penalising “price gouging” to ease a cost of living crisis. It would appear such ideas might plug a gap in her plan to help more Americans.

    The outcome of these proposals is set on a backdrop of debt for college-educated Americans, as well as a need for more jobs to be created. In appealing to the American middle class Harris has set herself a hard task.

  • Harris lead narrows

    In popular terms, Kamala Harris is seeing her candidacy struggle.

    In a poll for UK-based Redfield and Wilton Strategies, which is accredited both sides of the Atlantic, her lead has narrowed to just 1% over Donald Trump.

    The major issue this election is the economy, and Harris has majored on it during her recent campaign events. However it’s territory Trump has covered extensively before.

    The next top issue is the cost of healthcare, a perennial issue in American politics, which 57% feel is part of their voting considerations. The post-pandemic world isn’t one that has left behind this issue.

    The narrow lead in the polls may push Harris down to the wire.

  • Harris edges out Trump

    The American election is hotting up, with Biden out the way and Harris out in front. She leads her Republican opponent by 3 points, according to Redfield and Wilton Strategies.

    Her running mate, Tim Walz, has a 35% favourability rating among Americans. Her decision to run with him has landed her headlines and a bounce among Democrats, according to reports.

    However, they fall either side of typical dividing lines. It looks Trump is a clear winner on issues he talks about, and likewise Harris. It’s apparent the stump is the place to be in this election cycle.

  • Kamala the kickstarter

    The American election race is hotting up. A strong dividing line has been drawn. Kamala Harris has chosen Tim Walz, hailing from Nebraska, as her running mate. He’s a strong pick for a candidate who lacked firepower behind legal knowhow.

    The task ahead is troubling for Harris. Her Republican opponent is a powerhouse brand name. He’s also full of gusto. His rhetoric draws large crowds but she is more suited to a White House cum Washington scenic backdrop that makes her speeches sensible.

    If her campaign wish is going to come true is another matter entirely. She’s already raised campaign dollars at a rate. In ten days she drew $310 million for her war chest. It’s impressive for an upstart campaign. However the messaging still has to come through.

  • Jan 6 in retrospect

    In conservative political lore it makes sense to say protest isn’t the way forward.

    In the UK it bears out to be the truth.

    Most if not all protests at times are either Labour or liberal in origin. It isn’t easy to always work out who and messages change too. A protest needs a life of its own as well.

    The events of Jan 6 make ever clearer that patriotism runs deep for some people. It isn’t a matter of republican this or Democrat that, but it’s a sense of where one lives. It’s what drives people.

    We go to the lengths we go to win or sign documents because we also care. It’s a part of who we all are.

    A recent press release by the U.S Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia, has stated that so far the rioters cover nearly all the states in the country. It’s a huge figure and makes a difference considering its context.

    It doesn’t suggest a local Republican branch or a group which organised beforehand.

    It suggests an underlying issue which isn’t clear yet. It will bear out in time but for now it’s a legal system that has its say following an event that few have gotten to grips with just yet.

  • The woes of being political

    The Trump administration suffered mild media hostility from its outset in 2017.

    The American media had a hard time finding anything positive to say about Trump and his Presidency.

    It rarely has time to do anything else.

    It alerts viewers to “far right” views of his supporters, and points to words and phrases used to piece together an entire worldview that is anti-Trump, but leaves it to the Democrats to pick up the pieces.

    It can be argued there’s plenty of fodder to choose from, but his political woes stack up higher than his media troubles it would seem.

    His experience of his political peers turned into hysteria as his first term wore on. He was impeached twice, accused of insurrection, and alleged to be guilty of indiscretions related to his Presidency.

    The facts are clear though. Trump and Biden have polled huge support in their respective electoral wins. They both had a mandate to govern set out clearly by the American people.

    In either camp there are critics but neither has suffered criticism serious enough to warrant such further investigations.

    The democratic weight alleged to be behind single representatives is incomparable compared to the Presidency and yet it may feel stupid saying it.

    The American media and lesser public personalities appear intent on making it so but the truth is in the office, not the mouth of any single representative of media or state.

  • Kamala for President? It’s possible

    Kamala Harris has reportedly won the backing of her party to run for the Presidency. She takes the place of Joe Biden who recently left the campaign trail.

    Biden did not cite precise reasons why but he left it open for Harris who is a popular figure within the Democrat party. Harris is more likely to put up a fight against Republican candidate Donald Trump than anyone else.

    Trump is still running in spite of an assassination attempt. He’s also engaged in ongoing court cases that have threatened his attempt to win the White House for a second time.