DEX
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by DEX on Feb 6, 2023 17:55:11 GMT
I just don't get it. Most everyone I talk to and from posters here, I don't get the "meh" vibe about Kamala Harris. Now, before going any further, I have to admit that I am extremely disappointed that a woman has never been elected as President of the United States. Nearly every first world country and some third world countries have or have had a woman as their leader. People didn't like Hillary. Now, people don't like Kamala.
I am just wondering if any woman, other than Mother Teresa, would be good enough for the American voters. I hope to see a woman as the President within my lifetime.
So, what's wrong with Kamala Harris that people don't like?
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 28, 2024 22:44:18 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2023 18:01:09 GMT
I don't get the "she's so m'eh" comments. She's the VP. She's supposed to be meh! The VP isn't supposed to steal the spotlight. I mean, c'mon. Pence was boring. Biden as VP was in the background. All of the other VPs were also "meh." Save for some missteps here and there, VPs largely stay in the background. They're not there to knock your socks off.
I don't have a problem with her.
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Post by aj2hall on Feb 6, 2023 18:06:07 GMT
I'm with you. I don't understand the negative feelings towards her. She has been a favorite target of conservative media since Biden chose her. Some of the negative comments/ attention remind me of Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton and other powerful women.
Admittedly, she has had a few mis-steps. But, I don't think she's done anything to justify the hatred directed against her.
And I'm not sure what people are expecting. Who was the last really remarkable Vice President? What did Pence do that was really spectacular? Except for his job on Jan 6?
I also think she has unfortunately been given impossible tasks like voting rights and immigration.
She is a good speaker and she has moments like the funeral last week in Memphis where I think she does well.
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Post by aj2hall on Feb 6, 2023 18:12:35 GMT
This article points out that with the 50-50 Senate for the last 2 years, she was really stuck in DC. She needed to be available for last minute votes. www.nytimes.com/2023/02/06/us/politics/kamala-harris-vice-presidenct-legacy.htmlBecause the Senate was split evenly for the last two years, Ms. Harris has cast 26 tiebreaking votes in her role as president of the Senate, more than any vice president since John C. Calhoun, who left office in 1832. Tethered to Washington, she could never be more than 24 hours away from the Capitol when the Senate was in session in case her vote was needed. |
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Post by lisae on Feb 6, 2023 18:15:29 GMT
VP's aren't supposed to outshine the President so most of them stay in the background and go to funerals. Harris was given specific areas to focus on and those are very difficult, such as immigration. But still, since she had these areas I would have expected to see more action from her. I see Pete Buttieg far more on TV than I do Harris. When I do see a speech she is giving, it's challenging sometimes to really understand what she is trying to convey. I just don't see her as someone who can step into the role of President and take the actions that need to be taken. She has a lower approval rating than Biden. I think she needs to step up quickly or step down and let Biden pick someone else for a 2nd term if he runs again. (Still hoping he doesn't.)
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Post by epeanymous on Feb 6, 2023 18:21:06 GMT
I do think we have such an unbelievable level of misogyny running in this country that I don't know how we're going to elect a female president in my lifetime. I guess I'm supposed to be thankful we have some female governors and senators, but it's amazing how incredibly "unlikeable" each one becomes when they are actually in the spotlight.
Anyhow, she's more centrist than I would prefer if you were asking me who my ideal candidate would be, but I don't expect much from VPs aside from showing up to break ties in the senate and avoiding being a complete idiot.
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Post by peace on Feb 6, 2023 18:21:49 GMT
women in politics in this country are always either hated or thought incompetent. It's the long history of misogyny and patriarchal bullshit upon which we were founded.
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Post by littlemama on Feb 6, 2023 18:36:11 GMT
I dont have any strong feelings about her one way or another, which is how I think you're supposed to feel about the VP. Do I think she is the best choice as our next candidate? No.
Would I vote for her is she were? Yes, without reservation.
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Post by librarylady on Feb 6, 2023 19:48:49 GMT
Unfortunately, she is a female in the US. That is her "problem ".
Someone asked Did she have to be Mother Theresa--nope, Mother Theresa is female, so she wouldn't get anywhere either.
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Post by peasapie on Feb 6, 2023 20:48:04 GMT
I like her and would vote for her for president in a heartbeat. I hope she runs in 2024.
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Post by AussieMeg on Feb 6, 2023 20:52:59 GMT
To be fair, Mother Theresa was hugely problematic and came with a lot of baggage, so.....  I agree that it's the level of misogyny and possibly racism in your country that is a bit reason why people don't like her. And some of that misogyny unfortunately comes from other women. (There is definitely misogyny in politics here too, but at least we have had a woman Prime Minister, albeit for a short time.) The right, in particular, hates strong, powerful, intelligent women. |
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Post by onelasttime on Feb 6, 2023 20:56:37 GMT
She was tasked with finding reasons for migrants not to leave their country for here. Apparently she has been busy doing just that.
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Post by smasonnc on Feb 6, 2023 20:58:23 GMT
There is a strong feeling that she talks down to people. Hilary always gave the same impression but I voted for both of them anyway. Don't shoot the messenger. I'm just relaying complaints I've heard.
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Post by busy on Feb 6, 2023 21:06:11 GMT
There is a strong feeling that she talks down to people. Hilary always gave the same impression but I voted for both of them anyway. Don't shoot the messenger. I'm just relaying complaints I've heard. This is a perfect example of when strong women do something, it’s described as a negative, but when men do the same thing it’s “powerful” or “leadership.” ETA: I think there are perfectly valid reasons to not support Kamala Harris based on some of her choices/policies while DA in SF and AG of CA. But those people can articulate why they aren't supportive. The "I just don't like her" crowd... well, the chances that there is some degree of misogyny and/or racism at play is high. |
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Post by Darcy Collins on Feb 6, 2023 21:43:48 GMT
I don’t have any issue with her - too many can’t handle smart strong women.
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Post by peace on Feb 6, 2023 21:45:18 GMT
There is a strong feeling that she talks down to people. Hilary always gave the same impression but I voted for both of them anyway. Don't shoot the messenger. I'm just relaying complaints I've heard. This is a perfect example of when strong women do something, it’s described as a negative, but when men do the same thing it’s “powerful” or “leadership.” exactly this!! |
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janeliz
Drama Llama
I'm the Wiz and nobody beats me.
Posts: 5,632
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Post by janeliz on Feb 6, 2023 22:01:03 GMT
I was wondering the same thing. She’s disappointing a lot of people and they’re unimpressed by her, from what I hear? But why? It made me think about past VPs, and I can’t recall having particularly strong opinions one way or another about their job performances. They were just the VP. Well, other than maybe Dick Cheney, and that was because there was a lot of talk of him overstepping his boundaries and being a bit of a puppet master.
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scrappinmama
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,863
Jun 26, 2014 12:54:09 GMT
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Post by scrappinmama on Feb 6, 2023 22:08:01 GMT
I liked Harris when she was running for president. I liked her better than Biden even. She doesn't get a lot of opportunity to have the publicity as VP as she did a presidential candidate. I'm just no longer excited about her. That could change if she were to run again. We'll just have to wait and see. But as of right now, I'm indifferent about her.
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Post by hennybutton on Feb 6, 2023 22:22:18 GMT
I do think we have such an unbelievable level of misogyny running in this country that I don't know how we're going to elect a female president in my lifetime. I guess I'm supposed to be thankful we have some female governors and senators, but it's amazing how incredibly "unlikeable" each one becomes when they are actually in the spotlight. Anyhow, she's more centrist than I would prefer if you were asking me who my ideal candidate would be, but I don't expect much from VPs aside from showing up to break ties in the senate and avoiding being a complete idiot. Misogyny and racism. Harris is the target of both. We have family members who used to refer to President Obama using the n-word, so I think racism a huge part of the reason some people don't like VP Harris. Of course, being a woman is the larger part. A woman just can't win. Either she's "unlikeable and aggressive" or "too soft". It's depressing. |
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Post by tc on Feb 6, 2023 22:23:45 GMT
women in politics in this country are always either hated or thought incompetent. It's the long history of misogyny and patriarchal bullshit upon which we were founded. This is off subject a bit. When Hillary was running, I was speaking to my right leaning friend about the election (different story - but we can no longer discuss politics of any kind). She said her young 20-something son went to a Trump rally. She asked him when he got home what he thought and if he was going to vote for Trump or Hillary. She told me he replied, "I would never vote for that woman!" I halted the conversation right there and said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Is he not voting for her just because she's a woman? I can understand on an intellectual level if he's not voting for her because he doesn't agree with her policies and politics, but you are okay with him not voting for her ONLY BECAUSE she's a woman?" She replied something like, "Well, that's just the way it is." I lost a ton of respect for her in that moment. |
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Post by papersilly on Feb 6, 2023 22:26:25 GMT
she was the attorney general for my state. she was dynamic at it. had she been appointed to the Supreme Court, i think she would have been great in that role too. i think the backseat nature of V.P. has muted her a bit these past couple of years. i know it's the nature of that office but it seems like she's kind of stifled in that role. having her in the backseat has made me question her chances of becoming President. if she wasn't in that role, i think she would already be putting herself out there as a possible candidate.
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Post by aj2hall on Feb 6, 2023 22:29:14 GMT
I do think we have such an unbelievable level of misogyny running in this country that I don't know how we're going to elect a female president in my lifetime. I guess I'm supposed to be thankful we have some female governors and senators, but it's amazing how incredibly "unlikeable" each one becomes when they are actually in the spotlight. Anyhow, she's more centrist than I would prefer if you were asking me who my ideal candidate would be, but I don't expect much from VPs aside from showing up to break ties in the senate and avoiding being a complete idiot. Misogyny and racism. Harris is the target of both. We have family members who used to refer to President Obama using the n-word, so I think racism a huge part of the reason some people don't like VP Harris. Of course, being a woman is the larger part. A woman just can't win. Either she's "unlikeable and aggressive" or "too soft". It's depressing. Regrettably, I agree. How many Republican men and right wing media personalities deliberately mis-pronounce her first name? And refer to her by her first name. I don't think anyone called Mike Pence just Mike. Trump and Tucker Carlson even bizarrely claimed Kamala mispronounced her own name. |
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Post by morecowbell on Feb 6, 2023 22:30:33 GMT
women in politics in this country are always either hated or thought incompetent. It's the long history of misogyny and patriarchal bullshit upon which we were founded. This is off subject a bit. When Hillary was running, I was speaking to my right leaning friend about the election (different story - but we can no longer discuss politics of any kind). She said her young 20-something son went to a Trump rally. She asked him when he got home what he thought and if he was going to vote for Trump or Hillary. She told me he replied, "I would never vote for that woman!" I halted the conversation right there and said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Is he not voting for her just because she's a woman? I can understand on an intellectual level if he's not voting for her because he doesn't agree with her policies and politics, but you are okay with him not voting for her ONLY BECAUSE she's a woman?" She replied something like, "Well, that's just the way it is." I lost a ton of respect for her in that moment. But he said THAT woman. Not A woman. That doesn't sound like he wouldn't vote for a different woman, he just wouldn't vote for Hillary. |
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Post by hop2 on Feb 6, 2023 22:36:24 GMT
I have heard some people have issues with her time as a prosecutor and DA because she was ‘part of the oppressive system’
But I haven’t seen anything concrete about exactly why.
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Post by morecowbell on Feb 6, 2023 22:36:36 GMT
I do think we have such an unbelievable level of misogyny running in this country that I don't know how we're going to elect a female president in my lifetime. I guess I'm supposed to be thankful we have some female governors and senators, but it's amazing how incredibly "unlikeable" each one becomes when they are actually in the spotlight. Anyhow, she's more centrist than I would prefer if you were asking me who my ideal candidate would be, but I don't expect much from VPs aside from showing up to break ties in the senate and avoiding being a complete idiot. Misogyny and racism. Harris is the target of both. We have family members who used to refer to President Obama using the n-word, so I think racism a huge part of the reason some people don't like VP Harris. Of course, being a woman is the larger part. A woman just can't win. Either she's "unlikeable and aggressive" or "too soft". It's depressing. Wasn't it the Democrats that chose Joe over her, to begin with? |
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Post by peasapie on Feb 6, 2023 22:43:27 GMT
There is a strong feeling that she talks down to people. Hilary always gave the same impression but I voted for both of them anyway. Don't shoot the messenger. I'm just relaying complaints I've heard. Yes I've heard that as well, and I think it's the usual deal -- men can say anything and women can say nothing. Not shooting! |
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Post by peasapie on Feb 6, 2023 22:46:18 GMT
Misogyny and racism. Harris is the target of both. We have family members who used to refer to President Obama using the n-word, so I think racism a huge part of the reason some people don't like VP Harris. Of course, being a woman is the larger part. A woman just can't win. Either she's "unlikeable and aggressive" or "too soft". It's depressing. Wasn't it the Democrats that chose Joe over her, to begin with? And why do you think that was? |
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Post by morecowbell on Feb 6, 2023 22:48:42 GMT
Wasn't it the Democrats that chose Joe over her, to begin with? And why do you think that was? According to everyone here, they're misogynistic and racist. |
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Post by elaine on Feb 6, 2023 23:03:04 GMT
Democrats chose Joe Biden over Kamala Harris because they wanted a candidate that sane Republicans might vote for over TFG. That was the priority because TFG was hell-bent on pulling down democracy to benefit him and his sleazy progeny.
I didn’t hear Dems say that they hated her, would never vote for her, and a variety of other things that I have heard the right say - about both Kamala Harris and Hilary Clinton.
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Post by onelasttime on Feb 6, 2023 23:14:31 GMT
Kamala Harris ended her run for President early December 2019 before the primary elections started.
IMO for two reasons.
1. She seemed to be having a hard time settling on her agenda. I got the impression at the time it was because she felt she should move more to the left then she felt comfortable doing.
2. I saw a little blurb that there was friction in the campaign between her sister and the campaign manager. And that she was listening more to the sister then the campaign manager.
So the promising started ended early.
I had planned on voting for her in the CA primary but once she dropped out I ended voting for Secretary Pete.
Kamala Harris is a smart woman and my guess is if she runs for President again she won’t make these kind of mistakes again.
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