U.S. Senate Candidate Shines at Convention

Kamala Harris

by Kenneth D. Miller
Special to the NNPA from the LA Watts Times

There have been moments in American politics such as 2004 when a relatively unknown Illnois Senator Barack Obama delivered the keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention.

That U.S. Senator eventually became the first Black President of the United States in 2008 and President Obama will be completing his second term in 2016.

Last weekend in Anaheim the California democratic Convention was held as more than 3,000 Democrats converged for the party’s largest gathering of the year.

The name most people are mentioning this week is California Attorney General and United States senate candidate Kamala Harris.

Like Obama, Harris packs the same charisma and political star appeal which is why she drew thousands of cheering Democrats to their feet, waving campaign signs for her race for Senate at the event.

She earned a warm welcome and a ringing endorsement from the event’s headliner — Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

Her opponent in the Senate race Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Santa Ana didn’t help herself when she got criticized after showing up at a party caucus and describing American Indians by putting her hand over her mouth and mimicking a war cry.

Harris’ mother is Indian and her father Jamaican.

“I don’t know what to say to that. That – that – that’s shocking,” Harris said, raising her eyebrows in disbelief when the comments were shared with her after an afternoon news conference. “That’s shocking,” she repeated.

The Attorney General then went on about her business at the convention attending by heavy hitters such as Rep. Maxine Waters, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Lt. Gov. Jerry Brown and many others.

However all eyes were on Harris the two term AG who is taking a big step to replace veteran Senator Barbara Boxer who has announced her retirement.

Aside from the race for president in 2016, the Senate Seat for Boxer will be a bellringer and hotly contested pitting a Latino in Sanchez against a Black in Harris, and those are just the only two we know of at the moment.

Warren, who endorsed Harris soon after the attorney general announced her run in January, said she was happy to help a friend who fought alongside her to protect consumers who were “tricked and trapped” by bad mortgages when the housing bubble burst.

Warren hailed Harris as “fearless” in fighting for consumers against the banks that sold bad mortgages.

“I will tell you what it means to stand up for the people,” Harris said. “It means standing up for an economy that works for all people.”

Harris has already raised $2.5 million and has a long list of party leaders backing her, but the race will like be the most expensive on the ticket next to that of the president.

Harris spoke at the convention on May 16 and pledged to stand up for people and fight for universal preschool.

I will “stand up for the people” establish universal preschool, full-day kindergarten and affordable child care for all families, and fight for students against diploma mills that “strapped them with useless degrees and a lifetime of debt.”

The Democratic Party and its members are responsible for some of our nation’s most important and impactful legislation: Social Security, Medicare, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Most recently, California Democrats played a leading role in helping President Obama pass the historic Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, ending the insurance company practice of denying coverage to children because of pre-existing conditions and lowering the cost of health care for millions of Americans.

There are more than 7.5 million registered Democrats in California – 44.49 percent of California voters.

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