Kamala Harris and the busing issue
[NOTE: I used to spell it “bussing,” but I’m choosing to move with the times here. Each spelling has its own problems. “Busing” makes it seem as though it should be pronounced like part of the word “abusing.” But “bussing,” which is much more phonetically correct, seems like it might mean “kissing.” See more discussion of this pressing (not presing) issue in this thread.]
In using the pre-planned tactic to attack Biden on his long-ago stance on busing, Kamala Harris won the battle for now, at least among some Democrats whose votes she is seeking. Biden has been the supposed front-runner, and the consensus is that Harris harmed him in the debate and that her own star is rising.
I already discussed the substance of the busing issue and Harris’s argument here. I’m bringing this up again, however, to make a different point—the same point that Harris’s former paramour Willie Brown made recently:
“Harris got all the attention for playing prosecutor in chief, but her case against former Vice President Joe Biden boiled down in some ways to a ringing call for forced school busing. It won’t be too hard for Trump to knock that one out of the park in 2020,” Brown wrote.
“Trump must have enjoyed every moment and every answer[ in the Democratic debates], because he now knows he’s looking at a bunch of potential rivals who are still not ready for prime time,” Brown concluded.
Brown dated Harris in the 1990s as the future senator was getting her start in politics. Brown, then Democratic speaker of the California State Assembly, appointed Harris to her first significant political office on the California Medical Assistance Commission in 1994.
I’m in agreement with Brown’s observation. Then again, to Kamala Harris’s way of thinking, if she doesn’t take Biden down a peg or two (or three or four) soon, then she can’t ascend. There’s only room for one Democratic nominee, and she aims to be it. So do the others, but they didn’t set their sights so firmly on Biden (at least, they haven’t done so yet).
But there are dangers in the long term to taking a position such as Harris’s. As Brown points out, she will be saddled with the label of supporting busing, a highly unpopular position.
However, there is also the phenomenon of denial and reliance on the ignorance and/or poor memory of the American public, coaxed by the ever-helpful MSM. The MSM favors Democrats over Republicans, of course. But it also plays favorites among Democrats, and Harris is an MSM favorite—or at least, the favorite du jour. As such, she will be helped along in her assertions and then her denials of whatever assertions later prove inexpedient.
But there are dangers in the long term to taking a position such as Harris’s. As Brown points out, she will be saddled with the label of supporting busing, a highly unpopular position.
The media wing of the Democratic Party will do their best to make sure this is buried when it’s convenient to bury it. The rap on swing voters is that they’re not civically engaged. They won’t make up their minds for a while.
A real setup. I note the story mentioning that she even had t shirts printed up and ready to go.
The NYSlimes reports (but nearly at the end of a very complimentary article)
“But even in the afterglow of her debate reviews, questions still linger about Ms. Harris’s policy core. After her exchange with Mr. Biden on Thursday night, a Harris spokesman said that she supported busing as a method for school integration, but the campaign declined to provide additional information.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/28/us/politics/kamala-harris-joe-biden.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fastead-w.-herndon&action=click&contentCollection=undefined®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection
Kamala Harris isn’t trying to stake out a position that’s pro-busing, and she’s definitely not trying to revive busing as an issue to be embraced. That’s all theater.
To the Left, and to Democrats, the world is divided between oppressors and oppressed. The oppressors are evil, the oppressed heroic. Kamala Harris’s semi-fictional story paints her as among the oppressed, Biden as among the oppressors. My god, he was even a friend of segregationists. But, even as a child, Kamala Harris was a hero. That’s the image she’s created, and it’s one she’ll keep feeding.
She doesn’t care about the political details of the great busing debate. No one remembers all that anyway. Who really cares? What matters is that people will remember that little Kamala was a hero then, and still is today. And now she’s ready to smite the evil orange man.
Spending many long nauseous hours on school buses, vomiting and woozy through the school day, the whole subject makes me queasy.
It’ll be Harris/? vs Trump/Pence in 2020.
The only question is who fills in that “?”
And you’ll hear HRC shrieking from the sidelines, “Why does she get to use sex to advance her career all the way to the White House, but I didn’t?”
How does busing kids all around cities impact the Green New Deal? Most school buses are diesel and the busing process is very time consuming.
School choice is a better plan as well as being able to get rid of bad teachers.
Interesting to hear what Willie Brown has to say – he’s one of the savviest politicians in California over the past 100 years.
Willie Brown does seem to think Biden could possibly beat Trump, but only with Harris as his VP:
I am not so sure Harris will get the nomination, although she does does check three out of the five necessary boxes. She has the pigment, vagina, and left wing boxes checked; but is not a transgendered muslim. 😉
Pete Buttigieg is IMO the most dangerous of the dem candidates. He’d love to see Harris and Biden bring each other down.
He also has the least amount of political baggage and vulnerabilities. This early in the race, quietly hanging back behind Sanders, Warren, Harris and Biden while raking in the cash and building an organization makes a lot of sense.
Willie Brown does seem to think Biden could possibly beat Trump, but only with Harris as his VP:
See Wm. Schneider on public opinion research in re VP selections: your best estimate is that the VP selection garners you 2% of the ballots in the VP candidate’s home state. That’s it. None of the Democrats will need a boost in California. The last clear example of ticket-balancing was Michael Dukakis’ selection of Lloyd Bentsen (unless that was a ploy to get Bentsen off the Senate Finance committee).
Interesting to hear what Willie Brown has to say – he’s one of the savviest politicians in California over the past 100 years.
Willie Brown is trolling you.
He also has the least amount of political baggage and vulnerabilities.
As we speak he’s taking flak from black chauvinists and the police unions. IMO, in regard to any core city mayor, you have to ask (1) what’s been the median homicide rate in your town during your tenure (2) given your demographics and (3) what was the median rate registered in the six years before you took office. Buttigieg hasn’t accomplished anything and the local Rev. Bacons are still pissed at him. #loser
I just want that cast of clowns to so destroy each other in the mad mudder climb to the nomination that there’s nothing left of the left to engage the President in anything other than more mud…and he’s already proven the master there.
But it might be Harris/Buttigieg…there’s that other victim class tick…or Harris/Warren…two vaginas gotta count for something 😉
So, Democrats, and not a few Republicans, back what is effectively “immigration reform” in lieu of “emigration reform”, with the attendant casualties and collateral damage at both ends of the bridge and throughout.
I’m looking forward to meeting Willie’s ex-girlfriend on the Fourth.
Interesting to hear what Willie Brown has to say – he’s one of the savviest politicians in California over the past 100 years.
CatoRenasci: That’s my assessment. And I shook Willie Brown’s hand! You know what they say about guys who shook Willie Brown’s hand. (Nothing actually. An “Ocean’s 13” reference.) He’s one snappy dresser too.
A friend who has lived in California since the mid-seventies and follows state politics closely says that early in Brown’s career he was defending black pimps and hustlers on account of claimed racism, but in the process he compiled a lot of dirt on local political players — a card Brown played J. Edgar style. I haven’t been able to corroborate that one.
Nonetheless, when Willie Brown talks, I listen — if I happen to run into him saying something.
I am really glad you wrote about this topic. As one who used to support Dems I cannot believe the new reality of their current ideology. I guess they have always had a checkered past, but today I think they have really gone off the deep end. I didn’t watch the debates. I watched a couple of YouTube clips and read about them. They only thing they focused on was healthcare for undocumented immigrants and women’s rights, particular abortion. Really? What planet are they from? Harris is a problem. I went to a couple of schools that had busing, but mostly I lived in small towns with neighbourhood schools. The education and educational experience for everyone involved was better at the neighbourhood schools. And Harris has just invited the other candidates to look carefully at her past. They will find a lot of fodder.
Buddha judge has too much baggage from his time as mayor. He’s smooth talking and has the ability to seem to be for whatever you want him to be. Kinda like Obama in that regard. I think his failed mayoral tenure is too much to overcome. It’s already in the news and can’t be covered up.
Harris is a SCARY woman. But she has taken far left positions (such as busing) that will be hard to back down from if she gets the nomination. Maybe she can win with identity politics, but I’m doubting it.
Warren is smart and very energetic. She has identified some of the problems we have with our economy, (In fact, some of her ideas sound like she is channeling Trump) but her solutions are all anti-business – not Trump-like at all. She might have a shot at the nomination if she can avoid being too far left and can raise money from the celebs, Wall Street, and academia. Hah!
Bernie has lost steam. He’s not the only socialist in the race now and his ranting sounds like an angry curmudgeon, not a visionary leader. I think he will find it hard to raise money.
That leaves Biden. He could win the nomination just on the fact that most rank and file Dems are not ready for socialism yet. His biggest failing is he is too old and low energy. But his name recognition, more moderate positions, and ability to attract money may put him in position to squeak by for the nomination.
On the other hand, it’s early. Maybe Delaney or Ryan (two moderates) will catch fire. Or Tulsi Gabbard. Or Beto. Or? It’s a wide field that’s an inch deep.
Maybe it’ll be a brokered convention. That would be interesting.
Kamala is simply trying to morph into an “African American “ just like Dainty Barrie did.and just like Barrie she is zero African American and like Barrie comes from a white slaveowning family. His in America hers In Jamaica. But hers actually owned plantations.
Hopefully Trump won’t cede her the use of the race card the way the republicans ceded it to the culturally appropriating Barrie.
Maybe it’ll be a brokered convention. That would be interesting.
Last time the decision was made on the convention floor was in 1968, when delegate selection methods were quite different. The last time the decision took more than one ballot was 1952. The last time a deadlock had to be resolved through negotiations among party sachems was in 1924. For the last 40-odd years, news junkies have been Linus van Pelt and brokered conventions have been the Great Pumpkin.
She should change her name to Kamala Legree
Totally not on topic, but IT LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING BIG HAS JUST HAPPENED..
Air Force One, carrying VP Pence, turned around from taking Pence to a scheduled talk he was to give in NH–that talk was cancelled–and Pence just returned to Washington and entered the White House to deal with some sort of EMERGENCY.
Meanwhile, there is a report that Putin has canceled his announced schedule, and is in urgent consultations with his Defense Minister.
In addition it is also being reported that the EU’s Security Council has been called into urgent session.
Re the above–
Looking around on the Internet, there is a lot of confusion about what is going on.
I saw one report on FOX about Pence arriving at the White House, but that’s all.
Something? Nothing? Who knows?
And, if something major has happened, that we are not supposed to know about, we may never know what it was.
The 24 hour news cycle strikes again. Likely nothing much.
J.J. on July 1, 2019 at 11:40 pm said:
“Maybe it’ll be a brokered convention.”
* * *
Nice handicapping of the race, but excuse me until I quit laughing at the mic-drop line.
Art Deco,
JJ agrees that, “Buddha judge has too much baggage from his time as mayor.”
But then points out why it won’t matter, “He’s smooth talking and has the ability to seem to be for whatever you want him to be. Kinda like Obama in that regard.”
His lack of accomplishments as mayor can be easily dismissed. Those who voted for Hillary won’t care anymore about his poor performance than they did with Hillary or Obama. Many of the apathetic middle will believe whatever spin the mass media places upon it. IMO, his lack of real baggage and his smooth talking and ability to seem to be whatever the voters on the left want him to be
makes him the eventual front runner.
That assumes of course that arrogance doesn’t lead to him shooting himself in the foot in an unrecoverable manner. And, he is an arrogant man.
It is ironic that, according to Kamala Harris’ own father, one of her Jamaican ancestors was a slave owner.
Said her father—
“My roots go back, within my lifetime, to my paternal grandmother Miss Chrishy (née Christiana Brown, descendant of Hamilton Brown who is on record as plantation and slave owner and founder of Brown’s Town) and to my maternal grandmother Miss Iris (née Iris Finegan, farmer and educator, from Aenon Town and Inverness, ancestry unknown to me). The Harris name comes from my paternal grandfather Joseph Alexander Harris, land-owner and agricultural ‘produce’ exporter (mostly pimento or all-spice), who died in 1939 one year after I was born and is buried in the church yard of the magnificent Anglican Church which Hamilton Brown built in Brown’s Town (and where, as a child, I learned the catechism, was baptized and confirmed, and served as an acolyte).” *
According to one apparently well researched article, of the estimated 10.7 million Africans who were shipped to various locations during the Atlantic slave trade, only a small percentage, about 388,000 of them, were shipped directly to North America.
Most of the slaves were actually shipped directly to the Caribbean and South America, with Brazil alone receiving 4.86 million African slaves.
Some additional slaves–an estimated 60,000 to 70,000–were first sent to the Caribbean, but ended up in the U.S., for a grand total of 450,000 African slaves who were sent to North America.
* See https://www.jamaicaglobalonline.com/kamala-harris-jamaican-heritage/
Someone has done a little research. Glass Houses and all that.
And it turns out that an 1832 English pamphlet about first hand observations of the conditions of slaves in Jamaica quotes what is apparently Kamala Harris’ slave owning ancestor, Hamilton Brown, telling an English visitor just how good conditions for slaves are in Jamaica, compared to the conditions of workingmen in England.
The pamphlet then goes on to describe, in great detail, what the pamphleteer witnessed about the conditions of slaves in Jamaica over the course of a seven week stay on a plantation.
And how the slaves on the plantation–both male and female–were routinely brought before the master for whipping–a standard 39 lashes each, that drew a lot of blood–for what seem to be minor offenses.
Check out the multitude of examples, they are quite revealing.
See https://books.google.com/books?id=7uATZj4RrIUC&pg=PA3#v=onepage&q&f=false
https://www.frontpagemag.com/point/274233/snopes-claims-kamalas-fathers-admission-descending-daniel-greenfield
Gotta love that neutral headline.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/kamala-harris-ancestor-slaves/
Did U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris’ Ancestor Own Slaves in Jamaica?
Based on an article written by the 2020 presidential Democratic primary candidate’s father, right-leaning opponents dove head-first into an ill-judged attack on her.
DAN MACGUILL
PUBLISHED 2 JULY 2019
Welcome to the world of family history research.
People’s memory & documents don’t always match up, but as Daniel says:
And Snopes conveniently shuts down the case for whites paying reparations to blacks, using the same logic they do at the end of their post: