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1/ I support Warren. Here is my take on Kamala Harris's opening bid to be the Democratic nominee. She opened her speech with a good motto, "For the People." To back up that motto, whe claimed that she won $20 Billion for California homeowners because they had been defrauded
2/ by Wall Street. That is false and misleading. The overall settlement was $20 Billion and CA got $410 million. Gov Brown gave the money to state agencies, not homeowners. Here is the SF Chronicle. sfchronicle.com/business/artic…
3/ She also claimed that California passed the "strongest anti-foreclosure law in the nation." True, but it had nothing to do with Harris. In fact, writing in March 2018, well after Harris became a US Senator, the Sacramento Bee wrote about that law that was passed in "mid-2008
4/ and early 2009." So, unless the Sac Bee is totally wrong, how that anti-foreclosure law has anything to do with Harris or how she can claim it bolsters her street cred of standing up to Wall Street is a mystery. sacbee.com/opinion/califo…
5/ On the good side, she endorsed Bernie's Medicare For All as a "fundamental right." Unlike progressives, Harris wants "debt-free college" instead of tuition-free college. Harris wants the "largest middle class tax cut." And she is going to repeal parts of the Trump tax cut for
6/ for corporations. But, AOC and Nobel economists are suggesting much higher marginal tax rates and a much higher wealth tax than even Elizabeth Warren has proposed. Much of Harris is about "American Exceptionaism" and the "American Dream." Echoing HRC's "America is already
7/ great," Harris said, "we are already standing on common ground." Harris's speech sounded like a speech written by consultants. It was faint. It appeared to point only at Trump and not the GOP writ large. It was a Bill, Barack, and Hillary "I feel your pain" speech.
8/ Harris is HRC2.0. It was a speech HRC, with only slight modifications to take note of Trump's existence, could have been delivered in 2016. Harris has only vague allusion to the economic forces arrayed against the American people. Trump figures in, but not the GOP, and not the
9/ billionaires, not top 1/10 of 1 percent or the top 1 percent. My assessment is that she is a weak D in the primary field. She cannot debate Warren on Wall Street and economic inequality. If, a big if, the primary is dominated by economic and political inequalities, Harris will
10/ be at a disadvantage. If it is dominated by a "morning in America" feel-good vibe with a dose of "storm clouds in the forecast," then a candidate like Harris may do well. Others may have a different take, but I think we are seeing a weak candidate trying to sell razzmatazz.
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