Boricua Rising!

The drama of Election Day is a little over 24 hours away and it’s hard to fathom that there are individuals that are still undecided about their vote in an election that might result in the end of the Republic and that has witnessed the very worst of “political” speech and conduct from one of the candidates.

       In my conversations with the “unsure and wavering,” a first set of “issues” stem around their perceptions of Kamala Harris’ career as Prosecutor and Attorney General; her failure to solve the immigration problem; her political positions on Gaza, abortion rights, transgender rights (and transgender prisoner rights to gender-affirming care); and the right to bear arms.

These issues are easily addressed by reading, fact-checking and common sense:

• Kamala Harris was both lauded and criticized by progressives and the police for her policies as Prosecutor and Attorney General. That is typical of the position.
• Her “failure” to “solve” the immigration problem is shared by every Presidential administration in this country’s history. She has repeatedly called for the provisions that the bi-partisan bill of 2023 would have put in place for a more secure border, had former President Trump not pressured Republican lawmakers to withdraw their support. She recognizes that our immigration system is “broken.” No one person, or country, can solve what is a truly global problem.
• Gender-affirming care has been offered to transgender prisoners since a 1976 USSC case and other subsequent Court rulings. This means that this care was also offered, to various degrees, during the Trump administration and those before it.
• With 3% of the population identifying as “transgender,” it is very unlikely that we are going to see any significant number of transgenders in women’s sports, and these can be handled on a case-by-case basis by the sports entities which govern these sports, and when necessary, by our courts.
• Kamala Harris’ position on abortion rights includes maternal health care issues for pregnant women affected by abortion bans that have already killed too many women miscarrying wanted pregnancies. She supports the historic separation of Church and State, as many Presidents and Vice-Presidents before her and the fundamental right for a woman to control her own body.
• She strongly favors a cease-fire and recognizes the complexities of the terrible situation in the Middle East and affirms Israel and Palestine’s right to exist. I trust her much more than the other candidate to navigate those waters.
• She is a gun owner and has affirmed her support for the right to bear arms. She also supports the right to safe schools and safety in our public spaces. Who can argue with this? Really?

So, why can’t these “undecided” folks get with Kamala Harris? The answer to this may force us to grapple with some of our inherent biases.  I listen with interest as some try to explain that she “bypassed” the primary process to become the nominee and that she just “walked into it;” that they “don’t know enough about her;” that she “first ran for office with help of an old boyfriend” and finally, that she didn’t make the case for herself as the President and focused more on the “I’m better than the other candidate” message.

In the first few hours after Biden announced that he was stepping down, my immediate thoughts went to the primary, and the chaos and excitement that could arise from an open primary. I thought of Harris’ candidacy and whether America was ready to vote for its first Black / South Asian woman as President. I am not ashamed to admit that I have been terrified of the other candidate becoming President again and bringing back his brand of xenophobia, racism, misogyny and hatred — everything we experienced before to exponentially higher levels. I wanted a candidate that would be charismatic, articulate, with a perfect answer for every question, a candidate for all seasons and for all citizens. I wasn’t sure that Kamala Harris would be perceived as that person. My support was immediate, but I worried that the double standard applied to a woman, and especially a woman of color, might be too much to overcome – especially in a country as divided as ours.

What I can say now – on the eve of the election, is this: I have watched Kamala Harris accept the nomination in a precedent-setting moment: no candidate has ever won an election having entered the race at the point that she has. No one else stepped up to do it; for the sake of unity but perhaps also because any candidate would have preferred more optimal conditions. Despite the most disgusting and vile memes, tropes, and slander, she has gotten up every day of this campaign to fight, campaign, discuss, and engage the American people. She has given a few answers that you or I might have answered differently. But that’s ok. She is HUMAN. She is not perfect, and no one can be. If a woman must be perfect, then we will never have a woman President. Just consider the imperfections we have accepted from the men that have done this job and I rest my case.

She IS a person that has acknowledged that sometimes policies are mistakes, and our egos should not prevent us from re-examining and improving said policies. She IS a person that has admitted supporting a wall along Mexico, which she did not initially support, to pass a bi-partisan bill that addresses immigration problems. She has stated that she is considering having some Republicans on her Cabinet (she has many from which to choose, given the high number of Republicans that support her over the other candidate). She is showing us who she is: a LEADER. She is strong of body, mind and spirit. She has the qualifications and experience, and she will assemble a team to help her run our country and create solutions. She is a candidate who understands our Constitution and that, if in 4 years, she hasn’t earned our support for re-election, she will be out. The other candidate has promised his supporters that they “will never have to vote again.” I will not spend any more time on the other Candidate. His team has made its case.

We must elect her to say to our children that we did not vote for hate. We must elect her because we are ready to say to the millions of women in this country that have served and continue to serve in the home, workplace, military, hospitals, schools and in every facet of life in America that WE ARE READY TO LET A WOMAN DO THE JOB! We must tell the world that we are stronger for our divisions and that we are not going to succumb to the forces of fascism, authoritarianism and Christian nationalism. We are not going back into our history to “reclaim” a past that was not always great for many of our citizens.

We are going forward, and we are going to be truly great, and elect Kamala Harris to serve as our 47^th President. She has earned it because of her service to our country, and because of the dedication and dignity that she has displayed every day of this most brutal campaign.

                  God bless her and God bless our country.