NEW YORK : “I am the first female Vice President, not Last.” These were the words of Kamala Harris who is the presidential candidate of Democrats in the upcoming US election.
The first Black-female vice president, first female Black-South-Asian attorney general of California, first US female senator with South Asian roots, Kamala Harris was born in Oakland, California on Oct 20, 1964.
Harris’ parents were immigrants. With a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, Harris has a soft corner for the US immigrants in her heart.
Her parents got divorced when Harris was only five. She was raised by her Hindu mother Shayamala Gopalan Harris near San Francisco. Her mother was a known civil rights activist and a cancer researcher.
“She was tough, courageous and a trailblazer in fights for women’s health,” Harris said about her mother.
Harris also spent few years in Canada when her mother worked there as a teacher. She studied in Montreal for five years.
Harris later attended the Howard University in Washington DC in 1986 and earned the degrees in politics and economics. She got her degree in Law from University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1989.
She began her career as the top prosecutor for Alameda County and, from 2004 to 2011, as district attorney for the city of San Francisco.
She often feels proud on defending the families who were badly affected in 2008 economic crisis. She has always been a resilient office-holder. She often refused to follow some decisions of Obama administration.
In 2014, she married lawyer Douglas Emhoff and became the step-mother of his two children from previous marriage.
In 2017, she took oath as a second Black female senator in US Senate and first senator from California with South Asian background.
ASPIRATION TO BECOME PRESIDENT
Harris first threw her hat into the ring for president in 2019. But despite her extraordinary communication skills she could not get through primaries and was soon out of the race of president.
In primaries of 2020 presidential elections she was rival to incumbent President Joe Biden, but it was astonishing for the political pandits in the US when Biden appointed her as her VP.
According to US media, the appointment of Harris as VP has been proved as a game changer for Democrats as it attracted the women and young voters en masse.
SERVICES AS VP
As vice president of US, Harris played a crucial role in many successes of Biden administration. She got massive popularity for her strict point of view against drug smuggling and sexual abuse.
She led a nationwide campaign against the ban on abortion and raised awareness about the hazards that this ban might cause.
It would not be wrong to call her the ‘record-making lady’ as she also made another record as VP in the US senate for having most tie-breaking votes in Senate history.
From these votes, Reduced Inflation Act and American Rescue Plan to combat Covid were approved from Senate .
NOMINATION FOR PRESIDNETIAL CANDIDATE
As every presidential candidate gets almost 12 to 16 months to campaign for election but exceptionally Harris got her candidacy from Democrats only four months before the election day.
As Joe Biden gave up his candidacy, within an hour party nominated Harris as its potential candidate.
And it is also worth mentioning that Harris’ fund-raising amount tripled the amount of her rival Donald Trump’s whole campaign in just four months.
PROMISES IN 2024 CAMPAIGN
During her campaign Harris made many promises and her most prominent promise is restoration of economy. Being raised by a single mother and having a middle class background, Harris has promised to strive for the betterment of the middle class.
She has shown keen interest in developing the small businesses to raise the living standards of the lower income class.
She promised to control inflation and introduce incentives for those who want to buy their own houses.
Another important point of her policy ideals is her advocacy for the abortion rights. She has the opinion that at national level freedom of reproductive rights must be given to the people.
In her campaign she resolved to tackle the issue of illegal immigrants with an iron fist. The reason behind her firm stance is her experience as district attorney when she also tackled the cases of human trafficking at the hands of human smugglers.
She wants to impose taxes on big businesses and corporations. She also wants to increase the taxes on those who earn more than $4 million annually.
As far as her foreign policy is concerned, she has firm stance to keep supporting Ukraine against Russia no matter how long it may get.
On Israel-Palestine issue she is an ardent supporter of ceasefire and two-state solution.
