Tag: Kamala Harris

Is Harris Repeating Mistakes Of The Past?

To answer that question…I believe she is repeating past mistakes.

I listen to political ads and Harris seems to be targeting those ‘Never Trumpers’ but is that a good idea when people are struggling with this economy?

Kamala Harris’ decision to mention Alberto Gonzales being added to the list of Republicans who’ve thrown their support behind her rubbed Jeet Heer the wrong way. In a piece for the Nation, Heer writes that the reference to the former US attorney general at a Thursday town hall sponsored by Univision was a “tone-deaf” move—Gonzales has been out of the public eye for two decades and brings the phrase “torture memos” to mind. As far as ill-advised choices go, it was a minor one, but Heer sees a “broader” and more “distressing” pattern at play: In the waning days of her campaign, Harris is putting too much effort into trying to win over “Never Trump” Republicans. And he sees a parallel with the final weeks of Hillary Clinton’s run for the White House.

“One big reason Clinton lost in 2016 was that she neglected the working-class base of the party at the expense of trying to win [GOP] converts,” writes Heer. Fears are rising within the party that Harris is doing the same. And yet “unlike Hillary Clinton in 2016, Harris does have a genuine economic populist agenda.” For example, her proposal that Medicare cover in-home care for seniors and people with disabilities would, if enacted, be a revolutionary investment in caregiving. However, Harris’ campaign is bungling things by trying to court a pool of Republicans instead of focusing on this proposal and economic policy in general, according to Heer. Three weeks is barely enough time to change course. She must do it now. “Hitting hard on economic populism while there is still time to excite the base remains the best path to victory,” Heer writes.

Read the full column.

The working class always gets the shaft in recent elections…..it is always about some silly notion of ‘trickle down’ BS.

Less than a month and Harris is still not laser focused on making working stiffs lives better…..we have nothing but a slogan….’A New way Forward’.

Sorry but we are stuck in reverse.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

“A New Way Forward”

The media and most pundits are telling us that this election is an economic election….”are you better off today/”….sort of thing.

This is a look at the Dems and their promises of a better life.

In 2024 this is the tagline of the Dems and Harris…..personally I do not see this being new or forward moving…..basically it is the same rehash of the policies from Biden and a wealth of other Dems running for office.

But if you still need to have a bit of incentive then please her site and read what she is proposing…

Click to access Policy-Book-Economic-Opportunity.pdf

I do not see the ‘new way’….but then I am not the biggest fan of Democrats these days.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

One Billion And Counting

I read today that the Harris campaign has raised $1 billion for the campaign….and the word is that it may not be enough….think about that for a moment.

In less than three months as a presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris has raised more than $1 billion—a historic pace. That’s more than her opponent, Donald Trump, has raised all year, per the New York Times. The Harris figure comes not from required campaign filings, the next of which is due later this month, but from multiple people who know of her operation. Despite the unheard-of fundraising rate, aides are concerned the Democratic campaign might not have money to win, the Washington Post reports. They’d also prefer the $1 billion figure not receive much attention. Their fundraising reasoning includes:

  • The short campaign: Entering the race long after Trump has meant Harris has to make her pitch to voters in much less time and has to rely on more sweeping, expensive efforts to reach them.
  • Battleground states: In all seven swing states, polls show no lead that isn’t within the margin of error. The Harris campaign figures it will have to spend big in all of them. “There have never been so many electoral college votes in play so late in the cycle, which means that our strong fundraising and volunteer enthusiasm are not guaranteed to be enough to fully reach voters everywhere they are,” one Harris person emailed the Post.
  • Perceptions: “Talking about this type of big money doesn’t convey the sense of urgency to do every single thing in all of the big and small ways,” another person involved said Wednesday.
  • The opposition: Trump pulled in $309 million through the end of August, and Harris reported spending about three times what the Republican nominee did in August. But super PACs, including Elon Musk’s, are helping narrow the spending gap to turn out GOP voters, per NBC News.

Does anyone see a problem with a campaign that has $1 billion and could still not be enough?

All these elections are getting out of hand….every year it takes more and more to fund a run for office.

That figure should have people starting to consider some sort of campaign funding reform.

Just a thought!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Harris, The Interview

VP Harris went before the nation and granted an interview with 60 Minutes and I sum it up here for those that had much better things to do on Monday Night….

I was not impressed with her answers…..

Kamala Harris sat for a 60 Minutes interview that aired Monday night, while Donald Trump earlier decided to skip. Some highlights from various outlets:

  • Her gun: Harris offered more details about being a gun owner, which she has brought up to refute claims that Democrats want to take people’s guns. “I have a Glock, and I’ve had it for quite some time,” she told Bill Whitaker, per USA Today. “And—I mean, look, Bill, my background is in law enforcement.” She said that she had “of course” fired it, at a shooting range.
  • Trump: She slammed the former president for opting out of his own interview. “If he is not going to give your viewers the ability to have a meaningful, thoughtful conversation, question-and-answer with you, then watch his rallies,” Harris said, per CBS News. “You’re going to hear conversations that are about himself and all of his personal grievances.”
  • ‘Real world’ economics: Pressed on how she would pay for her economic policies, including a $6,000 child tax credit, she pushed back on the suggestion they would not pass Congress in the “real world,” adding, “When you talk quietly with a lot of folks in Congress, they know exactly what I’m talking about.” The New York Timesnotes that this ignores “a reality she has encountered” as VP—that private talks don’t always lead to actual legislation.
  • Putin, world: She said she would not meet with Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine. “Donald Trump, if he were president, Putin would be sitting in Kyiv right now. He talks about, ‘Oh, he can end it on Day 1.’ You know what that is. It’s about surrender.” She also named Iran as America’s biggest adversary. On Israel, she deflected a question on whether the US lacked influence over Benjamin Netanyahu, per the Washington Post. “I think, with all due respect, the better question is, do we have an important alliance between the American people and the Israeli people,” Harris said. “And the answer to that question is yes.”
  • Tim Walz: In his own interview, running mate Walz said Harris told him to choose his words more carefully in regard to false claims that have come to light, per CNN. “She said, ‘Tim, you know, you need to be a little more careful on how you say things,’ whatever it might be.” He said misstatements about his military record and about being in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square unrest stemmed from “expressing emotion, telling a story, getting a date wrong,” and not being “a pathological liar like Donald Trump.”

This was a typical MSM interview….softball questions with limited answers and the answer given were so vague that bordered on ridiculous.

So she has a gun….she dislikes Trump….her answer to a better economy is a tax credit….and that is about all there is.

Then on Tuesday another interview and a master plan….

Vice President Kamala Harris announced a plan to help the “sandwich generation”—people who have to care for children and aging parents—on ABC’s The View on Tuesday. Harris outlined a proposal to expand Medicare coverage to include services like home health aides for seniors, NPR reports. “I took care of my mother when she was sick. She was diagnosed with cancer,” Harris said. “There are so many people in our country who are right in the middle. They’re taking care of their kids and they’re taking care of their aging parents, and it’s just almost impossible to do it all, especially if they work.”

Medicaid already pays for home aides if a person has a low income or no assets, but there are long waiting lists to qualify and many areas are desperately short of workers, the New York Times reports. The Harris plan would be broader because it would go beyond people covered by Medicaid, the Times notes. She said the plan would help more elderly people live out their lives in their homes instead of long-term facilities. “It’s about dignity for that individual, it’s about independence for that individual,” she said, per Reuters. “They want to stay in their home. They don’t want to go somewhere else.”

Harris said the cost of the plan would be covered by expanding Medicare drug price negotiations, NPR reports. “We are going to save Medicare the money, because we’re not going to be paying these high prices,” she said. Bloomberg reports that just before Harris appeared on The View, Donald Trump’s campaign said he will also “take care of seniors by shifting resources back to at-home senior care, overturning disincentives that lead to care worker shortages, and supporting unpaid family caregivers through tax credits.”

Another master plan that is a tax credit…surely there is something more inclusive for the people to have a small amount of hope.

But the damning part of the interview was when asked what she would do differently than Biden her answer was nothing….that means climate change will be a back burner…..pro-war BS will be foreign policy and the wealthy will benefit most from her economic policies.

Absolutely nothing for me to consider my vote.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Wardrobe, The Expressions And The Debate

Last night was the much awaited debate between Trump and Harris….so much has been written and said about this event that I feel I will be disappointed…..and yes as a political junkie I will be watching.

The candidates came out and as usual we dressed drably…Trump in navy suit with hideous red tie….Harris in a signature pant suit…black in color….nothing there.

Facial expressions….the split screen offered a superb look at candidates facial expressions at the answer given by opponent….some very humorous.

Did Harris separate from Biden?  Did either candidate bait the other into doing something stupid? 

Harris tried but there was a lot of Biden in her responses….Trump got handed his butt on several issues which angered him and he would swing wildly with false claims and BS.

But the best takeaway is the Harris did a good job at getting under Trump’s skin.

One common early takeaway from Tuesday night’s presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump: Harris seemed to be able to get under Trump’s skin, “rattling” him and putting him on the defensive:

  • Harris taunted Trump “over and over” on topics he’s particularly sensitive about, including the size of his rally crowds and how he’s viewed by world leaders, write Adam Cancryn and Myah Ward at Politico. “The result left Trump … struggling to land hits,” they write, recounting how he went from “measured and collected” to “increasingly frustrated as Harris needled him.” At one point, as he was goaded into bragging about the size of his rallies, Harris simply “looked on, smirking and shaking her head.”
  • Harris spent the entire debate “making every effort to burrow under his skin, hammering him over his criminal convictions, his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, the size of his rally crowds and the foreign and military leaders who she said have called him a ‘disgrace,'” writes Nicholas Nehamas at the New York Times. And Trump often couldn’t help himself and “took the bait, responding to Ms. Harris’s critiques with a hail of false claims, misinformation and personal attacks.”
  • The VP had clearly “prepared extensively for their debate, and peppered nearly every answer with a comment designed to enrage the former president,” writes the team at CNN. The result, they say, was a Trump who was “often out of control.” Harris’ goal appeared to be to “throw Trump off his game,” and, they write, it was “a dramatic success.”
  • The former president “was on the defensive over his legal problems, election denialism, opposition from former allies and incitement of an attack on the US Capitol,” writes Zac Anderson at USA Today. He floundered as he struggled to hit back, and “often leaned on familiar and false claims that drew corrections from the moderators.” The result was that Harris had the “upper hand” much of the time, he writes.
  • Even at Fox News, Doug Schoen concedes Harris was the “clear winner,” but says Trump’s supporters are well aware of “how much bias ABC News introduced into the process” with the moderators’ seeming “need to fact-check virtually everything the former president said.” Schoen says despite Harris’ debate performance, “Voters remain angry about the direction the country is headed in, about the performance of both President Biden and Vice President Harris, as well as which candidate they trust more on the top two or three issues facing the country: the economy, immigration and law and order.”

The swing-state voters polled by the Washington Post also agreed Harris won, even if they personally plan to vote for Trump.

As for whether the two will debate again before November, that remains unclear. Per USA Today, Harris’ campaign said after the debate that it wants to “do it again,” and Trump has previously said he’d be willing to debate the VP multiple times. But no firm plans have yet been made.

This debate shows that extensive prep work pays off for Harris and the idea of lackluster prep was the downfall for Trump in this debate.

But for me the telling part of the whole night were the candidates closing remarks….

Donald Trump won a coin toss before Tuesday night’s debate and chose to go last with his closing statement. In it, he called Kamala Harris “the worst vice president in history” and ridiculed her presidential plans by pointing out that she already works in the White House, per the New York Times. “Why hasn’t she done it?” Trump asked, a refrain that might become a common one in the final stretch of the campaign.

Harris, for her part, struck a more moderate tone in her closing remarks as she made a plea for unity, per the Hill: “That’s the kind of president we need right now. Someone who cares about you and is not putting themselves first,” she said. “I intend to be a president for all Americans and focus on what we can do over the next 10 and 20 years to build back up our country.” The debate began with a handshake between the two rivals, but it ended without one, notes Politico.

The night was not a total waste but it was a bit of a bore.  Will there be a next debate?

If I was Trump I would cut my loses and walk away from the promise of yet another debate…..or if he accepts another one then do a bit more prep work so you do not look like a complete dullard.

Now are you glad that I am here so you did not have to suffer through this fiasco?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Harris/Trump Foreign Policy Comparison

Before I start into the comparisons…..a noted historian with an excellent track record is saying Harris will win the election….

Historian Allan Lichtman was one of the few big names to predict Donald Trump’s win in 2016, part of an impressive track record in which he has correctly called nine of the last 10 presidential contests. In a New York Times video, the American University professor makes his 2024 prediction: “Kamala Harris will be the next president of the United States,” he declares. Lichtman bases his predictions on 13 factors, including whether it’s a sitting president running for re-election, the short- and long-term strength of the economy, charisma, and foreign policy successes and failures, per USA Today.

Eight of his 13 keys currently favor Harris and three favor Trump, with the pair of foreign policy keys up for grabs. “Foreign policy is tricky,” he says. But even if both keys end up in Trump’s favor, that leaves him with only five, “which would not be enough for Donald Trump to regain the White House.” For the record, Lichtman thinks President Biden’s withdrawal from the race has hurt Democrats’ chances, but not enough to tilt the election to Trump. The only race Lichtman has gotten wrong was the 2000 contest between Al Gore and George W. Bush

He said the foreign policy was ‘tricky’ so I thought a comparison between the two might help out….

The 2024 election is important enough that every American should be aware of the stands the two candidates have on the issues of the day….and I try to give my reader a place to start learning about their policies…..I first gave their domestic policies….

This was the post I wrote recently on the domestic issues…..

Harris/Trump Comparisons

Now we move on to their foreign policy stands…..

This simple take on those policies was printed in US&World report I copied the bulk of the report because most are too lazy to click on the link and this is too important to be glazed over.

Trump vs. Harris on Israel

It was perhaps Trump’s highest-profile foreign policy move: In May of 2018, roughly halfway into his term, the former president made good on a longstanding promise to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the contested city of Jerusalem – a switch that pleased the Israeli government and many Republicans but also sparked global condemnation and fears of escalating regional tension.

“I love Israel,” Trump boasted last fall at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual Leadership Summit. “I’m proud to be the best friend that Israel has ever had.”

After a rift reportedly caused when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Biden on his 2020 victory, Trump and the right-wing Israeli leader seem to have mended fences during a July meeting. Trump has also emphasized his unflinching support for the country in its war in Gaza – in the June debate against Biden, Trump declared that the U.S. should allow Israel to “finish the job” – and, as president, he would be likely to remain in lockstep with a Netanyahu administration.

Harris, by contrast, also recently met with Netanyahu and emphasized her “unwavering commitment to Israel” – while simultaneously urging for a ceasefire agreement that would immediately end the conflict. She then made waves for her comments forcefully decrying Gazan suffering, signaling an emerging public stance that would be more sympathetic to the views of many younger Democrats, especially, who tend to see Israel as an oppressor. Still, the most likely Harris policy toward Israel may be one that largely resembles that of Biden, who has maintained strong support for the country even as he’s increasingly criticized Netanyahu and the Gaza campaign.

Trump vs. Harris on Russia

At first glance, the two candidates could hardly be further apart on policy toward Russia.

Since February of 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine and instigated Europe’s worst conflict since World War II, Biden and his administration have forcefully denounced the Russian aggression while rallying European allies and pushing for vast economic and weapons support for Ukraine. That support had added up to $175 billion by this spring, easily making Ukraine the largest recipient of American aid.

If she wins in November, Harris – who has met on her own with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and declared in a speech last year that Russia had committed crimes against humanity – is expected to largely continue with the same approach. At a peace summit for Ukraine in June, the vice president also emphasized the importance of principles like national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Trump, on the other hand, has long expressed warmth and admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin. In early 2022, speaking on a radio show, he described Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as “genius” and “savvy”; earlier this year he ignited more controversy when he implied he’d give Putin a greenlight to invade any NATO members who weren’t meeting their spending obligations. Trump’s selection of JD Vance as his running mate, who has said he doesn’t care what happens to Ukraine and led a charge to stop Congressional funding for the country, seemed to only reinforce the former president’s pro-Russia leanings.

Trump vs. Harris on China

In 2018, as part of an effort to bolster American businesses that were suffering from restrictive Chinese economic policies, then-President Trump began imposing a series of heavy tariffs on Chinese goods. The import taxes did help boost certain niches of American manufacturing, like computer equipment, but Trump’s trade war also took a broad economic toll: Within a few years economists estimated that it was costing the United States 300,000 jobs and over $300 billion. Now candidate Trump is doubling down, lately promising to impose a 60% tariff on all Chinese imports – the biggest part of a sweeping new tariff plan that economists say would cause prices to spike and “could easily cause a recession.”

Yet Trump’s earlier China tariffs did prove politically popular: After once condemning the taxes, Biden ended up keeping and even increasing some of the duties, and it’s unclear if Harris would break from a trade policy that’s become generally accepted among both Democrats and Republicans.

The Democratic candidate has previously blasted China for human rights violations and stealing American products and intellectual property, and she’s also pushed for collaboration on issues like climate change. It’s a Biden-style approach toward America’s greatest economic rival – combining competition and cooperation – that Harris would likely continue.

Trump vs. Harris on NATO and Western Allies

“I think there’s nothing more important for Europe coming up this year,” Liana Fix, a fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations, said in June, “than the U.S. elections.”

That’s because the Republican and Democratic candidates offer wildly different visions of NATO and U.S.-Western alliances. For years now, Trump has repeatedly sowed doubt about America’s commitment to NATO, both by suggesting that he might pull the U.S. out of the alliance and by threatening to abandon support for allies if they fail to meet spending requirements.

He has claimed the threats are a negotiating tactic, but they’ve caused real anxiety on both sides of the Atlantic about the future of the alliance and global peace as Europe continues to face a threat from Putin’s Russia.

Harris, like Biden, is a staunch NATO defender who would be expected to reiterate America’s international commitments. She said as much herself in last week’s speech, revealing that she met with Zelenskyy shortly before Putin attacked Ukraine and claiming that she “helped mobilize a global response” to help Ukraine defend itself.

“And as president, I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies,” she added.

https://www.usnews.com/news/elections/articles/2024-08-26/decision-guide-foreign-policy-under-trump-vs-harris

These are just the so-called important points as the world looks today….that could change overnight.

Look that their past stuff….both candidates are yo-yos….up and down….up and down….they change their minds with the winds of the day (and the special interests and their buckets full of cash).

From the two comparisons I do not see any confidence that things will change.

I know, I know….she is better than a Trump president…..I still do not like that excuse.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Can Harris Defy History?

We have a VP that is seeking the highest office in the land….nothing unusual there but if she is elected she will break a curse from our past.

Yep, more history from the junkie in the room.

Did you know if Harris wins the election she will be the first in many years?

As Vice President Kamala Harris begins her fall campaign for the White House, she can look to history and hope for better luck than others in her position who have tried the same.

Since 1836, only one sitting vice president, George H.W. Bush in 1988, has been elected to the White House. Among those who tried and failed were Richard Nixon in 1960, Hubert Humphrey in 1968 and Al Gore in 2000. All three lost in narrow elections shaped by issues ranging from war and scandal to crime and the subtleties of televised debates. But two other factors proved crucial for each vice president: whether the incumbent president was well-liked and whether the president and vice president enjoyed a productive relationship.

“You really do want those elements to come together,” says Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. “If the person the vice president is working for is popular, that means people like what he’s doing and you can gain from that. And you need to have the two principals working together.”

In 1988, Bush easily defeated Democrat Michael Dukakis, the Massachusetts governor whom Republicans labeled as ineffectual and out of touch. Bush was otherwise helped by a solid economy, the easing of Cold War tensions and some rare luck for a vice president. President Ronald Reagan’s approval ratings rose through much of the year after falling sharply in the wake of the 1986-87 Iran-Contra scandal, and Reagan and Bush worked well together during the campaign. Reagan openly backed his vice president, who had run against him in the 1980 primaries. He praised Bush at the Republican convention as an engaged and invaluable partner, appeared with him at a California rally and spoke at gatherings in Michigan, New Jersey and Missouri.

https://apnews.com/article/kamala-harris-incumbent-vice-president-election-defc726ac5a8db8ef0ba9a756fd8eec5

The question is….will she succeed where so many others have failed?

Her popularity is growing but it is early in the campaigns and so much can happen and quickly.

Will she buck history?

Any amazing thoughts to share?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Harris Interview

I apologize this post is a bit late…..life caught up with me and I had a bunch of personal stuff to get out of the way.

I know this event took place last week and I am late to the game….

With Republicans criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris first for not granting interviews, then for appearing with running mate Tim Walz at her first major interview since becoming the Democratic nominee, the bar for success wasn’t especially high in her CNN interview. Analysts say Harris—who did most of the talking—delivered a capable but unexceptional performance in discussing issues including her changes in policy positions with Dana Bash. Some takeaways:

  • “Comfortable and in command.” “From a strictly performance standpoint, Harris was clear, calm and didn’t get rattled when pushed about changes to her positions on certain issues,” Domenico Montanaro writes at NPR. He says Harris has seemed “defensive” in previous interviews, “but that wasn’t the case here. She seemed comfortable and in command, which is important for a presidential candidate who people are still getting to know.”
  • She makes it through to the next round. “Harris parried questions from Dana Bash … without causing herself political harm or providing herself a significant boost,” writes Reid J. Epstein at the New York Times. He says she was “methodical and risk-averse in the 27-minute interview, performing like a top seed in the early rounds of the US Open tennis tournament trying to hold serve, survive, and advance to the next round”—which for Harris, is the Sept. 10 debate with Donald Trump.
  • She defended policy changes. Pressed on her shifts on some major issues since she embraced progressive positions in 2019, Harris said the “most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed,” NBC News reports. She didn’t provide the “most edifying or enlightening explanations” for why she moved away from policies like the Green New Deal, Aaron Blake writes at the Washington Post, but she “suggested she’s still working with the same set of values in mind, but employing different tools in changing times.”
  • Boring is a bonus. Donald Trump described the interview as “BORING!!!” in a one-word Truth Social post, but Niall Stanage at the Hill says he was missing the point that “boring” is “probably just fine for Harris.” “The CNN interview won’t be going in any hall of fame for the art of political persuasion—but it won’t get close to the hall of shame either,” he writes. “For Harris and Walz, they ticked the box of having conducted a major interview. They didn’t do anything that seems likely to choke off their momentum.”
  • She defended Bidenomics. Instead of trying to put some distance between herself and President Biden’s economic policies, as some had expected, Harris defended the administration’s achievements and blamed Trump’s “mismanagement” during the pandemic for problems the administration had inherited, Montanaro writes at NPR. He says this “shows what a lot of Democrats have been crying out for—someone to make the case on the economy well, instead of how Biden often responded, which came off as him taking the attacks personally and acting defensively.”
  • A “serene” Walz. The interview showed that Walz is “good at sitting and smiling,” Epstein writes at the Times. Compared to his “excited cheerleader” role at joint rallies, his role here “was more serene,” Epstein writes. “He mostly sat there, silent, waiting for Ms. Bash to ask him to say something. At one point during the interview’s first segment, he went a full eight minutes without speaking.

This interview showed me that if elected very little will change in the White House from Biden.

Her ‘new way forward’ is nothing more than a minor change on the path forged by Biden.

I know, I know….whatever…..she is better than trump…..that whole thinking is getting a bit tiring….this election should be more about some sort of change and not a ‘hold your nose’ and vote.

I am not happy with this election at all.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Harris/Trump Comparisons

+++I regret that this may be my only post today for I have a round of doctor’s visits starting rather early….I will check back whenever I have a free moment….hopefully I will be back tomorrow.+++

This is an IST FYI post…..

The election looms large and now would be a good time to look at a comparison of the two camps on policies that are shaping this vote.

Time to learn the issues and stop leaning on a worthless social media site for your decision.

Keep in mind this is a very simplistic analysis and if further info is needed go to their websites for that info….

We will begin with the Harris camp….

Student loan debt and medical debt

  • Harris is adamant that medical debt should not count toward consumer’s credit reports. She has also said she is “committed to continuing to relieve the burden of medical debt,” and praised North Carolina’s move to abolish the debt of 2 million residents.

Climate goals

  • Harris was staunchly anti-fracking and called for a federal ban on the oil and gas extraction process during her 2020 presidential bid, but in the years since she has become more lenient. She claims that she no longer wants to ban the process, but has yet to elaborate on her energy plans for the future.

Health Care

Price gouging in medicine is so prevalent that dozens of television shows have used the open secret for material. The Biden-Harris administration started capping drug prices for life-saving medicine like insulin in 2023, and made vaccines available at no cost with the Inflation Reduction Act. The plan has saved senior citizens an estimated $1.5 billion in its first year, by allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices.  

Border and Immigration

  • Harris has been working to increase funding along the Mexico border for several years now, and has overseen diplomatic efforts with Central America. Under her watch, a crackdown on asylum claims was implemented and is expected to continue. Her border plans include increased funding for ICE, tighter policy to limit migrant surges, more border security in the form of increased border patrols, and more detention beds in facilities to house more asylum seekers.

Abortion access

  • America has the highest maternal death rate of any developed country, and Harris has endeavored to bring attention to the elevated death rate of women of color for decades. She was the first vice president to give a speech at a Planned Parenthood Clinic, and went on a “fight for reproductive freedoms tour in 2024 to oppose the “extreme attacks throughout America.”

Foreign Policy

  • While Harris has expressed “serious concerns” over the civilian deaths in Gaza, she has declared “unwavering commitment” to supporting Israel. She has emphasized the need to free the Israeli hostages from Hamas custody and has emphasized the need for Israel to vacate Gaza once a ceasefire and a “permanent end to the hostilities” is struck.
  • Harris is fully behind the Ukrainian efforts to oust Russia’s invasion. She has met with President Zelenskyy to discuss energy assistance, humanitarian needs, and securing weapons and other resources. She believes not helping Ukraine bolsters Russia’s assets and has sworn to stay in NATO saying, “NATO is the greatest military alliance the world has ever known.”

Police funding

Economy

  • Harris aims to remove the tax on tips, pledges not to raise taxes on those making less than 400k a year, and is expected to release her proposed tax cut plan for the middle class soon. She has opened investigations into big grocery chains like Kroger to assess price gouging, and has a 3-section plan to address the lack of affordable housing across the country.

Now we move on to Donald Trump’s policies (or so they are stated at this point in the cycle)….

Economy

  • Trump wants to eliminate taxes on tips as well as social security. He has called for 10-20% tariffs on imports from all countries aside from China, for which he proposes a 60% tariff.
  • He wishes to expand on the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and has promised tax cuts for people of all income levels and businesses. Trump is also focused on grocery prices and has promised an executive order to “defeat inflation.”

Climate goals

  • Trump aims to open federal land, like state parks, for housing construction and oil and gas exploration. He intends to “unleash American energy” by dismantling the Green New Deal and investing in more oil, gas, diesel, and electricity by tapping into America’s “God-given abundance of Oil, natural gas, and clean coal.”

Trump claims that climate change is a hoax, and is staunchly pro-deregulation when it comes to the environment. He intends to withdraw from the “unfair” Paris Climate Agreement and is anti-clean energy, often complaining about wind turbines.

Crime

  • Trump promises to increase police funding, hire new officers, and retrain existing police forces. He intends to dispatch the National Guard into “high crime communities,” and imprison violent offenders and career criminals behind bars indefinitely.
  • Trump will “defend Law and Liberty” by defending the Second Amendment and upholding religious freedoms including the right to pray in public schools. He intends to appoint as many “constitutionalist” judges as he can.

Foreign policy

  • Trump wants to expand military spending, rehire “every patriot who was unjustly fired,” and install a state-of-the-art missile defense shield. He has broadly promised to “restore our standing in the world and American leadership abroad,” and calls for an “end to globalism and an embrace of patriotism.”

Military

  • In addition to the National Guard changes mentioned above, Trump intends to continue with the work his administration started in 2016. He claims to have enhanced veterans’ healthcare choices and expanded mental health access, but Millitary.com paints another picture. He has no concrete ideas for how he will continue to help veterans.

Domestic policy

  • Trump is a hard-core advocate of free speech and promises to punish any federal agency that tries to infringe upon the right. He promises landmark legislation to limit social media platforms from restricting free speech.
  • He intends to reform election laws by limiting state and local officials from making changes, banning “unsecured drop boxes and ballot harvesting,” and by banning private money in local elections.

Trump will “drain the swamp” by imposing congressional term limits, banning taxpayer-funded campaigns, and banning members of Congress from becoming lobbyists or trading stocks.

  • Trump will “drain the swamp” by imposing congressional term limits, banning taxpayer-funded campaigns, and banning members of Congress from becoming lobbyists or trading stocks.

Healthcare

  • Trump’s healthcare plans involve stopping all COVID mandates and “restoring medical freedom,” an end to surprise billing by implementing transparent pricing and reducing the price of prescription drugs and health insurance premiums. He claims that he “will always protect Medicare, Social Security, and patients with pre-existing conditions.”
  • Trump has remained mostly ambiguous when it comes to abortion, but he has promised to limit access to the abortion pill mifepristone. He outsources much of his abortion stances to his advisers, who have spearheaded the campaign against a woman’s right to choose.

(wegotitcovered.com)

Like I stated earlier….very simplistic but a good primer if you are still scratching your head on who to cast a vote for in November.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Harris Economic Plan

Before the campaign starts in earnest the Harris people have released the economic plan that she will pursue….not that it will ever become the law of the land….her plans sounds a lot like the ideas from Biden and very little is sounded progressive…..

That said why not look at her proposals…..

Vice President Kamala Harris is set to make her most significant economic policy announcement yet, to include a proposed ban on price gouging in the food sector and a crackdown on corporations. Harris will unveil her economic plan Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the proposals described or hinted at in advance of the announcement indicate “a sharp escalation in the economic populism” of President Biden, reports the Washington Post. Here’s what to expect, according to CNN, NPR, and Reuters:

  • “The first-ever federal ban on price gouging on food and groceries … to make clear that big corporations can’t unfairly exploit consumers to run up excessive corporate profits,” the campaign says, per the Post.
  • Tax breaks the campaign says will lead to 3 million new housing units over four years, moving beyond a Biden administration proposal to allow 2 million new and renovated homes.
  • Limit tax breaks for corporate investors that buy up large numbers of single-family rental homes.
  • A ban on rental price-fixing.
  • $25,000 for more than 1 million first-time home buyers to help with the down payment, up from a $10,000 tax credit proposed under Biden.
  • A $40 billion fund to help local governments finance innovative housing construction, up from a $20 billion proposal under Biden.
  • End federal income taxes on tips, also backed by former President Trump.
  • Expand the child tax credit to $6,000 for families with newborn children.
  • A push to lower healthcare costs and cancel medical debt.

A few are ambitious….my problem is words are cheap how will she accomplish all these promises?

Let’s look at the one that is on everyone’s mind…..the high cost of food….

Economic justice advocates on Thursday applauded the Harris campaign’s announcement the Vice President Kamala Harris is planning to unveil a historic ban on food and grocery price gouging amid widespread discontent about costs that have ballooned by 26% in the last five years.

The Democratic presidential candidate is expected to unveil the proposal for the first-ever federal price gouging ban at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina on Friday, detailing plans to direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to impose “harsh penalties” on companies that hike food prices to pad their profits.

As president, the campaign said late Wednesday, Harris would set “clear rules of the road to make clear that big corporations can’t unfairly exploit consumers to run up excessive corporate profits on food and groceries,” building on actions President Joe Biden has taken, such as the creation of a Strike Force on Unfair and Illegal Pricing and his guidelines aimed at reining in corporate mergers.

The rules would be introduced in Harris’ first 100 days in office, should she win the presidential election in November.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/kamala-harris-north-carolina

I see Bernie is on-board with these ‘promises’….

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders praised the economic agenda outlined Friday by Democratic nominee Kamala Harris as “an important step forward in making our country a fairer and more just society.”

While acknowledging that the vice president’s slate of proposals does not go as far as he “would like,” Sanders said it is “an economic agenda that begins to speak to the needs of working families and takes on the unprecedented corporate greed that is taking place throughout America.”

“At a time when the price of healthcare is soaring, Vice President Harris understands that we need to cancel medical debt in America,” said Sanders. “At a time when we have a major housing crisis, with 650,000 people experiencing homelessness, Vice President Harris understands that we have to build at least 3 million units of affordable housing, provide a $25,000 down payment for first-time homebuyers, and prevent corporate landlords from jacking up rent.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/sanders-harris-economic-agenda

Is this truly a plan Bernie would propose?

Good question and we may never know the answer.

Sadly I will not hold my breath waiting for these ‘plans’ to be implemented….right now it is so much noise of a campaign….there is NO proof in the pudding so to speak.

Odd that after high prices plaguing the population and the Dems come up with a plan just before an election makes me doubt their sincerity.

We will see just how gung-ho they are after the election.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”