Democratic presidential nominee and US Vice President Kamala Harris.
Credit: Reuters Photo
By Michael R Bloomberg
I do not agree with Vice President Kamala Harris on every issue, but earlier this week, I voted for her without hesitation. I’d like to explain why, in hopes that others who have a history of supporting candidates in both parties — as I do — will join me.
As I’ve thought about the candidates in this presidential election, I’ve been guided by two main considerations: policy positions and personal integrity.
When it comes to policy, the contrast could not be clearer.
On abortion, Harris supports reproductive rights and will work to enshrine them into law. Donald Trump does not and will not.
On immigration, Harris recognizes — as most business owners do — that we need comprehensive immigration reform that both secures the border and makes it easier for people to come here legally. Trump’s plan to deport millions of people living and working here is a recipe for economic disaster.
On gun safety, Harris supports common-sense measures that will help save lives and keep guns out of the hands of criminals and other dangerous people. Trump, after talking a big game about standing up to the gun industry’s lobbyists, buckled under their pressure and did their bidding.
On the economy, Harris’ tax and tariff proposals are politically driven, but as many economists have noted, they would do far less damage to consumers and businesses — and to the national debt — than Trump’s.
On climate change, Harris recognizes the opportunity that exists for the US to reap the economic rewards that come with leading the clean energy transition rather than allowing China or other nations to beat us to it. Trump doesn’t seem to believe climate change is a problem and would allow the fossil fuel industry to continue polluting our air and water.
On public health, Harris respects science and medicine, including lifesaving vaccines. Trump has promised to turn over America’s health system to anti-vaxxer Robert Kennedy Jr., which could have deadly consequences for children, seniors and Americans of all ages.
On public safety, Harris has a record as a prosecutor of being tough on crime and standing with police. Trump talks tough, but when police officers were assaulted by a mob of his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021, as part of his disgraceful attempt to hold onto power, he sat by and did nothing. And he continues to defend those who assaulted police — he even lauds them as “warriors” — as they stormed the Capitol.
And that brings us to the other consideration: personal integrity.
As former Vice President Mike Pence and many other Republicans have concluded, Trump is not fit for high office. Not after refusing to accept the will of the people and trying to steal the 2020 election — first by attempting to strong-arm state legislators and election officials into overturning the results, and then, when that failed, by bamboozling people into attacking the Capitol to stop the counting of Electoral College ballots.
He made our country, the world’s greatest nation, look like a banana republic. Most Americans never thought we’d witness such a shameful episode. Trump, rather than apologizing for it — as some of those convicted of Jan. 6-related crimes have done — celebrates it.
Why? Because for him, nothing — not America, not our Constitution, not democracy, not the rule of law, not the lives of police officers or any other citizen — matters more than his own vanity and glory.
Strong leaders accept defeat, out of honor and duty. He has shown he has no sense of either.
The despicable way he speaks about immigrants — echoing phrases that Nazis used — is as disgraceful as it is dangerous.
The shameful way he has coddled White supremacists — remember his defense of them after they marched by torchlight in Charlottesville, Virginia — is contemptible.
The reckless way he governed while in the Oval Office — coddling foreign tyrants, weakening our alliances, undermining our intelligence services, failing to build coalitions in Congress and firing people who dared stand up to him — revealed his incompetence as a manager.
And the preposterous lie he tells about America – that our country will end unless we elect him — reveals his ignorance about the true source of our strength as a nation, which lies in our values and principles and the Constitution’s protection of our rights.
I don’t know Harris well — we have only talked a couple of times — but I’ve been impressed by the way she has run her campaign: reaching out to independents and Republicans and rallying voters of all parties by offering a positive vision of the country. She is determined to lead our nation forward, and she understands that the only way to do that is by bringing people back together.
I’m ready. I think most Americans are, too. And that’s why I hope undecided voters of all political stripes will join me in voting for Kamala Harris for president.