On Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) announced her candidacy for the 2020 presidential election with a 1-minute video extolling “American values” and inviting supporters to join her … in Oakland — a rising liberal tech hub increasingly associated with Silicon Valley.
“Truth, justice, decency, equality, freedom, democracy. These aren’t just words, they’re the values we as Americans cherish, and they’re all on the line now,” Harris began. “The future of our country depends on you and millions of others lifting our voices to fight for our American values. That’s why I’m running for President of the United States.”
I'm running for president. Let's do this together. Join us: https://t.co/9KwgFlgZHA pic.twitter.com/otf2ez7t1p
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 21, 2019
Yet despite her references to “American values,” Harris also invited her supporters to join her for a speech in Oakland on Sunday, January 27.
While Harris was born in Oakland, the city still seems an odd choice for a first speech. Oakland is very large and very diverse, but it has extremely rich pockets and is a growing center for technology companies. It is increasingly associated with Silicon Valley.
Oakland is the birthplace of the Mai Tai and has the third highest concentration of lesbians. Silicon Valley in particular is known for sexual deviance and sexual harassment, not to mention the constant stigmatization of conservative views as “hateful” — something Kamala Harris in particular is quite familiar with.
Even if Harris’ choice for her first speech does not alienate millions of Americans, her policies and her history will. The senator launched a witch hunt into Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh before the sexual assault allegations broke, and she recently launched an inquisition into another Trump judicial nominee over his membership in the Catholic charity the Knights of Columbus.
Although the people of California overwhelmingly voted to define marriage as between one man and one woman in Proposition 8, Harris — then California attorney general — refused to defend the law. She later celebrated when it was struck down, and later fondly recalled marrying same-sex couples, thumbing her nose at her duty as California’s lawyer.
Kamala Harris may have been born in Oakland, but that does not mean Americans want Oakland values.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member