What makes Kamala Harris so unpopular? (Two guesses) - Steve Chapman

[question everything]

Vice President Kamala Harris spent over $500 on cookware at a fancy store during her diplomatic visit to Paris. I'll pause here to give you time to pick yourself up off the floor. It's a major shock to learn that someone with a net worth of $7 million would do a little shopping on a trip abroad. I assumed Harris would pack a well-worn copy of "Europe on $30 a Day" and bunk in hostels. But no.

Fox News noted that Harris went on this extravagant spree even as "Americans at home continued to deal with the harsh realities of rising inflation and costs across the board." The conservative Washington Free Beacon noted that the money she spent "could have been used to buy at least 25 16-pound turkeys for families in need." It didn't mention that the expense was far less than the $214,000 she and her husband made in charitable contributions between 2014 and 2019. It omitted that her husband, Doug Emhoff, gave up a lucrative law practice to avoid any conflicts of interest.

(snip)

Harris has somehow become a villain not only to the right but to the left. Conservatives regard her as a dangerous San Francisco socialist. Progressives, however, criticized her during the primaries for what they saw as her harsh record as a prosecutor. They were sorely disappointed when Joe Biden chose Harris as his running mate.

What accounts for her unfavorable reputation? After all, she's a refreshing contrast to Mike Pence. She doesn't grovel before her boss; she doesn't deliver speeches in a tone of ponderous sanctimony; and she exhibits a winning smile and a lively personality. Unlike some previous vice presidents, she hasn't been deployed as an attack dog for the president. She hasn't stumbled into a scandal.

(snip)

Race was a big underlying reason why Obama roused such hostility, whether his detractors realized it or not. Gender was a big reason Hillary Clinton was so vilified in some quarters. Harris has inherited some of their friends but all of their enemies. The vice president is a normal politician with a normal complement of faults and errors. But she's also a pioneer. And one person's pioneer is another person's invader.

https://www.startribune.com/what-makes-kamala-harris-so-unpopular-two-guesses/600123076/

[secondwind]

1. K&R

[Ocelot II]

2. Surprised to see this from Steve Chapman - he leans conservative.

But he's nailed it.

[bullimiami]

3. Independent minded woman, Non white. Married to a Jew.

Who decided the liberals don’t like her? Not me. I think she’s awesome.

[Martin Eden]

12. Chapman is a regular columnist in the paper we have delivered

(Chicago Tribune)

He is always logical and honest, even on the occasions when I disagree with him.

Chapman really caught my attention in the run up to the invasion of Iraq with his column "A Bogus Case for War."

[ShazamIam]

4. Powerful women of color are scaring the beegebus out of our Republicans and conservatives.

Stacy Abrams, Kamala Harris, Val Demnings, Rashida Tliab, Deb Haaland, etc.

[brush]

11. Exactly. You hit it on the nail. I have nothing to add.

[Quakerfriend]

5. "So unpopular" only because the right wing

has painted her as such.
I love her! She is refreshing and fun, and oh so smart-
Of course, they love to hate her. 🙄

[lees1975]

6. What recent polls?

Her daily running average on Economist/You Gov and Morning Consult is 50% favorable, 41% unfavorable, 9% can't make up their mind, if they have one. I just added my two cents on YouGov and rated her "extremely favorable."

She's Presidential as far as I'm concerned, far more intelligent, articulate and competent than any Republican elected to the White House in my lifetime. She is doing exactly what progressives and most Democrats want at the border, which is be kind and generous to those who are clustering there asking for political asylum, which this country should be giving them. Her intelligence, competence and personal presence, combined with the fact that she's multi-racial, Asian and African American, and a woman, makes her a threat.

So why title your piece, "What Makes Kamala Harris so Unpopular"?

[question everything]

10. Not my title, but the one of the op-ed

(but still catches the attention here...)

[Walleye]

7. Women who break the glass ceiling have to be strong and tough

The first in anything always has trouble. But the first woman in the White House? That’s just way too much for a lot of people

[marble falls]

8. How many turkeys could Hannity's third home have bought?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

9. The R theory is that Harris is "out of touch" and tRump is "a man of the people"

... because he was photographed on a job site in the 90s with blueprints in hand.