With the world watching, Kamala Harris delivered a supremely effective performance in Tuesday night’s debate, demonstrating just how completely unfit Donald Trump is to be president of the United States.
It revealed him for what he is: a hateful and vindictive man, a pathological liar, someone who feeds on division and xenophobia, and a candidate who has absolutely no vision for the future of the country – after nine years as a candidate and president, he is now working on a “concept” on how to deal with the health crisis in our country. Oh really?-.
Democrats are rightly thrilled with Harris’s excellent performance. This is going to be a very close election, and the vice president had a great night.
But before we begin planning his inauguration, we must face an important reality: the vast majority of the American people already know Donald Trump very well.
They saw him as president for four years and as a candidate in three elections. They know full well that he lies all the time, that he supported an insurrection aimed at destroying American democracy and that he has been convicted of 34 felonies.
And yet nearly half of American voters still support him, including a large majority of working-class voters.
It is important that the vice president continue to denounce and expose Trump. But that may not be enough to secure victory. Voters are hungry for a candidate who will make meaningful material changes in their lives.
I applaud Harris for laying out the rationale for her economic positions: she has promised to cap the cost of prescription drugs for all Americans at $2,000; solve the dire housing crisis we face by building three million affordable homes; eliminate medical debt; and combat price gouging, which has made it impossible for working families to afford food and other basic needs.
These are important policies. However, I believe your chances of winning improve if you broaden that agenda to include local solutions to the most important economic and political realities facing this country. The American people want change, and that’s what she needs to deliver. Here are some ideas that are not only great policy ideas, but are also popular with voters across the national spectrum:
Income inequality
There is more income and wealth inequality in this country than ever before. Never in our history have so few people accumulated so much money. Three people own more wealth than the bottom half of American society; 60 percent of Americans live hand to mouth while the richest continue to get richer; and 82 percent of Americans—including 73 percent of Republicans—want the rich and corporations to pay their fair share of taxes.
Corruption
We have a corrupt political system in which Super Pacs Dark money, funded and controlled by billionaires like Elon Musk and Timothy Mellon, is pouring trillions of dollars into our elections. The total cost of the 2024 election is expected to be more than $10 billion, more than any other election in history. Democrats, Republicans, and independents understand that we can hardly call ourselves a vibrant democracy when a handful of the wealthiest people in this country—including Democratic billionaires—can spend hundreds of millions to elect the candidates of their choice. Seven in ten Americans believe there should be limits on campaign spending. We need to repeal Citizens United—a entrance hall conservative – and hold publicly funded elections.
Health and social security
In the richest country in the world, it is absurd that 75% of seniors who need hearing aids do not have them, that 65% of seniors do not have dental insurance, and that eyeglass frames made for just $10 cost more than $230. 84% of Americans—including 83% of Republicans—want to expand Medicare to cover dental, hearing, and vision services. The vice president should take a stand to do just that.
At a time when nearly half of American households over the age of 55 have no retirement savings and one in five seniors struggles to live on less than $13,500 a year, we must expand Social Security so that everyone in this country can retire with the dignity they’ve earned, and all people with disabilities can live with the security they need. We can do this by raising the maximum taxable income cap each year, so that the very wealthy face a tax burden similar to that of working-class families.
Some popular policies
The American people are united in supporting these popular ideas. They are important policies. They are winning policies. And they are especially popular in the swing states where Harris must win.
In other words: Campaigning on an economic agenda that meets the needs of working families is a winning formula for Kamala Harris and Democrats in November.
By embracing bold ideas that address the everyday crises facing American working families, Harris can not only win the White House, but also create a Democratic Party that responds to the needs of everyday Americans.
