Kamala Harris in June Democratic candidates debate in Miami FL
On Budget & Economy:
Economic numbers conceal more than reveal
This president walks around flouting his great economy. You ask him, how are you measuring this greatness? He talks about the stock market. That's fine if you own stocks; many families do not. You ask him, how are you measuring the greatness of this
economy? They point to the jobless numbers and the unemployment numbers. People in America are working. They're working two and three jobs. No one should have to work more than one job to have a roof over their head and food on the table.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (second night in Miami)
Jun 27, 2019
On Civil Rights:
Biden worked with racist senators to oppose busing
Q: [Biden commented the week prior to the about the loss of Senatorial comity & noted that he worked with Senators he disagreed with, including working with two segregationist Senators on busing. Biden said, "At least there was some civility. We didn't
agree on much of anything. We got things done."] Sen. HARRIS: I'm going to direct this at Vice President Biden, I do not believe you are a racist, and I agree with you [on] to the importance of finding common ground. But it was hurtful to hear you
talk about the reputations of two senators who built their reputations on segregation. You also worked with them to oppose busing. There was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools, and she was bussed
to school every day. That little girl was me. So I will tell you that, on this subject, it cannot be an intellectual debate among Democrats. We have to take it seriously.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (second night in Miami)
Jun 27, 2019
On Civil Rights:
Federal government protects civil rights when states fail
Sen. Kamala HARRIS: Do you agree today that you were wrong to oppose busing in America then [in the 1970s]? V.P. Joe BIDEN: I did not oppose bussing in America. What I opposed is busing ordered by the Department of Education.
HARRIS: There was a failure of states to integrate public schools. I was part of the second class to integrate Berkeley public schools.
BIDEN: Because your city council made that decision.
HARRIS: That's where the federal government must step in. That's why we have the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act. That's why we need to pass the Equality Act.
That's why we need to pass the ERA, because there are moments in history where states fail to preserve the civil rights of all people.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (second night in Miami)
Jun 27, 2019
On Corporations:
Why haven't we asked how to pay for tax cuts to the top 1%?
Q: Do you think that Democrats have a responsibility to explain how they will pay for every proposal?
Harris: I hear that question, but where was that question when the Republicans and Donald Trump passed a tax bill that benefits the top 1 percent and the biggest corporations in this country?
Contributing at least $1 trillion to the debt of America, which middle-class families will pay for one way or another. I am proposing that we change the tax code, so for every family that is making less than
$100,000 a year, they will receive a tax credit that they can collect up to $500 a month. And on day one, I will repeal that tax bill that benefits the top 1% and the biggest corporations.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (second night in Miami)
Jun 27, 2019
On Crime:
Every black man is subject of profiling & discrimination
John HICKENLOOPER [regarding a shooting by a South Bend white police officer of a black man]: We had a shooting when I first became mayor, 10 years before Ferguson [and we responded with better police accountability]--5 years after Ferguson, why doesn't
every have this level of police accountability?Marianne WILLIAMSON: All of these issues are extremely important, but they are specifics; they are symptoms. And the underlying cause has to do with deep, deep, deep realms of racial injustice, both in
our criminal justice system and in our economic system.
Kamala HARRIS: As the only black person on this stage, I would like to speak on the issue of race. Race is still not being talked about truthfully and honestly. There is not a black man I know,
be he a relative, a friend or a coworker, who has not been the subject of some form of profiling or discrimination. Growing up, my sister and I had to deal with the neighbor who told us her parents couldn't play with us because we were black.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (second night in Miami)
Jun 27, 2019
On Energy & Oil:
Climate crisis represents existential threat to our species
I don't call it climate change. It's a climate crisis. It represents an existential threat to us as a species. And the fact that we have a president who has embraced science fiction over science fact will be to our collective peril.
We must confront what is immediate and before us right now. That is why I support a Green New Deal. It is why I will re-enter us in the Paris Agreement, because we have to take these issues seriously.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (second night in Miami)
Jun 27, 2019
On Foreign Policy:
Trump embracing Korean & Russian dictators is a threat
Q: What is the greatest national security threat to the United States?A: It's Donald Trump. You want to talk about North Korea, a real threat in terms of nuclear arsenal, but what does he do? He embraces Kim Jong-un, a dictator, for the sake of
a photo op. Putin--you want to talk about Russia? He takes the word of the Russian president over the word of the American intelligence community when it comes to a threat to our democracy and our elections.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (second night in Miami)
Jun 27, 2019
On Gun Control:
Executive action on gun control if Congress won't do it
The problem is Congress has not had the courage to act which is why when elected president, I will give Congress 100 days to bring all these good ideas together and put a bill on my desk for signature. If they do not,
I will take executive action and put in place the most comprehensive background check policy we've had. I will require the ATF to take the licenses of gun dealers who violate the law. I will ban by executive order the importation of assault weapons.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (second night in Miami)
Jun 27, 2019
On Health Care:
$5000 deductible demonstrates flaws of for profit system
A parent who has seen their child has a temperature that is out of control, calls 911, what should I do? They say, take the child to the Emergency Room. They are sitting in the parking lot outside of the Emergency Room looking at those sliding glass
doors while they have the hand on the forehead of their child, knowing that if they walk through those doors, even though they have insurance, they will be out a $5,000 deductible. That's what insurance companies are doing in America today.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (second night in Miami)
Jun 27, 2019
On Immigration:
I disagreed with Obama on Secure Communities deportations
Q: If someone is here without documents, and that is their only offense, is that person to be deported?Rep. Eric SWALWELL: No. That person can contribute.
V.P. Joe BIDEN: If they committed a major crime, they should be deported. But we should not
be locking people up. We should be making sure we change the circumstance, why they would leave in the first place. Those who come seeking asylum, we should immediately have the capacity to absorb them, keep them safe until they can be heard.
Sen.
Kamala HARRIS: No, they should not be deported. This was one of the very few issues with which I disagreed with the [Obama] administration. On the secure communities issue, I disagreed with my president, because the policy was to allow deportation of
people who by ICE's own definition were non-criminals. I issued a directive to the sheriffs of my state that they did not have to comply with detainers, and instead should make decisions based on the best interests of public safety of their community.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (second night in Miami)
Jun 27, 2019
On Immigration:
Immediately reinstate DACA protection, including parents
Immediately on January 20, 2021, I will reinstate DACA protection to those young people. I will further extend protection for deferral of deportation for their parents and for veterans, who we have so many who are undocumented and have served our
country and fought for our democracy. I will also immediately put in place a meaningful process for reviewing the cases for asylum. I will release children from cages. I will get rid of the private detention centers.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (second night in Miami)
Jun 27, 2019
On Principles & Values:
A president who leads with dignity, honesty, truth
This election is about your hopes and dreams and what wakes you up at 3 o'clock in the morning. That's why I have what I call a 3 a.m. agenda that is about everything from what we need to do to deliver health care to how you will be able to pay the
bills by the end of the month. I will be a president who leads with a sense of dignity, with honesty, speaking the truth, and giving the American family all that they need to get through the end of the month in a way that allows them to prosper.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (second night in Miami)
Jun 27, 2019
Page last updated: Dec 01, 2021