Kamala Harris in Kamala's Way
On Abortion:
Are there any laws where government controls male bodies?
In 2016, Trump's second Supreme Court nominee was Brett Kavanaugh. Democrats have tried without success to elicit Kavanaugh's view of "Roe vs. Wade," the landmark 1973 abortion case. Harris used her time and skills she learned in the Almeda County
District Attorney's Office to cut through the clutter: "Can you think of any laws that give the government the power to make decisions about the male body?"Kavanaugh tripped over his words: "I'm not aware, I'm not, thinking of any right now, Senator."
Source: Kamala's Way, by Dan Morain, p. 30
Jan 12, 2021
On Abortion:
Supported FACT Act to disclose reproductive information
Pregnancy crisis centers, which operate in California and across the country, are run by conservative Christian organizations. Employees, many of whom are not professionals, counsel women against terminating their pregnancies. Called the Freedom
Accountability, Comprehensive care, and Transparency Act (FACT), the legislation required that the antiabortion crisis pregnancy centers posts signs informing women of their options.Harris cheered when Governor
Jerry Brown signed their legislation into law on October 9, 2015: "I am proud to have co-sponsored the Reproductive
FACT Act, which ensures that all women have equal access to comprehensive healthcare services, and that they have the facts they need to make informed decisions about their health and their lives."
Source: Kamala's Way, by Dan Morain, p.150-2
Jan 12, 2021
On Crime:
Became a prosecutor after sheltering friend from abuse
Wanda Kagan and Kamala Harris were the best of friends in high school in Montreal. Kagan called Harris and the two had a long conversation, catching up and reminiscing about shared memories, including the time
Kagan lived with Kamala, Maya, and Shyamala Harris [Kamala's sister and mother].
She was escaping abuse that was occurring at home.In that conversation, Kagan said, Harris told her that she was inspired to become a prosecutor largely because of "what she went through with me."
She told Harris that living with the Harris family was one of the few good memories she had from those years.
Source: Kamala's Way, by Dan Morain, p. 9
Jan 12, 2021
On Families & Children:
Increase penalties for sexual exploitation of children
Harris used her position as district attorney to shape state policy, sponsoring legislation in her first year, 2004, to increase sentences for sexual exploitation of children. The legislation then carried [and] redefined prostitution. Children who were
bought and sold would no longer be called prostitutes. They were to be called what they are: exploited and victims. Johns and pimps would face longer prison terms for trafficking children. The bill passed without a no vote.
Source: Kamala's Way, by Dan Morain, p. 64
Jan 12, 2021
On Government Reform:
If someone tries to suppress our vote, vote them out
Harris went about her political business, appearing in Atlanta and speaking at Spellman College, America's private and oldest historical Black Liberal arts college for women: "We can honor our ancestors by voting early. And certainly in the next
[election], we can send a message that if someone is trying to suppress our vote, then we will vote them out of office. Because that is a fight worth having."Democrats reclaimed control of the House of Representatives in 2018, though not the Senate.
Source: Kamala's Way, by Dan Morain, p.205
Jan 12, 2021
On Immigration:
Fight for just & comprehensive immigration reform
[On election night 2016, when Trump won,] some Democratic leaders gamely offered to work with the President-elect Trump. Not Harris, not on this night. "Do we retreat or do we fight? I say we fight. And I intend to fight.
I intend to fight for our ideals. I intend to fight for a state that has the largest number of immigrants documented and undocumented of any state in this country, and to do everything we can to bring them
justice and dignity and fairness under the law and pass comprehensive immigrant reform. Bring them out from under the shadows, fight for who we are. I intend to fight. I intend to fight for black lives matter. I intend to fight for truth,
transparency and trust. I intend to fight.""So, guys, here is the deal. Our ideals are at stake right now. We all have to fight for who we are."
Source: Kamala's Way, by Dan Morain, p.164-5
Jan 12, 2021
On Immigration:
We have to honor the promise made to DREAMers
The Senate held a confirmation hearing in 2017 for John F. Kelly. Harris homed in immediately on DREAMers, whose parents sought better lives for their children and crossed the border of the US with their children in tow. Although DREAMers were not US
citizens, most of them had no connection to their parents' home country. California has more DREAMers than any other state by far, 183,000 of them in college and many others working.Harris asked, do you intend to use the limited law enforcement
resources of DHS to remove them from the country? "I will follow the law," Kelly said. Kelly was suggesting without stating it directly, that he would oversee a policy that would lead to the deportation of DREAMers. Harris issued a statement saying she
would vote against him. "Unfortunately I can't look DREAMers in the face and offer them any guarantee that general John Kelly won't deport them. For ethical and moral reasons, we have to honor the promise the US government made to these kids."
Source: Kamala's Way, by Dan Morain, p.175
Jan 12, 2021
On Principles & Values:
Admires Hindu goddess Kali: warrior & mother figure
Kamala Devi was born in 1964, and her sister, Maya Lakshmi, two years after that. Devi is the Hindu mother goddess. Lakshmi is the Lotus goddess of wealth, beauty, and good fortune. [Kamala's mother] Shayamala gave her daughters names derived from
Indian mythology to help preserve their cultural identity and said, "A culture that worships goddesses produces strong women."In the mid to late 1960's, both parents were involved in the civil rights movement. Harris tells of being wheeled to
demonstrations in a stroller. On one occasion, as she was fussing, her mother asked what she wanted. "Fee-dom!" she is said to have answered.
In her first television interview as the candidate, Harris spoke of her admiration for the Hindu goddess
Kali, a mythological warrior who protects the innocents by slaying evil. In a classic depiction, Kali holds the head of a slayed demon, has a necklace of several heads, and wears a skirt of bloody arms. Harris also noted that Kali is a mother figure.
Source: Kamala's Way, by Dan Morain, p. 3&51
Jan 12, 2021
On Principles & Values:
Cut off in Senate questioning: Courage, Not Courtesy
In June 2017, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appeared before the Senate Intel Committee, [to explain] his role in Trump's decision a month earlier to fire FBI Director James Comey. Harris peppered Rosenstein with yes or no questions and
interrupted when he started to dodge.As Harris's questions got increasingly testy, Chairman Richard Burr (R-NC), cut her off. Looking in her direction, Burr said, "Would the senator suspend? The chair is going to exercise its right to let the witness
answer the question." Harris, incredulous, was not used to being told to stifle herself.
The exchange went viral immediately: old white senators had "shushed" Harris, the only black woman on the committee. As it exploded on twitter, the rancorous
partisan bickering worsened between Democratic and Republican senators and between Democrats and the trump administration. Within hours, Harris and her staff had shrewdly exploited the incident by coming up with a meme: "Courage, not courtesy."
Source: Kamala's Way, by Dan Morain, p.182-3
Jan 12, 2021
Page last updated: Oct 09, 2021