On Wednesday, Kamala Harris announced that she would not run for governor of California. On Thursday, she announced that she has written a memoir! Kamala said: we’re outside now! The book is called 107 Days, which is the length of her presidential campaign – from the day President Biden announced that he was withdrawing from his reelection bid through election day. I’m so glad she’s written about it from her perspective, because tons of other people have already written books blaming her for everything that happened, when really, she was getting screwed over in like a hundred different ways.
VP Harris’s first stop on her book promotional tour was an extended interview with Stephen Colbert. Perfect choice, honestly – Colbert is also getting screwed over by Republicans. Kamala was lovely here – Colbert even asked her how long it was before she turned on the news, and she said “months.” She’s been watching cooking shows, and she says that Doug is back to practicing law – when she was VP, Doug moved to DC and he taught at Georgetown Law. I imagine Doug just went back to the same law firm he worked at before 2021. Anyway, here’s the interview:
Colbert asked Harris if her decision to not run for the California governorship was about leaving herself open to run for a “different office.” Kamala got really serious and said that after decades as a devout public servant, believing with all her heart that for people like her, “Shouldn’t we also be inside the system?” But now: “Recently I made the decision that I just — for now — I don’t want to go back in the system. I think it’s broken.” She said that she doesn’t want to take away from the good work being done by so many public servants in the country, but “It’s not about them. But you know, I believe, and I always believed, that as fragile as our democracy is, our systems would be strong enough to defend our most fundamental principles. And I think right now that they’re not as strong as they need to be.”
So… if you ask her right now if she’s eyeing another presidential run, the answer is decidedly no. She’s not going to run to fix a system she thinks is fundamentally broken. And I understand that perspective. She also knows that all of this is basically a Sisyphean task for Democrats, that even if Dems win big elections in the next few decades, they’re basically going to be trying to clean up Trump’s mess.
Photos/screengrabs courtesy of CBS/The Late Show.
She’s right. And I’ve said it before but it’s got to be destroy for us to rebuild it.
The system can’t be fixed because it’s not broken. It’s working exactly as intended. Which is why as you say it needs to be ripped down and rebuilt.
Molly, this is my view as well. Everything that’s happening now is the result of corruption and greed. Everything that’s happening now is also being done out in the open, for all the world to see. If the democracy of elected officials is not stopping the mass firings, the mass arrests and deportations, the removal and erasing of history, the shutting down of independent media, etc., then it’s because all of this is being done within the established framework of “presidential power”. MAGA wants a one-party system and they’re getting it.
I’m glad she is just resting and living her life. BW have tried and no one listened. I saw so many people get angry at the 92% when we said “we are resting”. I’m not sure what it is going to take for people to open their eyes but I do know that BW are tired of putting ourselves in harms way.
A co-worker told me that it would been one thing if she had lost to another GOP candidate. But this? No forgiveness…
Can’t say I blame her.
@BlueSky, I’m applauding your words. I’ve been to a few protests, and energized a few conversations, but I’ve also been prioritizing self-care, and intentionally connecting with good people. I’m trying to shore up and build my own community. The election, for lack of a better phrase, really did “put me in my place”. I didn’t break it — so I’m not going to exhaust myself with struggling to fix it. I’ve been wearing a bracelet with a 92% charm for these last few months. It’s a reminder to me that I/we really did do all that we could do with our strengths and our powers and our hearts in that moment. I love your comment: “we are resting”. We get to do that. We deserve the opportunities to be our own priorities. It’s harder than it looks sometimes, though, so I welcome the opportunity to continue to learn from Kamala’s example, and from whatever wisdom she chooses to share — in this book and beyond it.
My heart was so broken at her loss that I ugly cried. I can’t imagine how it felt for her! I hope she keeps on protecting her peace. Rich white men are out here proving that they can still ruin the world and if you’re in a position where you’ve done your part and it’s someone else’s turn: watch all the cooking shows and relax now.
Yes. She gave so incredibly much. She owes us nothing now.
Every day, my entire LinkedIn timeline has at least 2 posts from people in my technology industry network who have been unemployed for over 6 months, facing homelessness, having to sell their houses, contemplating self-harm, etc. It devastates me to think about much better things could be for all of us if she’d won. Does anyone at all think Americans on average are doing well right now?! Instead, we have a psychopath who fired Erika McEntarfer today for publishing unemployment data he didn’t like.
Makes perfect sense. Let both sides find someone else to push around.
God I have missed her! 😭
“We could’ve had a bad bitch.”
@Ely!!!! I just said the same thing yesterday😄😭😭😭😭
This everyday periodt. We are paying the price for our racism.
100%.
Watching this interview made me cry for what we might have had.
… and I don’t even live in the US, but we have to deal with the fallout of Felon47’s maladministration anyway, like the rest of the world.
Special thanks to Kamala Harris for giving a shout-out to us scientists. *That* made me cry even more.
Stephen mentioned the presidential debate between her and Donald. I remember watching it and was so utterly disgusted by all the crazy sh*t he was saying about people eating pets ffs and he STILL got elected.
The only sliver of silver lining I can hope for is that we can build the USA back better and stronger than before. I will always root for Kamala and can’t wait to buy her book!
He said that Kamala “smoked Trump like a ham” in that debate. 😂🤣 It was so bad he refused to be cooked some more.
“The only sliver of silver lining I can hope for is that we can build the USA back better and stronger than before.”
As long as media & social media owners refuse to report the true, dispute lies, and keep catering to very rich people & white Supermacy ideology, it’s a very long, hard task to get Democracy & decent humanity back on track in America, and even the world. Just look at what’s happening around the World, a lot of rich people focus on getting power & benefit themselves and other very rich people. It’s bleak. Like the main character in the final episode of “Squid Game” said: “Human are…”
P.S. Over 2/3 eligible voters in America did not vote for the most qualified candidate, MVP, on Nov 5th 2024. So, 1/3 was MAG4, the other alighted over 1/3 voters refused to vote for her.
It’s so bittersweet to hear from her. She’s like a light shining in the darkness. Yet, it’s heartbreaking to be reminded of what we lost. And you can tell she is still in pain from this, even though she is steadfast and resolute about staying in the fight. I love how she continues to insist that she’s not going to “pile on” Joe Biden. Now I’m going to watch the extended interview after seeing the broadcast version last night.
I don’t know when I’ll be ready to read her memoir. Those 107 days changed me forever. I jumped into that campaign with my whole heart (and checkbook) and I’ll never be the same again. I honestly can’t even watch that video. Talk me into it. Tell me it won’t make me cry.
I can’t tell you that. 😭
I plan to read it — and I plan to cry. And I will be applauding her courage through the inevitable tears and the inevitable triumphs. That Harris ran for President (and probably won) is not something I expected to see in my lifetime. @Mightymolly, as a Black American woman of a certain age, I’m not expecting a life to be without tears, so the most I can tell you is that if you want to experience the fullness of life, the triumphs will likely come along with some tears. Maybe buy the book and tuck it away until your heart and spirit feel ready for it. Whenever. If ever. For me, I think that if Kamala could find the heart to run and the heart to write, I can find the heart to read her book, and — again, just speaking for myself— I think connecting with shared goals and dreams and tears and triumphs might be both cathartic and healing.
Those are excellent points!
If our best and most promising leaders aren’t going to fight for us because the system is too broken, where does that leave the rest of us? I’m not saying she didn’t give it her all, because she did, but all I see now is a big, empty vacuum filled with nothing but a boot pressed against our necks forever.
I feel you but keep in mind she can influence a lot from the outside. She doesn’t necessarily have to be part of the system to change it and honestly, who could blame her for peacing out at this point?
Not weighing in on who I think should lead the party–way too early. The only thing I know is that it almost has to be an outsider and it definitely has to be a change-maker because a return to status quo would not be meeting this dire moment. The GOP has set a precedent that could absolutely be exploited by an ambitious and courageous candidate & any agenda short of a complete upheaval of what Trump has wrought does not go far enough.
I watched that live last night and you can tell that she’s still in shock and still processing (like all of us) and that she’s done. Maybe not forever, but for now. She told us (just like Hillary did) what would happen if dumbass got elected and then elected AGAIN and everything that they predicted happened and then some and here we are. No one ever listens to the smart women.
I think that she will be working behind the scenes to do what she can do just not upfront anymore.
It’s so difficult to even THINK RATIONALLY about politics now…because I often think of what this whole ass 🌎 would have been if there had been 8 years of Hillary followed by 8 years of Kamala (Kamala was ALWAYS in the mix to be Hillary’s successor from day 1💔)…
I don’t think 🇺🇸 democracy is going to survive this self-inflicted wound…and the wound is sexism & rascism
The future of the Democratic Party, if it is to have any future, is going to be outside the corporatist cadre, of which Harris is part. More AOC and Mamdani, less Clinton, et al. Still, she gave it a good shot. The GOP cheated (voter suppression), but that’s SOP for them.
If you think AOC & Mamdani whose messaging isn’t that DIFFERENT from Harris and Harris built a DECADES long career on moving Progressively and humanely regarding the putrid criminal justice system😡…so she actually WALKED THE WALK and not just gave SPEECHES about what she wanted to do…Harris was NEVA part of the Pelosis et al Dem corporate bulkwark that’s run the Dem Party for the last 25 years since Obama…NEVA…
So AOC & Mamdani are going to deal with the SAME sexism & racism that Harris dealt with so they will LOSE too!😡
Your BEST bet is pray you get a great White Hope MAN who is down with the Progressive agenda…which is also one of the things that SUNK Joe Biden because corporate Dems HATE leaning to the left Dems…they hated in Jimmy Carter & stabbed him in the back & did the SAME to Biden…
But…go off😡
I didn’t take that as her not running in 2028. I took it as her saying shes taking a break right now. That’s 3 whole years from now until the next election. Plenty of time for her to do other work and come back, especially if she is able to help with House and Senate campaigns in 2026.
I think she is saying a lot more here than we think.
There’s widespread evidence of election fraud, in part corroborated by Trump’s strange behavior during the campaign and immediately before the election. Then there’s also Elon and his strange involvement with election machines and his questionable early access to results. Not just early, but unbelievably, historically unprecedented, early access. Even the FOX guys were confused.
I think what Harris is saying without actually saying it, is: Our democracy is broken because our most fundamental principle (= the people’s vote) is broken, i.e. the vote doesn’t decide the election anymore. It has not decided the election where she ran for president.
Looking back I wonder if the “stolen vote”-campaign by the far right was part of exactly this strategy. Muddy the waters and then when WE ACTUALLY steal the vote, no democrat will want to even touch the subject. And they did that knowing that there aren’t any independent agencies in the US to begin with, which can effectively investigate and eradicate election fraud.
Remember that election fraud in this country started with voter suppression, disenfranchisement of people of color and felons (as well as those MADE felons). No one ever cared about doing anything about it, believing that it would not spread and remain an issue only for minorities. This was naive.
Because the next logical escalation after decades of restricting voter- and civil rights is what happened here: A stolen election with no prosecutor, no judge and no convicts.
CB, the ads are blocking the paragraphs making them difficult to read on the mobile version. Not even closing the ad down fixes the issue. Can they be fixed on your end?
yeah, all I could think of during that interview is: here’s what we could have had.
And after that: they would’ve ripped her open every day (mainstream media first) day after stupid day. So I’m glad she’s not laying her head on that block for now.
But maybe SCOTUS if we can get back the White House?…