Questions I would ask Kamala Harris

September 17, 2024 33 Comments

At 2:30 this afternoon at WHYY, Vice President Kamala Harris will be interviewed by members of the National Association of Black Journalists, whom the Inquirer did not name.

I expect it will be much more friendly than the group’s interview with Donald J. Trump, in which he made news by casting aspersions on Harris’ racial identity. 

Much more friendly.

Hopefully, it will not be too friendly.

Despite Harris’ languid pace of emerging from the cocoon, she is still a cipher to many Americans and, frankly, her interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, and the debate with Trump, hasn’t helped much.

Call me Kamala Kurious. I offer my assistance to my NABJ colleagues with some suggested questions, hoping they are kurious, too. My questions center on unanswered questions about the candidate, her policies, and her core values. 

  • The first question asked in the debate was are Americans better off than four years ago? You did not answer  that question. Please answer yes or no, and then explain why.
  • You talk about an “opportunity economy.” Please define that in 50 words or less.
  • You have proposed a $6,000 child tax credit, a $25,000 grant to help with buying a home, $50,000 for starting a new business. How will you pay for these plans? Please be specific.
  • The national debt is an unbelievable $35 trillion. Servicing that debt takes 13% of the federal budget. Explain how you will reduce that enormous debt.
  • Do you have a concrete plan for reducing inflation, other than your widely panned idea for price controls?
  • People close to the President, such as Congressman Seth Moulton, commented on his obvious cognitive decline prior to him stepping aside. Joe Biden’s staff acknowledged his best hours were between 10 and 4. Few are closer to the President than you. Two questions: First, how could have you missed his impairment? Second, why did you publicly maintain the fiction that he was perfectly fine?
  • It is well reported, mostly by others, that you have changed your mind on a plethora of issues. You have addressed fracking, and say you now would not ban it. When did you change your mind?
  • In earlier years, you described yourself as a “radical.” Are you still radical? If not, why? 
  • Do you still favor confiscating assault-style weapons? If not, when did you change your mind?
  • Do you still wish to ban ICE? If not, why did you change your mind?
  • When asked if illegal entry into the U.S. is a crime, you said our laws should be enforced. Is illegal entry a crime? Yes or no, please.
  • Do you still favor taxpayer-funded sex change operations for detained illegal immigrants? Please explain.
  • Biden kept his promise to appoint a Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court. Do you plan on using specific race and gender markers in your appointments?
  • Do you favor term limits for Supreme Court Justices?
  • What should they be?
  • Do you wish to expand membership on the High Court?
  • Will you expand DEI efforts in the federal government?
  • You now say you will spend hundreds of millions on a border wall you once said was “unAmerican.” What changed your mind?
  • You were for Medicare for all, now you are not. Why?
  • Do you still support the electric vehicle mandate?
  • GovTrack described you as the second most liberal senator between 2019-2021. Is that how you want people to think of you?
  • As California attorney general, you were accused of mass jailing
  • Black youth. Other critics have accused you of being soft on crime. How do you explain this contradiction?
  • You once opposed decriminalizing sex work, then changed your mind. Why?
  • Can you understand why these constant flip-flops lead some people to think those core values you mentioned are not well defined? 

33 thoughts on “Questions I would ask Kamala Harris”

  1. Stu, you know perfectly well none of the questions you propose will be asked. And if by some herculean feat, they briefly hint at any of the above questions will she actually answer them without talking about growing up in a middle-income family? I have my doubts she will. I am not going to hide my preference for Trump, but to back a candidate who in 2020 couldn’t grab her party nominee, and was shoehorned in for the current position is a little too much to understand. I have yet to hear one reason she is the right one for the job other than “Well she is not Trump” which is lunacy. I vote for something rather than against something. I am eager to hear her response to any questions asked of her that is a direct answer to the question asked.

  2. I think the list is terrific for a blog, but I would generalize a couple of main questions, rather than drill down. Explain why you were against something in 2020 but for it now. Explain with a bit more specifics how you intend to make life more affordable for the average American, particularly in the absence of price controls, which is generally not a good idea, last used by Richard Nixon, which in part led to disastrous economic consequences in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. That’s what I’d like to see. Those voters sitting on the fence are not satisfied that they know enough about her to vote for her, but also do not like Trump.

  3. In the instance of voting against rather than for: 1) I vote against felons; 2) I vote against someone who screwed up the pandemic response royally; 3) I vote against a man who has no respect for our armed services; 4) I vote against anyone who is responsible for the destruction of Roe v Wade and the sequelae of those actions; 5) I vote against anyone telling me that my country is turning into a third world shithole; 6) I vote against racists, xenophobes and dictator wannabes; 7) I vote against anyone who wants to impede and overthrow free and fair elections; 8) I vote against people who mock the disabled; 9) I vote against anyone who wants to grab random women by the pussy; 10) I vote against anyone who is responsible for the tax cut to the rich that exploded our deficit; 11) I vote against anyone who is stupid enough to not know what tariffs actually do; 12) I vote against anyone who lies so much that the press has trouble keeping up with his prevaricating; 13) I vote against people who have concepts of a plan (for years) versus a concrete plan; 14) I vote against anyone who has disdain for our allies around the world — except for the strongmen; 15) I vote against anyone who uses Viktor Orban as a character reference; 16) I vote against a person with no morals, scruples, empathy and self-awareness who is demented (BTW, I would have voted for impaired Biden ONLY holding my nose and closing my eyes and that would have been vote against all of those things). I could go on, but voting FOR a candidate who smiles and laughs and is smart and articulate and thoughtful and brings me hope is enough FOR for me, because it is a vote cast against all of the aforementioned. I wouldn’t give a rat’s ass if she was green and blue with purple spots, she is such a breath of fresh air next to the scowling grifter.
    As for the questions for Kamala, the most important one is the first — are you off better? Yes, because we are still holding on to our democratic republic by the skin of our teeth no thanks to the MAGA Supreme Court and the clowns in the House. The rest of the questions, I am sure she would have a good answer for. Some she may be still formulating a position on. You ignore that she is trying to whip up votes in a record short period of time and has other things on her plate for now. BTW, I suspect no one ever made a list of these kinds of questions for the orange menace, because no one expects him to answer a question — any question — coherently.

    1. Wanda – you could have simply summed up your entire paragraph above with your one line: “I vote against a person with no morals, scruples, empathy and self-awareness who is demented…”

      That’s the bottom line. Period. That alone is enough to unqualify him for the highest office in the land. I’m no fan of Harris, but the alternative is demonstrably worse.

    4. She cannot and will not defend the last 4years of the Harris Biden administration. Trump was a good president. You are deranged and prove it with every post. Please get help.

  4. Good questions, but that is why people like you are not invited to the Vice-President’s news conference.

    1. Well, for one thing, I haven’t asked. Realistically, only the Big Hitters are invited, the DC press corps, unless she is doing local events, such as the brief interview with 6abc, in which Brian Taff asked some good questions, but allowed Kamala to get away with vague generalities.

  6. In “normal” times, these questions you ask, and the intense scrutiny of a candidate may be valuable. In a time like this, where we have Kamala Harris, a “normal”, qualified, experienced, ( though not perfect) candidate running against a pathological liar, self-absorbed narcissist, Hitler-esque (yeah, I said it), criminal who instigated violence on January 6th, (and now pledges to pardon all of those convicted, even those who viciously, violently attacked Police Officers, some sustaining life-changing injuries) and more recently has instigated hate and chaos in Springfield, HOW IN THE HELL are questions you asked, like “Will you expand DEI efforts in the federal government?” important?

    1. I asked two dozen questions. Many are important to many, some important to few. As someone who is Kamala Kurious, I want to know her true values. Don’t you? (Rhetorical. I know you don’t care.)

  7. I cannot argue against most of Wanda’s assertions regarding the other candidate.

    However, shouldn’t we be asking for truthful answers from Kamala Harris. Are we just gonna fall in line with hope after falling for it with Obama and Biden. They make promises that they know they cannot keep and continue to buy or try to buy additional votes with promises of debt forgiveness which is nothing more than the transfer of debt.

    I do not want 4 more years of Trump and the Trump deranged press, horrible times full of bickering and fighting.

    I think it is fair to ask the candidates for answers and hold them accountable for lies and half truths. The people of this country know how sad this election is and the devils on both sides of the ballot.

    Ask the questions!!!!!

    1. I get your point, but when the other guy just lies , I don’t think it’s fair she’s held to a higher standard. I’m fine with her answering these as President – Elect.

      1. She’s not held to a higher standard. Trump’s out there every day answering questions. Everyone knows where he stands there’s no secrets. Only an idiot would blindly vote for her.

        2. Trump NEVER answers questions, which you well know. He pontificates and talks nonsense. There has never been a specific answer from him to a single question. Grow up.

  8. Craig, You are entitled to vote however you want and accept her running on enthusiasm and feel good statements. The other guy makes your position easy, similar to Wanda’s post.

    Most people have their mind made up already, but some like myself are still deciding and for us those type of answers are important and the dancing around them undermines her credibility. I voted for hope and enthusiasm before and have been fooled.

    At the end of the day, you have Trump (the devil you know) and Harris who we do not know and she is not letting much out of the bag. Sometimes you choose the devil you know.

    As for fairness, I gave up on that in the third grade.

    1. Fair enough and while I appreciate your position, Trump’s after election nonsense killed it for me. Have a good one.

  9. It goes back to their proven records. Trump has a 4 year record of success. And we were better off. Harris and Biden have a 4 year record of failure. Open borders high inflation and interest rates involvements in 2 wars that should not have happened. Do we you really want 4 more years of incompetence.

  10. This blog is getting much more difficult to follow because of the same old handful of “commenters.” More articles like the USS Slater will cure this ill. Tired!

  11. Stu… You came up with great questions. These are the type questions Kamala was never asked. She has skated around not only questions but also interviews. If you want to know what Kamala stands for contact her handlers. Nobody knows where she stands on the issues.

    1. It troubles me her star is rising, slowly, WITHOUT coming clean. It is a tactic that will work UNLESS something goes wrong, and she will have to explain a lot.

  12. Kamala is a leftist version of Richard Nixon: she is able to talk out of both sides of her mouth, and be liar in both instances. If she somehow does win, pray that the Congress is NOT in Democrat hands. She will need brakes on her runaway plans to take the nation far left and shred the Constitution. Her daddy taught her everything she needs to know to ruin the USA.

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