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Questions I would ask Kamala Harris

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? 
Stu Bykofsky

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