Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) flew to Alabama on Saturday to join up with the Faith and Politics Institute's annual Civil Rights Pilgrimage led by Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.). On Sunday, the former presidential candidate had something to say. In a video she recorded in Montgomery, Ala., she endorsed former vice president Joe Biden in his quest for the 2020 Democratic Party nomination for president.
One of the things that we need right now is we need a leader who really does care about the people. And who can therefore unify the people. And I believe Joe can do that. I am supporting Joe because I believe that he is a man who has lived his life with great dignity. He is a public servant, who has always worked for the best of who we are as a nation. And we need that right now.
But there's more to the story of Harris's endorsement. Yes, she genuinely likes Biden. The endorsement was real. "I really do believe in Joe," Harris told me. But coming days after the California primary, the timing of Harris's announcement struck me as curious. In the shadow of Brown Chapel AME Church, the sacred place where, 55 years ago, Lewis and other marchers set out on what would become "Bloody Sunday," I asked her about it.
"I had two women colleagues in the race, and I did not feel right putting my thumb on the scale [that] in any way would harm their candidacy," Harris said, referring to Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Both ended their campaigns last week. "So, when Elizabeth announced that she was getting out of the race, I let Joe know that I would endorse him."
Harris's ties to Biden are well-known. She and Biden's late son Beau developed a strong bond during the 2011 foreclosure crisis when they served as attorney general of California and Delaware, respectively. "During those days, Beau Biden . . . became an incredible friend and colleague," Harris writes in her book "The Truths We Hold: An American Journey." Adding, "From the very beginning, he had consistently objected to the [settlement] deal" between the banks and the states over the mortgage meltdown that impacted millions of Americans.
During that time, Harris was also building a relationship with Warren. "Elizabeth and I have a very special relationship," Harris said of Warren.
"Back when I was attorney general of California battling the big banks on the foreclosure crisis, I reached out to Elizabeth, who had started the CFPB, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. [I] talked with her a lot through that time around how we were negotiating the deal that I ultimately got for California," Harris told me.
And when a settlement was reached with the big banks, Harris demanded a separate mortgage settler monitor for California. "When we got the settlement, there was a national monitor appointed to monitor the settlement for all states. I went rogue and said, 'No, I want my own monitor for my state of 40 million people.' I called up Elizabeth. I said, 'Do you have anybody in mind that would be a good monitor?' She gave me the name of Katie Porter, who ended up working for me for over a year doing extraordinary work."
Porter is now Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), whose question to Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson about real estate owned organizations during a May hearing put her on the map.
"When Elizabeth decided she wanted to run for Senate . . . I actually sat with her on her porch in [Cambridge, Mass.,] and gave her advice about how to run for office," Harris said, adding that Warren endorsed Harris the day after she announced her candidacy for the Senate. So that's the history we have, and I wasn't gonna put my thumb on the scale while she was in the race."
"But I do feel very enthusiastic about Joe and about his candidacy and supporting him," Harris said before we both had to literally run to our respective transportation to the next Alabama pilgrimage event. Getting Harris to hold forth about the treatment of female candidates in the race for the presidential nomination will have to wait for another time.
In this interview, Senate Kamala Harris answers a question I wondered about...why did Kamala wit to enjoy Joe. #Kamala4Joe #Blue2020
Jonathan Capehart, Washington Post, March 9, 2020
###
March 10, 2020
Voices4America Post Script. In this interview, Senate @KamalaHarris answers a question I wondered about...why did ahe wait to endorse Joe. The answer tells us much about her. Pass it on. #Kamala4Joe #Blue2020
