Harris is Democrats’ poster child for failing up

OPINION:

Amid the perceived ascendancy of Vice President Kamala Harris as the top contender to succeed President Biden as the Democratic Party’s representative in the November election, I received a communique from a confidant imploring me to refrain from criticizing her.

I was made to understand that as a Black man, to blatantly reject her candidacy in favor of the Republican candidate, former President Donald Trump, would result in my complete detachment from the Black community. While I can attest to my friend’s sincerity and concern for my well-being, I had to suppress my initial response of righteous indignation.

The message, however, is emblematic of a disturbing trend in our society, where any disagreement with a Black politician is automatically labeled a betrayal to the Black community. This tactic is not only intellectually disingenuous but dangerous; it stifles any meaningful discussion and analysis of policies and qualifications and feeds into the negative aspects of the diversity, equity and inclusion narrative.

First and foremost, one’s race should not dictate one’s political beliefs or loyalties. We should all be able to freely and critically evaluate all candidates, regardless of their skin color. To suggest that I must blindly support (or at least not oppose) Ms. Harris because she is Black is to diminish both my agency as a person and her competence as a civic leader (the latter of which is questionable).

An elected official with a track record of failure spanning her entire political career, Ms. Harris has consistently been rewarded with promotions by left-leaning voters. Her lackluster performance as district attorney of San Francisco should have been a red flag. She not only achieved abysmally low conviction rates but also failed to prosecute serious crimes effectively. She had the worst felony conviction rate of any big-city prosecutor in California and covered up a scandal involving San Francisco’s crime lab. Didn’t this deter the left from propelling her further up the political hierarchy? Alas, it did not.

In her next position, as California attorney general, Ms. Harris again proved less than successful. In this role, she tended to side with criminals instead of their victims. As a result of her “Smart on Crime” policies, California experienced a 10% increase in violent crime, putting an end to what was a streak of 22 consecutive years in which violent crime went down in the Golden State. And it has been going up ever since. Yet the Democrats lauded her and catapulted her into the U.S. Senate.

And what did Ms. Harris achieve in the Senate? The answer is simple: nothing. Her record lacks any notable legislation or accomplishment. She did, however, earn the distinction of being ranked the most politically left member of the Senate and the second most absent in votes compared with her Senate colleagues, missing 55.1% of votes (397 of 720 votes) in the 116th Congress. Yet her not-so-noteworthy record in the Senate did not impede her ascension to vice president, a position she obtained solely because Democratic then-presidential nominee Joe Biden committed to selecting a Black woman as his running mate.

Ms. Harris holds the second-highest office in the nation, and once again, she has failed to make any meaningful impact in her role. Whether in her role as “border czar,” as the overseer of the White House’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention or as the administration’s lead on tackling the challenges surrounding artificial intelligence, she cannot claim one significant achievement. She does get to claim credit for overseeing the worst border crisis in U.S. history.

Yet despite her lack of merits and achievements at every stage of her career, liberal Democrats have deemed her the perfect fit to be their front-runner for the 2024 presidential election.

While it may make for a compelling narrative to have Ms. Harris as the first Black woman to be a major party’s presidential nominee, that alone does not qualify her for the position. While it is understandable that some may want to support Ms. Harris in the name of equity, as symbolism can be powerful, we must remember that symbolism should never be prioritized over substance.

Let us not reduce Ms. Harris to a mere symbol but hold her accountable for her actions and qualifications.

To that end, Kamala Harris exemplifies the left’s brazen penchant for promoting incompetent leaders. She is the poster child for failing up. Her ascendancy to becoming the front-running Democratic nominee in 2024 is an unequivocal testament to the left’s detachment from reality and competence.

So while I appreciate my friend’s concern, I cannot align with the damaging narrative that I must blindly support a candidate solely based on their race. Our political choices should be based on thorough evaluation and analysis, not blind loyalty. To do otherwise would not only be a disservice to ourselves but also to our nation and our posterity.

• Project 21 Ambassador Craig J. DeLuz has almost 30 years in public policy and advocacy. He hosts a daily news and commentary show called “The Rundown.” Follow him on X @CraigDeLuz.