Kamala Harris to take centerstage amid personal attacks

WASHINGTON: Presumptive Democratic vice-presidential nominee Kamala Devi Harris will take centerstage at the party’s virtual convention at 9 pm Wednesday night (Thursday 6:30 am IST) amid some vicious mudslinging from right wing Trump supporters aimed at destroying the candidacy of first non-white woman for the high office.
From sleazy memes centering on her personal life to savage cartoons on her candidacy, the racist dregs of America have unleashed a full scale social media attack on her even as her nomination has galvanized women and minorities, and is viewed favorably by independents.
The online market Amazon pulled a range of clothing including t-shirts, tank tops, hoodies and sweatshirts with the slogan “Joe and the Hoe” in lettering similar to the Biden campaign logo, even as Trump Republicans unloaded “oppo research” on everything from her past relationships and current marriage to her purported financial assets and liabilities.
Some of the attacks legitimately focused on her record as a prosecutor in California and as a first-term Senator, but there was a preponderance of slime and grime on social media going beyond the US A cartoon in the Murdoch-owned The Australian showed Biden standing side by side with Ms. Harris, saying: “It’s time to heal a nation divided by racism … so I’ll hand you over to this little brown girl while I go for a lie-down.”
“So how on earth does Murdoch editor Chris Dore justify publishing a racist and sexist cartoon about a US Senator who is likely to be the next Vice-President of the US? Murdoch is a Trump mouthpiece. But this is gross even by Murdoch’s gutter standards,” former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd noted after lodging a complaint with the Australian Press Council.
Some of the attacks were downright sexist and personal, from derogatory comments about her “fake laugh” to the way she dressed, remarks that would never be made about male politicians. Right wing Indian trolls also continued to attack Harris, questioning her “Indianness” and feeding into the U.S righwing narrative about her liberal credentials.
None of this is expected to faze a candidate reputed to be tough-as-nails as she makes the case against Trump in the prosecutorial style she has already made her trademark in Senate hearings. Her nomination acceptance address will be bookended by speeches from Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to close out Day 3 of the Democrats’ virtual convention.
While conventions typically give the political parties holding it a boost, Harris’ nomination has galvanized young black communities, including what’s referred to as HBCUs – Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Harris went to Howard University in Washington DC, a HBCU that is alma mater to Justice Thurgood Marshall, the writer Toni Morrison, the political activist Stokely Carmichael among others.