# The Kamala Harris thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** kamala-harris\ **Created:** [October 20, 2018, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kamala-harris-thread/823236 "2018-10-20T03:08:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kamala-harris-thread/823236/141 "2019-01-30T02:37:32Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > Medicare for All wouldn’t necessarily eliminate private insurance companies. After all, Medicare supplemental plans exist. That’s nice, but supplemental plans in that bill can’t cover any actual medical care, they can just cover out of pocket costs or special treatment like a private room. If you need cancer treatment and Medicare denies you, your supplemental can’t cover you on that count either. Good luck getting unions to give up their plans. I bet federal workers are going to demand an exemption as well. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kamala-harris-thread/823236/142 "2019-01-30T06:10:30Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > That’s nice, but supplemental plans in that bill can’t cover any actual medical care, they can just cover out of pocket costs or special treatment like a private room. If you need cancer treatment and Medicare denies you, your supplemental can’t cover you on that count either. > > Good luck getting unions to give up their plans. I bet federal workers are going to demand an exemption as well. It all depends. My wife is a union member, and we’d love it if we could get on Medicare. Her union plan is terrible. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kamala-harris-thread/823236/143 "2019-01-30T07:26:45Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > I’m a California resident, and I think Kamala Harris is fantastic. How many others agree with me, I can’t say. I live here, and i think she is a dangerous demagogue. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kamala-harris-thread/823236/144 "2019-01-30T08:03:05Z")
It’s hard to be a strong-willed District Attorney of a major city and make tough choices without offending people. I view Harris’ experience as a big plus, but I’m sure it gives people plenty of reasons to vote against her. I oppose the candidacy of Ms. Harris for several reasons, none of which is related to her competence or qualifications. (a) I do NOT think her speaking style is particularly charismatic. It may appeal to her supporters, but turn off the masses. (b) In Senate hearings her questioning comes across as silly and pedantic, working on little Gotchas. © She is vehemently anti-gun. That makes her unelectable in a country which perversely places gun rights above human rights. (d) I don’t know if the Trumpettes will go so far as to demand to see her birth certificate from Oakland, but the fact that her parents were not citizens will be all that the Liars, Hypocrites and Assholes ever talk about. A “Democrat to be named later” might beat Trump in a landslide. But the actual D’s likely to be nominated? I’m desperately afraid that several of the top contenders have fatal flaws. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kamala-harris-thread/823236/145 "2019-01-30T14:36:04Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > 80% of Americans don’t like the insurance they have now, because the vast majority of Americans have no idea what their insurance is like. I do wonder if you actually put them through scenarios, and they actually saw what wasn’t covered, what kind of out of pocket costs they will be on the hook for, what kinds of complexities are involved in “in network” and “out of network” providers who may even be working in the same practice, as well as how beholden they are to their employer to continue to offer both employment and a generous benefit in the health plan, how many would be happy to give up their private insurance. Just start with, “You like your insurance plan? What will you do if you lose your job, or your employer drops or changes your plan?” ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kamala-harris-thread/823236/146 "2019-01-30T15:28:39Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Support for Medicare for All drops to 37% once people are told they lose their private insurance: Talk about loaded questions! _Single-payer_ eliminates private insurance, \*not \*expanding eligibility for Medicare. Even current Medicare recipients often carry private supplemental policies. Further, if the question did not lay out the benefits of either option as well as the downsides, then it was written as a partisan scare tactic and its results can be ignored. So why are you wasting our time, \*and \*yours, with that nonsense? ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kamala-harris-thread/823236/147 "2019-01-30T16:01:00Z")
It doesn’t make any sense. “Hey, I’m all for tax funded healthcare but only if I can also keep spending money on my private insurance!” But hey, people aren’t always rational and maybe they follow adaher’s reasoning that their private insurance is more likely to pay for some crazy cancer therapy than Medicare would. I doubt it, unless you are buying super gold plated insurance, but yeah I can see people thinking that. It would certainly be possible to craft legislation that allows for rich people health clinics paid for by private insurance. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kamala-harris-thread/823236/148 "2019-01-30T16:10:45Z")
Harris is sending signals that she isn’t wedded to eliminating private insurance: > [@](#): > > As the furor grew, a Harris adviser on Tuesday signaled that the candidate would also be open to the more moderate health reform plans, which would preserve the industry, being floated by other congressional Democrats. It represents a compromise position that risks angering “Medicare-for-all” proponents, who view eliminating private health insurance as key to enacting their comprehensive reform. > > Both the adviser and Harris national press secretary Ian Sams said her willingness to consider alternate routes to a single payer system should not cast doubt on her commitment to the policy. [https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/29/politics/kamala-harris-medicare-for-all-eliminate-private-insurers-backlash/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/29/politics/kamala-harris-medicare-for-all-eliminate-private-insurers-backlash/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kamala-harris-thread/823236/149 "2019-01-30T21:29:11Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Other than your own preferences, is there some reason you think those are actually important boxes to tick? The first one, sure bury the hatchet and all that. But you’re relegating experience/record, charisma and policy positions to afterthoughts? Those aren’t MY preferences; I want to nominate an 80 year old white guy from Vermont. But most people prefer to vote for people who they think resemble themselves, and minorities, women and young people constitute the bulk of the Democratic primary electorate. Obviously the candidate’s personal qualities matter, but demographics can give one candidate a big head start against an otherwise comparable opponent. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kamala-harris-thread/823236/150 "2019-01-30T21:30:36Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I dont think any of those last three will help in the general election, they may not be as big of a hindrance as in the past, but they are certainly not advantages. Sorry, I meant in the Democratic primary, not the general. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kamala-harris-thread/823236/151 "2019-01-30T22:26:20Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > Those aren’t MY preferences; I want to nominate an 80 year old white guy from Vermont. What? Your most important box was “not being too closely associated with either side of the Great Pissing Match of 2016”! You’re ignoring that to feel the Bern? ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kamala-harris-thread/823236/152 "2019-01-31T00:18:01Z")
Again, those boxes are my prediction, not my preference. I doubt Bernie can win the nomination, but then I didn’t really expect him to break 5% last time, either. And since the Dems use a rational PR system, there’s no disincentive to voting for someone you don’t think can win. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kamala-harris-thread/823236/153 "2019-01-31T13:30:47Z")
He \*certainly \*can’t win the Democrats’ nomination unless he joins them. Don’t bet on that. ---
**Author:** ![pjacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e19adc/32.png) [@pjacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjacks)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kamala-harris-thread/823236/154 "2019-02-01T16:55:12Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > He \*certainly \*can’t win the Democrats’ nomination unless he joins them. Don’t bet on that. > **[Is Bernie Sanders a Democrat?](https://www.politifact.com/article/2016/feb/23/bernie-sanders-democrat/)** > > Bernie Sanders is called many things: independent, progressive, socialist, democratic socialist, social democrat, commun What are you even talking about? Last time he described himself as a democrat in his statement of candidacy, and he will do so again this time. There is no blood test or lie detector test to determine who is or isn’t a democrat, and anyone can run for either party’s nomination. Considering the Democratic party’s approval rating is on par with Trump’s, Sanders’ reluctance in embracing the label is actually an advantage anyway. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kamala-harris-thread/823236/155 "2019-02-01T18:25:19Z")
[New rule.](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/391459-dnc-panel-adopts-rule-requiring-candidates-to-run-serve-as-a-democrat) No, Sanders has never declared himself to be a member of the party. ---
**Author:** ![pjacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e19adc/32.png) [@pjacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjacks)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kamala-harris-thread/823236/156 "2019-02-01T19:22:00Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > [New rule.](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/391459-dnc-panel-adopts-rule-requiring-candidates-to-run-serve-as-a-democrat) No, Sanders has never declared himself to be a member of the party. This roadblock is cute. What a desperate attempt to keep Sanders out. Too bad he will simply register as a democrat before the primaries, and when asked about it he will just say he was forced to and use it as an example about how awful the Democratic establishment fossils are. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kamala-harris-thread/823236/157 "2019-02-01T19:59:41Z")
Why the hell do \*you \*think he doesn’t want to be a member of the party whose support he demands? ---
**Author:** ![Ancient\_Erudite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Ancient\_Erudite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ancient_Erudite)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kamala-harris-thread/823236/158 "2019-02-01T20:30:11Z")
Harris is not off to a good start. Former Mayor Willie Brown of San Francisco called her a word I won’t type. It rhymes with the word rut. In a town hall event with Jake Tapper, you said the Second Amendment has no place in society. No one this anti the 2nd amendment will get elected. Can you see that add run someday? Democrats would be wise to vote against Harris, as she has little chance of winning the general election, but might appeal to the far left just enough to become the nominee in a very crowded field. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kamala-harris-thread/823236/159 "2019-02-01T20:38:19Z")
> [@Ancient\_Erudite](#): > > In a town hall event with Jake Tapper, you said the Second Amendment has no place in society. This isn’t what she said. I’m solidly opposed to Harris’s positions, but this isn’t accurate. [Here is the portion you are referring to:](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/01/29/kamala-harris-gun-control-requires-locked-room-with-autopsy-photographs-those-babies/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.5169c1a06c67) > [@](#): > > “You can be in favor of the Second Amendment and also understand that there is no reason in a civil society that we have assault weapons around communities that can kill babies and police officers,” she said. At least get the quote right. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kamala-harris-thread/823236/160 "2019-02-01T20:47:48Z")
> [@pjacks](#): > > This roadblock is cute. What a desperate attempt to keep Sanders out. Too bad he will simply register as a democrat before the primaries, and when asked about it he will just say he was forced to and use it as an example about how awful the Democratic establishment fossils are. It was a sop to some of the more strident Bernie haters like Elvis. And obviously trivial to overcome but as you can see made a bunch of them super happy. ISTM, the real tradeoff in the Lefty-Establishment treaty were Superdelegates not in on the first vote and mail-in votes for Caucuses. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kamala-harris-thread/823236.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kamala-harris-thread/823236.md?page=9)