Attacks on Kamala Harris as a "DEI Hire" Rooted in Racism and Sexism

     A tired line against Kamala Harris that has been trotted out by the far-right to oppose her candidacy for president is that she is a "DEI hire." It's a repackaging of their attacks on President Obama in 2008. Obama was the editor of the Harvard Law Review, a civil rights attorney, a constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago, a member of the Illinois Senate, a U.S. senator from Illinois, the keynote speaker at the 2004 DNC, and a published author. They claimed he was unqualified to be president, and yet they nominated a washed-up reality show host with no qualifications.

     I've already highlighted Kamala Harris's record, but, in short, she was a prosecuting attorney from 1990 to 2004, the DA of San Francisco from 2004 to 2011, the attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017, a senator from California from 2017 to 2021, and the vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. That's an even more impressive record than President Obama had before taking office, so she's obviously not a "DEI hire." That's because they don't want to say the quiet part out loud: their attacks are racist and misogynistic. 

     President Biden picked Vice President Harris for a number of reasons, and, yes, in part because she is a black woman. President Obama picked Joe Biden to be his vice president because he was an older white man with foreign policy experience who could help win more moderate voters in swing states. Donald Trump picked JD Vance because he's a young conservative voice. John McCain picked Sarah Palin because she is a woman with governing experience. Vice President Harris herself is looking for a white male running mate from a swing state. Those calculations are about balancing the ticket, and they're made in virtually every VP selection ever. The only time Republicans call it DEI or racist is when men and women of color are selected.

     The attacks they use beyond just calling her a "DEI hire" are equally weak. They mock her laugh, her cooking, and other personality attributes while continuing to stick by their sexual abuser, their fraudster, their felon and his couch-fucking, bestiality-loving lackey and their plan to end American democracy and strip citizens of their civil liberties. The 2024 election is 100 days from today. The choice couldn't be any more clear.