The Anti-Palin?

Kamala Harris

---

(I mentioned this in the comments yesterday but I decided to front page it.)

Politico:

Kamala Harris: Democrats’ anti-Palin

It’s easy to understand why Kamala Harris, California’s next attorney general, is being called the future of the Democratic Party, a rising political star in the mold of one of her big supporters — President Barack Obama.

At first glance, the president and Harris have much in common: Both are mixed-race children of immigrants raised by a single mother; both are eloquent, telegenic big-city lawyers with strong liberal credentials who catapulted from relative obscurity to the national stage. And like the first African-American president, Harris has broken a long-standing barrier — she’s California’s first African-American attorney general and the first woman to hold the office.

[…]

When she broke out of a six-candidate primary field in the race for attorney general, the San Francisco prosecutor won big endorsements from party heavyweights, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, as well as endorsements from labor unions like the Service Employees International Union and most of California’s top newspapers. She also was the only down-ballot Democrat for whom President Obama raised funds this year.

That level of support — coupled with glowing profiles in national magazines like Ebony and The Daily Beast, as well as appearances on MSNBC’s Morning Joe and a Matt Lauer interview on Today — lead top Democrats to predict she will soon become a household name.

“She’s a rare talent who will be a national figure shortly,” said Chris Lehane, a former Clinton aide who is now a consultant in California. “People call her the female Obama. It’s more apt to say she is the female Obama that progressives thought they were voting for.”

I like Kamala Harris. I voted for her in the primary as well as the general election. Of course since she’s a former prosecutor who believes in the rule of law that probably makes me an authoritarian follower or something.

I have no problem calling her a “rising star.” But shouldn’t we let her spend a few years at her new job before we start talking about promoting her again?

I would also point out that in a election where Jerry Brown and Barbara Boxer won handily over their GOP opponents, Harris won by the skin of her teeth.

A couple wingnut blogs raise interesting points. Conservatives4Palin:

First of all, the Democrat Party is probably too foolish to recognize that it is effectively conceding that Governor Palin has national appeal by making the comparison between Harris and Palin. If the Democrat Party views Harris as the liberal version/mirror image of Palin and at the same time believes that Harris plays well nationally, then the Democrat Party is logically conceding that Palin has national appeal as well because it wouldn’t make sense otherwise to make the comparison between Palin and Harris.

iOwnTheWorld:

I guess that means that Kamala Harris is ugly, angry, divorced, has had abortions, is anti-gun, fiscally irresponsible, uncoordinated, America hating… what else?

WTH does The Anti-Palin even mean?

Kamala Harris is supposed to be the next Barack Obama, which means that she will rise meteorically based on nothing and then sink like a stone in a morass of inability, paranoia and egotism.

We don’t need any anti-Palins or female Obamas. We need quality candidates of all races, genders and sexual orientations who have spent years gaining experience while demonstrating competence and integrity.

When we try to rush the process we not only end up with leaders who are unqualified and inexperienced (see: Obama, Barack) but we also pass over qualified and experienced candidates (see: Clinton, Hillary).

Kamala Harris is gaining experience while demonstrating competence and integrity. Let’s be patient and see how far her star will rise on its own.

---