Am I dreaming?
Kamala Harris has now been the presumptive nominee for a whole week, and the energy shows no signs of abating. Shannon Watts was one of the organizers of the “White Women: Answer the Call” Zoom last week. Appearing on MSNBC with Katie Phang, Watts shared that they had record-setting attendance and ended up with a large haul for Kamala Harris. Phang shared that she also dialed in, and at her last count, almost 200,000 women had raised over $8.5 million in less than 90 minutes. That would be a “wow” until Watts shared that the next morning, the total had gone over $11 million. She said that some were first-time donors, and many signed up for recurring contributions, which she asserted resulted from the women’s joy “because they believe so much in this.” This is incredible. Watts said that she took the lead from the Black women’s call (attended by 90,000), and when she woke up, she said to herself: “Are white women going to do this too?” And it doesn’t end there.
MSNBC’s hosts and guests on “The Weekend” were blown away by the number of volunteers who have signed up for Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, which totaled 170,000 over three to four days, and they have scheduled more than 2,300 events in battleground states. With all that’s going on, who will serve as Harris’s vice-presidential running mate? Bloomberg reported on Saturday that Harris and her team have narrowed the list to three: Mark Kelly (Arizona), Josh Shapiro (Pennsylvania), and Tim Walz (Minnesota). Both Kelly and Walz have military histories, while Shapiro is known for his sex abuse investigations into the clergy and his stance on voting rights. Good thing it’s her choice; any of these choices would be great, making it hard to choose.
We have rarely seen this type of excitement for a presidential candidate in modern times. It’s like a wave-a wave of relief, a wave of hope, and a wave of freedom. Harris visited the Villages in Florida Saturday. Approximately 500 golf carts paraded through the Village, which is a retirement community that we would expect to be primarily Republican. The Tallahassee Democrat reported that 30% are independent. They feel the excitement as well. Their local paper spoke with Tracey Carpenter, who said: “She will win, and we will show the world that the United States can be united.” Her husband, Luke, chimed in with: “This country is ready for a woman president. It’s not just about color or gender. She makes us better and she makes the world better. That’s what a president should do.”
Kamala Harris fever is alive and well. She has somehow already given people-all kinds of people-hope for the future. Over 100,000 brand new voters have registered across the nation. People are sick of the nonsense in Washington, and even though Harris has been there the past four years, her candidacy has become a refreshing beacon of change. Interestingly, of the 170,000 volunteers, 9,000 are in virtually every county in Florida. The last Democrat to win Florida was Barack Obama. It appears that Harris is following in his footsteps.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years