Four years ago, the 49th vice-president of the United States said, “We did it, Joe” – a phrase that became a battle cry of sorts, coming from a half-black, half-Indian woman married to a Jewish-American man. The moment became a milestone in America’s socio-political history. For all its celebratory moments, American democracy still has a long way to go in terms of representation and inclusiveness. When it comes to women, gender schemes in the world’s oldest democracy work just as effectively as those in emerging democracies to keep women out of high office.
Can Kamala Harris succeed in her sacred bid to occupy the Oval Office? The odds are stacked against her from the very beginning of her late announcement of her candidacy. With less than a month left to secure her nomination at the Democratic Convention, Harris has a mountain to climb. The funding figures are encouraging, but money can only go so far as to win attitudinal and ideological battles.
Women and politics
First, there is the problem of recall. Studies (J. Hitchon and C. Chang, 1995) have shown that voters remember female candidates in terms of their family and appearance and their male counterparts in terms of campaign activities. Harris understands this and has made this trend work in her favor by highlighting her family background. However, in a deeply polarized American society that is in the throes of a backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), this strategy may no longer work as desired.
American women have been consistently voting more than men for the past four decades. They are certainly no less political than men. Yet, they too are not able to send enough women to political offices. Women candidates are penalized for expressing emotions, especially anger. Harris has been trying to keep her ‘anger’ in check, often descending into platitudes in her public speeches. She has steadily become fodder for the meme factory. Whether this is a carefully crafted strategy, only time will tell.
“Too colorful”, “Not colorful enough”
Harris was the second black woman elected to the US Senate in the country’s history. This tells the world something that Americans cannot but be proud of. “The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most insecure person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman,” Malcolm X said in 1962. As per some important indices like education, healthcare, salaries, etc., this observation still applies today. Harris has come a long way, overcoming the fierce shackles of racial and gender discrimination. Her victory in the presidential election will be an even bigger achievement than Barack Obama’s presidency in terms of America’s racial issue. A decade after the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement first surfaced on social media, American society is struggling to find the golden balance. Anti-DEI rioters have now found effective ways to punish individuals and institutions that do not follow the hegemonic lines.
But Harris is not just black, she is also half Indian and the country celebrated her as its prodigal daughter from New Delhi to Chennai. With the ever-growing population in the US over the past few years, Indians have emerged as a group with political aspirations. The cultural, regional and religious associations of the Indian community have played a key role in increasing the political power of Indian Americans. The flip side of this is the growing resentment among the deceptively so-called native-born whites against the powerful immigrant communities. Ironically, black Americans too harbor some resentment against immigrant communities that have risen to the upper rungs of the socio-economic ladder. While this is sociologically ‘natural’, people like Harris are strangely affected. She is colourful, but not colourful enough for some people.
A course correction too late
2024 is not 2018, when the surge for Democrats in general and women candidates in particular sent Democratic women politicians of various ethnicities such as Debra Haaland and Sharice Davids (Native Americans); Ayanna Pressley and Jahana Hayes (women of color); Veronica Escobar, Sylvia R. Garcia, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Latinas) to Congress. The Republican campaign has been bolstered by the Biden administration’s many foreign policy mistakes, most importantly its role in the Israel-Palestine conflict. Even captive Democratic voters are expressing disagreement. The assassination attempt on Donald Trump has further boosted their already strong prospects.
Choosing Harris instead of Biden is a strategic correction for the Democrats, but it is probably too late. Her strengths may not have been fully utilized, but her weaknesses are there for all to see. During her vice presidential tenure, she has a lot of blame but no leverage.
Harris has the unpopular position of being a woman who cleans up after men. If she wins, it will be her personal victory, not the party’s.
(Nishtha Gautam is a Delhi-based writer and academician.)
Disclaimer: These are the personal views of the author