The Prosecutor Makes Her Case

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

The full text of Kamala Harris's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, as well as video of the actual speech itself, are available across the internet and undoubtedly will be forever.  It was an amazing presentation that highlighted her own story as a native Californian who was born to immigrants from two different parts of the world, ambitious young people who came to the United States for education and the opportunity to be successful in life.  She talked about her childhood, the community in which she grew up, and the important people who helped to safeguard and guide her through the early years of her life, many who were non-relatives but she referred to with terms of endearment like "Aunt" and "Uncle."

Kamala's parents, and particularly her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris (a biomedical scientist), steeped her and her sister, Maya, in the importance of civil rights and addressing injustice, and Kamala, the eldest of the two siblings, went on to become a lawyer who dedicated her entire legal career to representing "the people," first as a prosecutor, and later as the Attorney General of California.  It was in those roles that she built a formidable reputation for taking down the bad guys, both human and corporate.

After using her speech at the convention to introduce herself, Kamala Harris, the prosecutor, calmly and factually introduced Donald Trump from "the people's" perspective.  Her remarks represent a brief and very succinct account of Trump's legal situation as well as his past and current threats to democracy.  They have the sound and feel of a skilled prosecutor's summation to a jury at the end of a complicated trial.

Kamala Harris said, for the people:

In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man.

But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.

Consider not only the chaos and calamity when he was in office, but also the gravity of what has happened since he lost the last election. 

Donald Trump tried to throw away your votes.

When he failed, he sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol, where they assaulted law enforcement officers.

When politicians in his own party begged him to call off the mob and send help, he did the opposite. He fanned the flames. 

And now, for an entirely different set of crimes, he was found guilty of fraud by a jury of everyday Americans. And separately, found liable for committing sexual abuse.

And consider what he intends to do if we give him power again. 

Consider his explicit intent to set free the violent extremists who assaulted those law enforcement officers at the Capitol. 

His explicit intent to jail journalists. Political opponents. Anyone he sees as the enemy. 

His explicit intent to deploy our active-duty military against our own citizens.

Consider the power he will have— especially after the United States Supreme Court just ruled he would be immune from criminal prosecution.

Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails. How he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States. Not to improve your life. Not to strengthen our national security.

But to serve the only client he has ever had:  Himself.

Very well said!  We know who she is, and we certainly know who he is.  The choice is clear.

When I go to the polls to vote, I focus on my children and grandchildren.

I will proudly be casting a vote to elect Kamala Harris President of the United States this November, and that same vote will also signify my strong desire to keep Donald Trump out of the White House.  Both of those goals are critically important in securing a government steeped in freedom, democracy, and human decency.

That's the world I want to leave for my children and grandchildren.

It's no longer about me.

It's about them.