Hi everyone!
Kamala Harris released her new book yesterday, called 107 Days, after her wildly brief presidential campaign last year. Then she went on Colbert to boost it. In her promo for the book on Twitter (I've decided I'm not calling it X and neither should you), she said "I remain full of hope, and I remain clear-eyed. I will never stop fighting to make our country reflect the very best of its ideals, always on behalf of the people."
On Colbert, we learned what she meant. Now that she's held the second-highest office in the nation, she's decided to become a political outsider. The question is, can she ditch her insider status and start fighting from outside the system?
"You know, when I was young in my career," she told the canceled comedy talk show host, "I had to defend my decision to become a prosecutor with my family. And one of the points that I made is, 'why is it then, when we think we want to improve the system or change it, that we're always on the outside, on bended knee or trying to break down the door, shouldn't we also be inside the system?'"
That's been her career, Kamala said, fighting for justice inside the American political system. But now, she wants to take a page from Donald Trump's book and become an outsider. Trump has been an outsider for his entire political career. Even once he was in the White House, he couldn't get respect from the insiders.
We see from the drop of documents from both Sen. Chuck Grassley and DNI Tulsi Gabbard that those insiders were fighting against him using every dirty trick in the book. They made stuff up, they lied, then they peddled those lies to the American people. These are the same American people Kamala thinks she's been fighting for while her cronies were undermining their votes and their choices.
"I made the decision that I just, for now, I don't want to go back in the system. I think it's broken," Kamala told Colbert.
And as for why she's not running for governor of California, she said "I just don't want to, for now, I don't want to go back in the system. I want to, I want to travel the country. I want to listen to people. I want to talk with people, and I don't want it to be transactional and ask them for their vote."
Later in the interview, Colbert said: "to hear you say that it's broken, to hear you say that our systems aren't strong enough, is harrowing."
(I transcribed the dialogue that came next, because it could have been out of a Mamet-esque stage play.)
Harris: Well, but it's also evident, isn't it?
Colbert: No, it is.
Harris: And it is.
Colbert: And it is harrowing.
Harris: And it is, I mean, and it is.
Colbert: And there's almost no first word bad enough.
Harris: But it doesn't mean we give up. But it doesn't mean we give up. That's not my point.
Colbert: Okay, because that's what I'm hearing. Like you don't want to be part of the fight anymore.
Harris: No, no, absolutely not.
