If Kamala Harris is as focused as this memoir is, America is in good hands. Not only does this biography categorically portray the biggest influences on Harris’ life, people and events, but it also showcases the political events that led Harris down this path.
Starting in the DAs office, Harris worked her way through some appalling crime divisions. From sexual offenses to murder, Harris stomached it all. As horrendous as the cases were, the strength of the survivors and victims and family members were no match for the week-willed system we live in. These were the moments that Harris began wanting to change the system rather than work with in it.
Eventually, she became the Attorney General of California. Swiftly, her and her team began examining ‘root’ causes for some of the largest state-wide problems California was facing. Some of which were the lasting effects of the popped real-estate bubble. So much has already been written about this economic failure, and so much will still be written about it, but Harris’ biography put an accurate spotlight on the failings of Wall St. and the big banks.
Most books gloss over the illegal activities that led to this storm, but Harris confronts them head on in this book. Not only discussing how they got here, but the failings of retribution in this situation. People lost their ancestral homes, their forever homes, their family homes because banks had computers sign away their property to make-up the difference of their losses. It was the largest fraud the United States had ever seen. Committed by every bank, people without mortgages had their homes repossessed because a robot signed their names! It’s only comparable to when someone steals your identity, but it was a crime committed by an institution. These singular acts would result in jail time for someone. Instead, there were huge settlements between the banks and the states, none of which accurately resolved anything really. As disheartening as this was for Harris and her constituents, the choices were between an entire fiscal system crumbling and whatever damage that does or laying airbags down before more families fall into the financial sinkhole. If only there was a clearer path for victims of the banking system.
If only some of the social programs Harris began as Attorney General were statewide, as is the peripheral of Senator. Although Harris never completed the full Senate term she was elected to, her Senate career was productive to say the least. On Committees for the Budget, the Environment, Homeland Security, Intelligence, and Judiciary, Harris was productive. In a time when Americans urgently needed productive and competent politicians, Harris stepped-up to the plate.
One can only assume, and hope, that there will be another installment of the Harris’ memoirs after the Vice Presidency. Until then, though, I can say that this biography was much more focused than any I had read. It was informative, emotional, and there was personality in every page. Of politicians’ relationships, I’ve only ever shipped the Obamas before. But the romance and respect between Harris and Emhoff, showcased in this book, makes them strong contenders to dethrone Michelle and Barack.
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