Commentary

OPINION: On Jan. 6, Kamala Harris Restored Faith in Our Democracy

Only former Vice President Al “Hanging Chads” Gore knows how it feels to lose the way Harris did and then have to maintain a sense of grace for the good of our country. This week, Kamala did it with dignity, and aplomb — and mindfully.

Published

5 months ago

January 11, 2025

Oakland Post

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris certifies the results of the 2024 election. Screenshot.

By Emil Guillermo

Watching Kamala Harris on Jan. 6, it was clear that she has the temperament and demeanor to be the leader of the free world — if she ever gets that chance again.

On Monday, Harris became one of the few vice presidents to lose a presidential campaign and then officially certify the election she lost.

When lesser things have been on the line, I confess, I have not been as cool.

Her challenge was to stay calm, cool. Emphasis on cool. She was not whitewashing the truth. She was playing by the rules.

Only former Vice President Al “Hanging Chads” Gore knows how it feels to lose the way Harris did and then have to maintain a sense of grace for the good of our country.

This week, Kamala did it with dignity, and aplomb — and mindfully.

You don’t get angry and lash out. You don’t do anything but think of the American people and hold on to the tenets of the Constitution.

Certainly, watching Kamala made me feel better than I did on Jan. 7, 2021.

That’s the day after the Jan. 6 insurrection, a day we wondered what the heck happened to our democracy when a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol demanding that their guy, Trump, be declared the winner.

Even though he lost.

I hope you were watching the certification on TV this week. It was for all Americans to see how democracy within a civil society is meant to work.

We don’t have to agree on everything. But we do have to get along. And adhere to the Constitution.

It would be a shame if only news nerds caught the proceedings. The fact is: the certification is a ceremony for all of us.

We get to observe the “electoral college” for the day, to understand the subtext of last November’s popular vote, where Trump got just 49.8% of the vote. Not a majority.

Harris and others got just 50%. That essentially makes America a coin flip country.

But thanks to the electoral college, small states diminish the vote of bigger states like California. It’s not the fairest way. But it’s in the Constitution.

This week, Jan. 6 was a day for democracy. We saw the peaceful transition of power. That sense of our Constitution, tarnished four years ago, was restored.

America showed the world how it’s done.

It is tough for some of us to take, but that’s the process. The campaign, the vote, the count, the certification.

And if you don’t like it, the next election is in two years, the midterms. Start working.

How do we proceed?

We act like Kamala. She showed her love of country and her worthiness to be our leader, as she certified the vote on Jan. 6.

Her day will come again soon.

About the Author

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. He was the first Filipino American to host a national news show in 1989 at NPR’s “All Things Considered.” See his Emil Amok’s Takeout on www.patreon.com/emilamok. And subscribe to his channel on YouTube.com/@emilamok1

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Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

Published

3 days ago

June 7, 2025

Oakland Post

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Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

1 week ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.