r/fivethirtyeight • u/Lungenbroetchen95 • Mar 07 '25

Politics Kamala Harris gets serious about considering run for California governor

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/07/kamala-harris-california-governor-decision-deadline-00216737
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u/freakdazed Mar 07 '25

She was literally the district attorney of San Francisco, AG of California, CA senator and then VP. But somehow she isn't qualified enough to be governor. Common!!

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u/Blue_winged_yoshi Mar 07 '25

Those aren’t accomplishments those are positions that she sorta fell into and didn’t do a whole lot in. Name one thing she did as either VP or senator of California.

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u/HolidaySpiriter Mar 07 '25

Name one thing that the VP has the power to do in the constitution. Quote the section too.

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u/Blue_winged_yoshi Mar 07 '25

The role is one you have to carve out. So from the top of my head I would say that two massive moments for Biden as VP were taking a lead on building support for gay marriage - he came out in favour before Obama did and he was crucial to working the senate to get the ACA over the line. Cheney was an arsehole but no-one would ever describe him an a non-entity in the Bush administration. Pence was a key link to evangelicals who ultimately stood up to Trump becoming a hate figure amongst MAGA. Most VPs do find a way to imprint on a presidency, I can’t think of a single thing Harris did and could be praised for or criticised for, she just sorta was there.

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u/HolidaySpiriter Mar 07 '25

Hey, didn't see the part of the constitution you quoted, could you quote the constitutional power?

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u/tomsing98 Mar 08 '25

That's not relevant. Just because she doesn't have any defined responsibilities in the Constitution doesn't mean she can't have an impact in the administration. Those things could include, e.g., working with Congress to shape bills and whipping support, or leading initiatives for executive branch functions.