The entrance of Kamala Harris into the presidential race has created a level of excitement, enthusiasm, and energy we’ve not seen since at least 2008. Maintaining this grassroots momentum through Election Day, November 5, will be essential to overcoming the big-moneyed interests backing the Trump/MAGA agenda. It is not hyperbole to say that our freedoms, livelihoods, and democracy itself hang in the balance.
The Biden-Harris administration has been—unequivocally— the most pro-worker in U.S. history. They inherited a disastrous situation when they came into office in January 2021, with an economy in dire straits thanks to a completely mishandled pandemic response. Trump’s tax cuts for billionaires had caused our national debt to skyrocket by $8 trillion while he routinely opposed minimum wage increases, weakened overtime protections, and gutted workplace health and safety rules.
By contrast, Kamala Harris has championed workers’ rights while fighting the price-gouging that is driving inflation. As president, her plan is to lower costs by reducing the price of childcare and prescription drugs, forgiving student loan debt, stopping big landlords from increasing rents by more than 5% a year, and combating the corporate greed that is fueling high costs of living.
In the realm of healthcare, she will preserve the Affordable Care Act, which saves those who buy health insurance $800 a year, and defend Medicare and Medicaid from cuts. She will build on her legacy as vice president, in which she has been a key partner in the successful fight to lower the prices of prescription drugs, including capping the cost of insulin for 4 million seniors at $35/month. She will maintain progress in closing racial disparities in healthcare through minimum staffing standards in nursing homes and in maternal care, and extending Medicaid coverage for a year after childbirth. And she will fight vigorously to restore the reproductive freedoms that were taken away from millions of Americans by Trump’s extremist Supreme Court appointees.
Kamala Harris’s bold vision of progress stands in complete opposition to Trump’s bleak and regressive agenda, embodied by “Project 2025.” This 900+ page document, which Trump is now trying desperately to disavow because it puts in writing exactly how he and fellow MAGA Republicans plan to seize and wield power, must be known by every voter.
“Project 2025” was created by the far-right Heritage Foundation with the involvement of Donald Trump’s closest allies, including six of his former Cabinet secretaries: his former chief of staff Mark Meadows, his senior adviser Stephen Miller, his personal attorney Jay Sekulow, and dozens more. It is the roadmap for carrying out an authoritarian project to roll back decades of progress and strip away our rights. Its priorities include attacking women’s health and equality by eliminating all references to “gender equality” and “reproductive health” from every federal law and regulation (you can read it for yourself on page 3–4 of the document), taking away access to free emergency contraception (page 485), cutting overtime protections for workers (page 592), weakening child labor laws by allowing children under 18 to work in “inherently dangerous jobs” (page 595), eliminating the Head Start early education program (page 482), and legalizing workplace discrimination against LGBTQ+ people (page 584).
Through their “Project 2025,” MAGA Republicans have said the quiet part out loud. Never before have Americans seen an outline, in such excruciating detail, of how our rights will be systematically taken away through executive action.
The stakes of this election have never been clearer. Whatever it is that motivates you to get to the polls, whether it’s the excitement of a Kamala Harris presidency, the fear of another Trump one, or perhaps a combination of emotions, the important thing is that we do not sit this one out. We have an historic opportunity to build on the progress of the past four years, fix our democracy, defeat the authoritarians who seek to rule over us, and set our country on a path toward a shared prosperity for all.
George Gresham is president of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, the largest union of healthcare workers in the nation.
Elly, it’s fantastic to see Amsterdam News leading the way for Black journalism since 1909. Congrats on being the first Black woman Publisher of the Year! 📰
Your article really highlights the intensity of the upcoming elections. With Kamala Harris generating such momentum, it’s clear how pivotal these elections have become.
One thing that intrigues me though, is how her plans could navigate inflation issues, especially concerning rent and everyday costs. Could more details on this be shared in upcoming coverage? Keep up the great work!