When I’m up against a deadline, I want Kamala Harris on my side.
California’s attorney general showed again she knows how to get things moving in a tough situation. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Prop 8, it appeared that there could be a 25-day wait for the Ninth Circuit to lift a stay and let couples marry. Or things could have been worse. I was worried that there could be more litigation that could delay the happy moment for couples.
But Harris wouldn’t allow that to happen. She pushed, publicly and privately, and couples were being married by Friday afternoon. Prop 8 supporters cried foul, but so what? She got it done.
This episode was a strong echo of Harris’ maneuvering last year to race Gov. Jerry Brown’s Prop 30 through review so it could be circulated. In that case, Harris took an initiative process that can take six weeks and turned it around in two days. The quick turnaround was crucial, since Brown had filed a compromise initiative (he’d dropped his original to make a deal with progressive groups, including the California Federation Teachers) so late that, under the normal timeline, his measure might not have qualified for the ballot in time.
In both cases – Prop 8 and Prop 30 – what would normally take weeks took only two days.
Call her 48-Hour Harris.
What does this tell us about one of California’s most promising (and most famously attractive) politicians?
That when she makes up her mind, she doesn’t mess around.
And that her political future, much discussed and much debated, should lie in executive office.
Harris has been talked about as a judge, even a high federal court judge, or as a U.S. Senator. But the sort of talent she has displayed here is much, much better suited for a governor. A California governor inevitably faces difficult situations, even disasters. Being able to make decisions and get things done quickly is a crucial skill.
She’s got it.
Yes, some people suggested she has bent the rules in these cases (I was one of those accusers on Prop 30, which I thought was a missed opportunity for the state; of course, I’m cheering now, since I believe in marriage equality). But being able to bend the rules is an asset for a governor. It also could be the sort of attribute that wouldn’t go over as well in a Senate confirmation hearing for a judicial nominee.