I could offer so many counterarguments to the initial post about Harris, but I doubt I could say anything that would change your mind. I wish I could. I'm not a huge fan of Kamala Harris--though I voted for her for DA, AG (twice), and senate. She won all of those elections fair and square. Her first AG election was a squeeker, which is one of the only recent ones of that kind in California state-wide politics. I think she was a good DA, and I think she was a good AG. She wasn't in the Senate for that long, so who's to say, but she earned her seat there. Prior to running for the presidency in 2020, she was considered a moderate Democrat, but she did stake out more liberal positions in the primary (as one does on the Blue side, just as the opposite happens on the Red side).
Do I think she would have been the pick in a traditional primary? No (she wouldn't have been my pick, I don't think--but I sure as hell would have picked her over Newsom). But it's still an easy choice for me to vote for her. Could I rant for pages about all that I think is wrong with Trump, and how I can't understand how anyone could support him? Yes. Will that make a difference to you--or anyone else here? I doubt it--but it could start an epic flame war with people that I would rather enjoy the electronic company of, than fight about politics with.
Cincy--I really appreciated your support for SFIrish. She started her life as a moderate leaning Republican, and is now a moderate leaning Democrat. People on the right call her a crazy progressive, because that's what people on the different sides of the aisle say about opponents. Her views changed over time. But more than which party she believes in, she believes in doing the right thing, helping people, and being fiscally wise. She's smart, conscienscious, and I don't agree with her all the time, but I know we would be better off with a lot of people like her in office. Political representation is weird, but I still believe better than any alternative for a modern society. I also got to see all the horrible things people said about her just because they associated her with a certain political team. It's really remarkable. I think that was part of my much earlier post in this thread.
San Francisco is not a dump--as noted, that's why people (including me) spend a ridiculous amount of money to live and work here. It does have a homelessness problem (and has for a long time--year-round temperate weather and liberal social policies both contribute), and petty crime increased, particularly in the COVID and post-COVID environment (I don't think that was unique to California or San Francisco, but it certainly happened here and sucks). I'm in San Francisco 4-5 days a week now, and I've gone to graduate school and worked here since 2000. I lived in the City from 2001 to 2008, then moved to a suburb. The recovery from COVID has been rough. We rely a lot on the financial and tech sectors, and both have struggled to get their workers to return to the office--and both have seen reasons to stop spending on office space. That had a huge impact on our downtown's businesses. We're strarting to get back, particularly Tuesday through Thursday, but Mondays and Fridays are still pretty dead. You can imagine the impact that has on businesses. I'll be surprised if I don't retire here and stay until I move to Colma (that's a local joke: Colma is the city immediately south of San Francisco that has all the cemeteries).
Anyway...Like I said, I doubt I could change your mind, and instead I think I'd get people thinking less of me--and I would think less of people who responded, and that's not worth it to me. But I'm glad you're going to vote. I think that's important. And even that is something that we won't get total agreement on--even from people I have a tremendous amount of respect for. So...
How about skyline chili? What an odd creation.
