Opinion

Morford: Thou shalt not shut down Kamala Harris

Throwin' shade, takin' names Throwin' shade, takin' names Photo: Alex Brandon, Associated Press Photo: Alex Brandon, Associated Press Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Morford: Thou shalt not shut down Kamala Harris 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

Whether she likes it or not, whether she’s fully ready or willing to be promoted in this way or not, CA's own junior senator (and former attorney general) Kamala Harris is fast becoming one of the fiery, go-to saviors of the Left, a fast-rising star increasingly adept at taking on, with a sly grin and without so much as a flinch, the old white male loutishness of Trump’s toxic regime.

And it’s something to behold. Witness her questioning – and apparently easily flustering – poor, racist elf Jeff “I don’t recall” Sessions, the U.S. Attorney General and all-around incoherent Trump lackey, merely by asking him a couple simple, pointed questions – questioned pointed enough to earn her a scowling reprimand/shushing by not one, but two old white GOP males, Sen. Burr and Sen. McCain, before she could get a full answer from baffled little Beauregard.

It wasn’t so much the questioning that (again) proves Harris’ mettle – though that was certainly on fantastic display. It was what followed. Within moments of Burr and McCain shutting her down, her staff pounced.

It was a simple question. Can Sessions point to the policy, in writing, that allows him to not answer a whole host of our questions today. — Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) June 13, 2017

The rebuff instantly swarmed Twitter. It was all over social media. My own girlfriend, never much of political buff or one to watch CNN in the middle of the day, instantly texted me, asking if I was watching the Sessions hearing, if I saw how they just shut down Kamala. She was furious. “How the f--k did this happen to our government? It is outrageous to see the blatant lying and have no recourse.”

My girl, she is far from alone. Like millions of others, she's racing right past incensed. She is becoming an activist. She is becoming outspoken. She is becoming engaged, fearless, ready for a new progressive revolution. Unlike Hillary, who she feels was bogged down by megatons of political baggage and years of savage GOP sexism, she sees in Harris a kindred spirit for this (and the next) generation, one unburdened by cronyism or old rules. The power and reach of this cannot be understated.

(For the record, a nearly identical shushing incident happened last week, as Harris was pressing Rod Rosenstein on an equally simple yes-or-no question, which he was able to evade thanks to the scolding of, well, the same old, white male Republicans).

Burr and McCain’s shutdown of Harris was, of course, instantly tied to Mitch McConnell’s infamous “nevertheless, she persisted” slur of Elizabeth Warren - who was, let us happily recall, reading a letter from Coretta Scott King aloud on the Senate floor, a letter that also, not so ironically, called out Sessions’ racist, milquetoast character.

WATCH: CNN's Powers destroys ex-Trump aide Miller for calling Kamala Harris ‘hysterical’ https://t.co/TYXm4FgfoN pic.twitter.com/SVGOOttZSu — Raw Story (@RawStory) June 14, 2017

Hillary Clinton endured 11 hours of GOP-led Benghazi hearing, but Jeff Sessions gets "nervous" from a tough question by Sen. Kamala Harris. pic.twitter.com/3gdobbotnW — Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) June 14, 2017

Top it off by noted Trump troll Jason Miller going on CNN and calling Harris “hysterical,” AKA the classic sexist slur from the '50s, used against any woman who dared speak for herself, and you’ve got a fine recipe for, well, for a serious new resurgence.

And it’s sorely needed. It’s no secret the Dems are scrambling for fresh heroes and heroines, new and fearless leadership to not only serve as chemotherapy for the Trump cancer, but to forge a new progressive path forward.

That forge, increasingly, is #RussiaGate (along with the cruel AHCA and a few other major issues). The more hearings and well-publicized events we get that are damning to the Trump administration's obvious ties to Russian meddling in our election, the more opportunities for Harris, Warren, et al to hone their fighting skills, rally the resistance, and bring new hope to a tattered party.

As for Harris, well, as a young, whip-smart, mixed-race female from the most populous, progressive and economically powerful state in the union, Kamala is nothing short of Trump’s worst nightmare. And the good news is, increasingly, she’s not the only one.