Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) is no stranger to saying, in so many words, that she wants to be the most powerful person in the world, that she wants Congress and the States to ask her permission to pass legislation. She made that point when she talked about giving Congress 100 days to pass "sensible" gun laws or she'd take executive action on the issue. She reiterated her hunger for power on Tuesday during her MSNBC town hall when she talked about Roe v. Wade and abortion in America.
"I think it's very clear, and it has not changed, that women's ability to have access to reproductive health is under attack in America. It's under attack," she said. "And what we have seen from Alabama to Georgia – you could go to a variety of states – legislatures, state legislatures, are fundamentally attacking a women's right to make decisions about her own body."
Harris asked if, with these pro-life laws, if women in America would go back to having "back alley abortions."
"Women died before we had Roe v. Wade in place," she said. "On this issue, I'm kind of done."
"There are states that keep passing these laws, so, when elected, I am going to put in place and require that states that have a history of passing legislation that is designed to prevent or limit a women's access to reproductive health care, that those laws have to come before my Department of Justice for a review and approval and, until we determine that they are constitutional, they will not take effect," Harris said.
MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell pushed back, saying a proposal like that would require 60 votes from the Senate. Harris was obviously caught off guard by O'Donnell's pushback.
"You know, everything that we need to do is going to require 60 votes in the United States Senate, which is why I'd say to everyone 2020 is about the White House but 2020 is also about the United States Senate," she told the audience.
For someone with a law degree Kamala must have missed the day in law school where they talked about states' rights vs. federal rights. For whatever reason, she seems to think that if she doesn't like what Congress or a state legislature decides that she can suddenly circumvent them and make her own laws.
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Wake up, Kamala. America is a republic, not a dictatorship. There are 535 members of Congress you have to work with. You can't decide to put your foot down and call for reviews and executive actions at every turn. Unless you're going to be Obama 2.0 and legislate with a phone and a pen. And that's the last thing anyone wants (or needs).
Sen. Harris: "I am going to put in place and require that states that have a history of passing legislation that is designed to ... limit a women's access to reproductive health care, that those laws have to come before my Department of Justice for a review and approval." pic.twitter.com/Fi3bVbk0La
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 29, 2019
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