That Bold California Swagger

when you're tough enough to tackle the ruin head-on

When Kamala Harris ran for attorney general in California, she had the advantage of being the district attorney in San Francisco, a sober and disciplined warrior-prosecutor who wasn’t afraid to knock heads and kick some ass. So she made a campaign ad that showed off the courageous work she was doing in that important city. With her trademark intellectual seriousness and hard-edged toughness, Harris was a bold career prosecutor who didn’t just sit behind some damn desk like some soft bureaucrat — no, Kamala Harris was in the streets, toe-to-toe with evil, rollin’ hard, taking the fight to the bad guys. She probably took a few doors herself, because Kamala don’t play. It was like watching Patton on the battlefield.

See, when the big-city cops need to know where to strike, Jack, Kamala is there to tell ‘em. She points, and then they salute and move out sharply, because no one knows crimefighting like Kamala knows crimefighting!

As you can see from that last screenshot, she was even endorsed by George Gascon. Imagine being a criminal and facing the brutal one-two punch of Police Chief George Gascon and District Attorney Kamala Harris. You feel lucky, punk? Inspector Callahan just pissed his pants, because he’s nowhere near this tough. This brand of strong leadership is exactly why San Francisco is experiencing so much growth and success.

I thought of Bold Kamala this week because Bold Karen Bass, the alleged mayor of Los Angeles, has been similarly doing tough-stride for the cameras. She’s boldly going toe-to-toe with the disaster of the city’s central transportation artery being severed by a massive fire in a homeless encampment inside an illegal pallet yard right under the freeway that nobody did anything abo— you know what, let’s skip the details, for now.

Her hand is up because she’s giving orders, a general with her colonels. She’s even wearing one of her special emergency jackets!

If you watch footage of the big Monday press conference with state and local officials here, you can go to the 13-minute mark to watch this tough, gritty character….

….introduce Bass for the cameras. Gloriously, she opens (after formulaically thanking the other elected officials for existing) by saying that Angelenos are strong enough to get through this disaster, because we’ve experienced so much of it. What we need now, she bravely declares, is unity: “We need to make sure that as Angelenos, we never ever turn on each other.” See, she’s strong enough to say that the one thing we must do is avoid, you know, uh — well, let’s not turn against each other and descend into an unhealthy conversation about blame.

I listened to this press conference on the radio, and I pulled over and parked so I could fully savor it. Bold, strong, tough, united, here’s the leadership of California and Los Angeles in front of a perfect symbol of their success:

Seen here, the art of projecting confidence in the face of decline, speaking with resolute strength in front of literal smoldering ruins. Are these leaders every bit as tough and successful as the swaggering District Attorney Kamala Harris?

I’m pretty sure that’s a hard yes.