I graduated from Penn in May 2023 with a chemical engineering degree. I grew up in Lower Merion Township, where I voted a few months after becoming a United States citizen in 2021, and again in 2022 and 2023. I now work in Houston for an oil and gas company where I design low-carbon hydrogen production plants. In a twist of fate, I will be voting in Harris County (literally, that's the name of the county) this year. I want to discuss my perspective on the election and Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign strategy.
My message to the Penn community is to consider what I say here. If you agree, share this article so that the Harris campaign may understand a commonly held point of view. If you disagree, express your thoughts, perhaps by writing an article like this one, explaining what you think Harris will do, and how that aligns with the future you would like to see. Also ask yourself, does what you like about Harris align with the interests of enough voters to assemble a winning coalition? Make your voice heard, because in a tight race like this, every opinion, and every vote, counts. Please vote for what you think is right for you, your family, and the country.
I read all 82 pages of the Vice President's policy statement after watching her Oct. 16 Fox News appearance. I was frustrated by her lack of policy discussions, but in the waning moments of the interview, Harris told me to visit her website if that is what I was looking for. I was, so I did. My assessment is that this document is a win for the U.S. It expounds on the Biden-Harris administration's positive accomplishments, and it is clear and detailed about what happened in the last 45 months. However, when it comes to the plans of the future Harris presidency, it is light on specific details.
As a practicing engineer, the most interesting section for me is “Chapter 9: Invest in American Innovation and Industrial Strength Powered by American Workers.” Chapter 9 extols the impressive progress stimulated by Biden's signature legislative accomplishment: the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022. The IRA, along with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the CHIPS and Science Act, is the solution Biden had for the problems facing hollowed-out, working communities after 40 years of devastating neoliberal policies. He seized an opportunity to establish a large-scale industrial policy that utilizes America’s global advantage in research, development, and design of cutting edge technology to revitalize American industry.
In a brilliant maneuver, Biden coupled the generation of job opportunities along the entire value chain, from working-class operators and technicians to professional engineers and researchers, with a win for sustainability activists by advancing humanity’s ability to produce, manipulate, and consume energy. Some voted to limit the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide to 419.3 parts per million, while others voted for a piece of American prosperity. In all cases, Biden delivered. I would know. Employed in the clean energy sector, I am one of the many Americans who has benefited from this action. But what is most crucial is that working Americans in industrial states like Pennsylvania are the ones that most needed this win. And they got it. They are also the voters responsible for granting Democrats the opportunity to govern. I know that most Penn students are not accustomed to thinking about this political faction, but understanding their interests is essential. Once again, these are the key demographic, and once again, they are caught between former President and 1968 Wharton graduate Donald Trump and a Democrat.
Chapter 9 is but one example of many positive accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration that Harris is promising to expand. Except that she isn’t. Harris never talks about these accomplishments in her public appearances. This is perilous because we are facing the prospect that some people who voted for Biden in 2020, will instead vote for Trump in 2024. Yes, people may have voted for Harris to be vice president, but no one voted for her to be president. At my childhood home in Lower Merion, I know several Pennsylvania voters who are seriously conflicted about their upcoming decision. The way some of my family, friends, and acquaintances see it: Biden was a great president. They were ready to vote for him, and they are ready to vote for Harris if she can show that she will continue Biden’s policies. But this is not what they see. They see Biden kicked out like a dog by opportunistic Democrats. If replacing Biden was really about his tragic frailty and senility, then the vice president running in his stead should be focused on extending his legacy. I want Harris to embrace the accomplishments of her partnership with Biden, protect Lina Khan, and make it clear that she intends to maintain the course on federal agencies. But she is failing. Every time I hear her articulate policy, I am disappointed.
On the other hand, Trump is crystal-clear about his vision. He promises to put hard-working Americans first by curtailing the immigration that depresses wages and sticking to his tariff proposal, because it will incentivize more plants to be built in the U.S., despite the so-called experts rejecting it as mathematically wrong. Whatever you think of his proposed policies and his record, his clear message is working wonders.
I hand this back to you, The Daily Pennsylvanian reader: do you believe that Harris will pivot significantly from the Biden administration? In what way, and is that what you want? If you do not know how to answer that question, do you really want to reward this ad hoc campaign that Democrats are running? Is punishing Trump for his repugnant comments and actions leading up to and on Jan. 6 enough for you? If it is, will it be enough, for enough voters, to win the election?
Harris is making a big mistake focusing on blaming Trump in her public and media appearances. If she spent more time describing her policies, she would have a better chance. Everyone knows Trump's problems; she is wasting energy reminding people. Trump currently leads Pennsylvania in average polling by 0.5 points. Four years ago, Biden led by 1.2 points. Biden won Pennsylvania in 2020 by 80,555 votes. Trump won in 2016 by 44,292 votes. Meanwhile, in the Pennsylvania senate race, Bob Casey leads David McCormick by 1.4 points. Why the discrepancy? There are going to be voters who will bubble in Casey on their ballot, then look up at the presidential race, and bubble in Trump. We face the most likely outcome: Trump wins Pennsylvania, Casey wins re-election, and Biden gets to say “I told you so … ”
It seems that Harris’ strategy is to flip Trump voters by simultaneously distancing herself from Biden and Trump. Again, it's a big mistake. She takes too seriously the talking point that Biden “destroyed” the economy via inflation. She needs to be proud of what she accomplished with him and stand for Biden's vision. That's what a leader does: do the right thing when it seems like everyone is telling you otherwise.
GUILLERMO RIBEIRO VECINO is a 2023 Engineering graduate. His email is guillerv@sas.upenn.edu.
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