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'I hope that Macho Man agrees to debate her, because I think she will do spectacularly well in the debate.'
Shekar Narasimhan is co-chair of the Democratic National Committee's Indo American Council, and chair of AAPI Victory Fund, a PAC (political action committee) that aims to increase the representation of Asian Americans and Pacific islanders in elected offices.
"Kamala Harris can build a broader coalition because of who she is," Narasimhan, who has been active in presidential elections since 2004, and influenced some of President Biden's early agenda, tells Rediff.com US Senior Contributor P Rajendran in the concluding part of a two-part interview.
In an interview just before President Biden's inauguration in 2021, you'd said the main, the number one priority, is getting rid of Trump. Now you're back right there. So how do you feel about it?
Yeah. I feel like we now have created the best opportunity to accomplish that. That's what I feel.
At the time, Biden told you that he'd work on comprehensive immigration reform, H1 and H4 issues, family reunification, etc. How much of that have you seen?
Well, we have not seen anything, honestly. The fact is that we would have to win a trifecta [Senate, House and presidency] and we would have to use all kinds of devices to get to 60 votes [to pass reform in the Senate].
But what we have been advocating is that early on in Kamala Harris's job, she has a better chance of getting to 60 votes [which is required for such comprehensive legislation].
She will have an opportunity to [make] immigration reform a priority. I can promise to do something and then [not] have the ability to do it.
If you don't have 60 votes in the Senate, you cannot do immigration reform because you won't be comprehensive immigration reform because we'll get signed.
You cannot get 60 votes for a comprehensive bill. What you can get 60 votes for are pieces of it.
For example, we could address some of this issue of kids that are aging out... This is [about] those who came when they were children.
Then because their parents' green cards are taking 18 years or whatever it is, they are not, you know, they are aging out, and therefore they have to self deport.
Now, that is a required legislation. We have to lift the quotas, temporarily add new visas, or we have to change the way that [aging out] is measured.
It seems quite unfair. It's over 200,000 plus children. Many of them are from India because of the H1B, but there are also people from Eastern Europe, Africa and other places.
[We need] a combination of a legislative and an administrative remedy. There is some Republican support. Democratic support.
Can't we pick four or five things and put that into a bill and get it done? Yeah. I'm arguing that there are things that we should try to do that are practical, that will satisfy everybody.
We could do things. So when you talk about executing policies and making changes, I'm just saying don't shoot for the moon.
Finish what we started to do. There's a lot that's already in the milk. Yeah. And make some modest incremental changes. But most of all, win the election.
I think [Kamala Harris] can build a broader coalition because of who she is.
How do you build a broad coalition of people? The Biden coalition had women, people of color, etc. He's very strong with the issue of women and reproductive freedom, and economic rights.
One example: One of the biggest problems in America today is that it's very expensive to even have a family. The average cost of child care for a child in America is an astronomical 38,000 a year.
I mean, you have one child and you need to be making $100,000 to $150,000 to afford childcare so that you can both work.
It has reduced the number of people in the workforce by over a million because you can't go to work, you can't afford to work. How much money would you have to make to justify that?
So now imagine having two children. If you have two children, look at the cost. So something has also to be done about affordable housing so that people can afford to live.
So I would pick up a couple of issues like this -- a modest integration bill; childcare, which affects women and the workforce; housing, which affects young people... And I would address those incrementally and substantively.
And I think you will get bipartisan support and you can get things done. So, an agenda of change doesn't have to be a radical agenda.
We already would do a pretty good job, OK? We are already at a good place in the economy.
The way it looks as if there are Republicans in the House going to most likely try to block everything possible, right?
You need all three, so we have to win the House. You have to win the House, you have to hold the Senate. I think the best we can do in the Senate is 50-50 and so hold it. Her vice president will be able to break the tie.
It looks like we will lose the Senate seat in West Virginia. Yeah. So normatively, we're at 50-50 already in the Senate.
So the question is, can we pick up a seat? Yeah, possibly, But right now the betting would be that if we end up at 50-50 and hold the presidency, we at least have control.
So we can dictate some of the agenda, but we can get things done if we want to.
The next debate for Trump was supposed to be with Biden. If Trump agrees to a debate with Harris, how do you think that will go in comparison with, let's say Hillary Clinton?
So, September 10 was supposed to be the second presidential debate. As far as we all know, that's still on.
I hope that Macho Man agrees to debate her, because I think she will do spectacularly well in the debate. I think it's going to be on the issues.
If I was him, I would be frightened of her. I was him, I would duck and weave, but she's going to, I think, challenge him very immediately for the debate, as soon as she has the nominations.
I think she's going to challenge him. Let's find out what he's really made of. Is he willing to step up and do it?
Do you think anybody is going to challenge a Harris nomination?
It may be a challenge or two. There are people with names floating around, but nothing I consider to be of any import.
I think this will all be wrapped up very soon. I hope so. But she still has to, you know, make the case.
She's got to make the case first to the delegates to win the nomination, and then she has to make the case to the country -- to all the different components of the Democratic party and the rest of the country.
So the obligation is still on her and on us to have a message that people understand, and an agenda that they believe in.
We've got all that work to do yet, but the point is she's got to a flying start. I don't think she'll see any real opportunity. Oh, that's, that's good.
Is there anything else I should have asked you that's important for us people to know that I didn't have the wit or gumption to ask you?
Ha, ha, ha, ha. If you've looked at our press release, the one thing we are saying is that what Joe Biden did is historic [by withdrawing despite having the party nomination].
It really is. It is very difficult for somebody in that position to step away.
When you're in the middle of the ring, it's very hard to step away, and to then hand over the baton. Biden handed the baton over.
That means that in the relay race of life, he made a choice. He said, this is the time, and this is the person [Harris], and the cause is more important than me as an individual.
I honor that, and I respect it deeply. So I want to make sure that anything we say starts with, I deeply respect the decision Biden made.
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com