Democratic vice presidential nominee visits UTRGV Edinburg campus
Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris visited the UTRGV Edinburg campus Friday afternoon with top Texas Democrats and spoke about the most important issues of the 2020 presidential election, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a 30-minute speech, Harris addressed health care and the importance of science to COVID-19 and climate change, the economy and racial injustice.
“What’s up, Rio Grande [Valley]?” the U.S senator from California asked the hundreds of supporters with a smile while cars honked and the crowd cheered. “It’s good to be in the Valley! I am so excited to be here with you. You are going to make the difference. This election is about you!”
Even though the event was not sponsored by UTRGV, Harris thanked the university along with President Guy Bailey, Vice President for Governmental and Community Relations Veronica Gonzalez and Clarissa Conde, the Texas Rising project’s deputy field organizer and student leader who introduced her to the stage.
Harris also thanked Democrats Julian Castro, the former mayor of San Antonio and former 2020 presidential hopeful; U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro; former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke; U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar; U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez; and MJ Hegar, who is challenging Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, all of whom spoke at the rally.
“There’s so much at stake in this election,” Harris said.
She said the country is going through four crises: public health with the COVID-19 pandemic, economy and taxes, racial injustice and climate change.
The COVID-19 pandemic was the first crisis Harris spoke about, saying more than 200,000 people have lost their lives to the virus.
“People are suffering,” she said.
Harris explained the importance of former Vice President and presidential hopeful Joe Biden keeping the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, and expanding health coverage.
“We know that health care means understanding the body doesn’t just start from the neck down,” she said. “It includes the neck up, and that’s called mental health care.”
Regarding the economy, Harris is concerned about the 30 million Americans who have filed for unemployment insurance along with the difficulties of Texas families paying rent and businesses fearing not being able to reopen.
She said Biden’s plan for the economy is not to raise taxes on people who earn under $400,000 and to focus on working families.
Harris also addressed racial injustice, as well as the Black Lives Matter movement.
“Let’s deal with the long overdue reckoning on racial injustice in America,” she said.
Harris pointed out the racial disparities in the health care, public education and criminal justice systems because of the hardships that African Americans and Latinos experience.
“It is time that we reject hate and division, and unify as a country,” she said.
The next crisis she addressed in her speech was climate change as natural disasters such as wildfires, hurricanes, storms and floods happen across the country.
Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa told The Rider measures to preserve the planet need to be taken care of before the damages are irreversible.
“We need to elect people that are going to do everything possible to protect our planet,” Hinojosa said in a phone interview before the rally.
He also said the Latino vote is important for the Rio Grande Valley and the issues that affect them more than anybody else in the country, such as access to health care, educational needs and funds for college, and people earning a minimum wage of $7.25.
“All these policies that affect us and our families are decided by people who were elected to office, and so when we don’t vote, then we allow other people to make these decisions,” Hinojosa said. “And so, you know, for people that say that their vote doesn’t count, it’s almost like if they’re saying like their family doesn’t count.”
The Rider asked O’Rourke about the Democratic Party’s chances of turning Texas “Blue” on Nov. 3.
“A very good chance, and an even better one if the Rio Grande Valley turns out in record numbers, which I think is possible even more so after Kamala Harris visited today,” he said.
O’Rourke said Harris’ visit to the Valley means everything to him and the community.
“I’ll tell you as a fellow fronterizo, somebody who lives on the U.S.-Mexico border, we always get overlooked, we always get forgotten, we always get taken for granted,” he said. “For someone like Sen. Harris to make a point of coming to the border, and coming to the Valley specifically, which is not easy to get to, it means the world to us, and so I’m so glad that she is here.”
Harris believes there are three reasons why people should vote.
“It’s important to vote to … honor the ancestors, all those people who came before us, who fought for our right to vote,” she said.
Harris also said this is the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which allowed women to vote.
“We celebrated the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment,” the vice presidential nominee said. “Now, it’s important to remember history because it wasn’t until 1965 that Black women could vote.”
Harris cited the zero-tolerance policy, DACA protection for DREAMers and equal pay for women as her second reason for people to vote.
“Everything is at stake,” she said.
Before her speech came to an end, Harris said the third reason why people should vote is the power they hold in this election.
After the campaign stop, O’Rourke gave The Rider a message for UTRGV students.
“UTRGV students, listen!” he exclaimed. “Young voter turnout is up 600% this year, and I think it’s up 600% because of your leadership, what you’re doing. But you gotta keep it up because the last day to vote is Tuesday, and if we’re gonna win Texas, which means winning the country, it’s gotta start here at UTRGV.”
