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OPINION – Amidst the perceived ascendancy of Kamala Harris as the top contender to succeed President Joe Biden as the Democratic Party’s representative in the upcoming November election, I was met with a communiqué from a confidant, imploring me to refrain from criticizing her. I was made to understand that as a black man, to blatantly reject her candidacy in favor of the Republican candidate, Donald Trump, would result in my complete detachment from the black community. While I can attest to my friend’s sincerity and genuine concern for my well-being, I had to suppress my initial response of righteous indignation.

The message, however, is emblematic of a disturbing trend in our society, where any disagreement with a black politician is automatically labeled as a betrayal to the entire black community. This tactic is not only intellectually disingenuous, but dangerous as it stifles any meaningful discussion and analysis of policies and qualifications and feeds into the negative aspects of the DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) narrative.

First and foremost, one’s race should not dictate their political beliefs or loyalties. We should all be able to freely and critically evaluate all candidates, regardless of their skin color. To suggest that I must blindly support (or at least not oppose) Harris because she is black is to diminish both my agency as an individual and her competence as a civic leader (the latter of which is questionable). 

An elected official with a track record of failure spanning her entire political career, Harris has consistently been rewarded with promotions by left leaning voters. Her lackluster performance as District Attorney of San Francisco should have been a red flag, as she not only achieved abysmally low conviction rates, but also failed to effectively prosecute serious crimes. In fact, she managed to have the worst felony conviction rate of any big city DA in the state, and covered up a scandal involving San Francisco’s crime lab. Yet, did this deter the left from propelling her further up the political hierarchy? Alas, it did not.

In her next position, as Attorney General of California, Harris once again proved to be less than successful. During her time in this role, she consistently showed a tendency to side with criminals instead of their victims. As a result of her “Smart on Crime” policies,  California experienced a 10% increase in violent crime, putting an end to what was a streak of 22 consecutive years in which violent crime went down in California. And it has been going up ever since. Yet, the left lauded her and catapulted her into the U.S. Senate.

And what did Harris achieve during her time in the Senate? The answer is quite simple — nothing. Her record is void of any notable legislation or accomplishments. She did, however, earn the distinction of  being ranked the most politically left member of the Senate and the 2nd most absent in votes compared to all Senators, missing 55.1% of votes (397 of 720 votes) in the 116th Congress. Yet still, her not so noteworthy record in the Senate did not impede her ascension to the role of Vice President, a position she obtained solely because then-Democratic Presidential Nominee, Joe Biden committed to selecting a Black woman as his running mate. 

Kamala Harris now sits in the second highest office in the nation, and once again, she has failed to make any meaningful impact in her role. Whether in her role as ‘Border Czar’, as the overseer of White House’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention or as the administration’s lead on tackling the challenges surrounding Artificial Intelligence she cannot claim one significant achievement. She does get to claim credit for overseeing the worst border crisis in US history.

Yet, despite her lack of merits and achievements at every stage of her career, the left has deemed her to be the perfect fit to be their frontrunner for the 2024 Presidential election. 

While it may make for a compelling narrative to have Harris as the first black woman to be a major party’s Presidential nominee, that alone does not in and of itself qualify her for the position. And while it is understandable that some may want to support Harris in the name of “equity,” as symbolism can be powerful, we must remember that symbolism should never be prioritized over substance.

Let us not reduce Harris to being a mere symbol, but instead hold her accountable for her actions and qualifications. 

To that end, Kamala Harris exemplifies the left’s brazen disregard for promoting competent leaders. She is the poster child for failing up. And her ascendancy to becoming the frontrunning Democratic nominee in 2024, is unequivocal testament to the left’s detachment from reality and competence.

So, while I appreciate my friend’s concern, I cannot align with the damaging narrative that I must blindly support a candidate solely based on their race. Our political choices should be based on thorough evaluation and analysis, not blind loyalty. To do otherwise would not only be a disservice to ourselves, but also to our nation and our posterity.

CRA Dir. of Communications, Craig J. DeLuz has almost 30 years in public policy and advocacy.  He currently hosts a daily news and commentary show called The RUNDOWN. You can follow him on X at @CraigDeLuz.

This originally appeared in the Washington Times.