Brittany Packnett Cunningham Talks to Vice President Kamala Harris After a Year Without Roe
  June 21, 2023 Good morning, friends! Coming to you with something big today, so let’s get straight to it. Kamala Harris’s vice presidency was always going to be historic—she is, of course, this country’s first Black, first AAPI, and first female vice president. But a year ago this week, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the administration she represents was also faced with history of a different kind: millions of its citizens stripped of their bodily freedom after an unprecedented Supreme Court decision. How has she responded? What does she plan to do next? And, in the words of podcast host Brittany Packnett Cunningham, “Are you mad? Because I’m mad, so I know you gotta be mad!” To find out, Brittany sat down with the Vice President last week. Their conversation comes to you today as a special episode of UNDISTRACTED (listen here); in it, they talk about everything from the urgency of this moment to the advice Shyamala Gopalan Harris would have for her daughter now. Here, Brittany tells us all about their sit-down. 
First things first—why did you want to talk to the Vice President for this particular anniversary? Brittany Packnett Cunningham: We’ve been intentional at UNDISTRACTED to speak to people from all angles on this issue—people who’ve had abortions, organizers, folks who defend the clinics…I wanted to talk to a person who has more power than most to do something about this. And to have a woman in the VP role—I thought it was especially important to hear from her. I’ve known the VP for a long time…when she was in the Senate, she would call to hear my POV on issues of policing, of race, of gender…I’ve been very candid with her. What I heard in our conversation in the podcast is similar to what I’ve heard in private conversations with her: a lot of justified concern, and frustration, and a very clear fight. Yeah, there’s a moment when you say to her, I feel like I’m seeing that Senate Judiciary Committee fire from you. You’re talking about the questions she asked in the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings. Why was that on your mind? I remember her bringing such a real clear-eyed drive to get at the truth in those hearings. That energy is what people saw from her even before she became the VP nominee, and it’s something that even people who don’t agree with her politically appreciate about her. I wanted to see how she was bringing that fire to this fight. Of course, everybody does not like the way fight and fire look on Black and Asian women—and the stereotype that goes along with that, especially for Black women, can be undermining to the work that she’s trying to do and the people she has to persuade to do it. She spoke to having to navigate that, and it was revealing to see behind the curtain a bit. There’s a science to it that she’s had to figure out that no one else has had to in that job. So how do you measure up what the administration is actually doing on abortion? The Vice President was pretty honest that the Women’s Health Protection Act is not going to pass this session. Listen, especially knowing the history that Joe Biden has of wanting to work in a bipartisan manner, I’m realistic about how far he is willing to go. But on a number of issues the filibuster is going to continue to be a thorn in the side of the American people, and there is no way forward unless we get rid of it. I don’t get the sense that [President] Biden is willing to upset his Republican colleagues in order to do that—even though they would not give him the same consideration. So, while we work long-term to get a filibuster-proof congressional majority, we still have to push him on the filibuster and court reform. What else would you like to see the administration doing on this issue, especially as we head into 2024? They should be following the Vice President’s and organizers’ lead in being unafraid to say the word abortion—and to destigmatize this medical procedure. The administration should be getting behind candidates up and down the ballot who are pro-bodily autonomy. And they need to be pushed to be unafraid to explore all options, including expanding the Supreme Court. Speaking of 2024: Republicans are already coming at Harris hard with racism and misogyny. How can we all counter that? We need to not fall for the bait. The bait is going to be the perpetuation of culture wars, including banning abortion and banning gender-affirming medical care, and banning Black history. And the bait is also going to be a messaging strategy that tries to convince us that that’s not happening. We’re gonna continue to be gaslit. It’s going to be up to candidates who want to stand on the right side of history and who, as my mother would say, won’t fall for the okeydoke. And it’s going to be up to voters to remain on fire. The challenge is that Republicans have dispersed [the abortion] fight, so it’s happening locally and at state levels and it’s easy to get distracted and forget how important this is, this year and next year. Listen to the interview with Vice President Kamala Harris now.  THIS EPISODE OF UNDISTRACTED IS SPONSORED BY:  Hey Jane is health care, on your own terms. As the most-trusted virtual clinic offering telemedicine abortion care, we’re proudly putting the power back in people’s hands by providing care that’s private, safe, supportive, accessible, and convenient—for less than the average in-clinic cost of a medication abortion. Learn more about our services here, and how you can support Hey Jane here.  FOLLOW THE METEOR    Thank you for reading The Meteor! Got this from a friend?
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