If You Think Kamala Was a Bad VP, Look at What Other Woman on Shortlist Just Did to Wildfire-Racked Los Angeles

President Joe Biden is almost in our rearview mirrors — and, one suspects, so is Vice President Kamala Harris.

Yes, politicians can obviously make comebacks. (See: Trump, Donald.) That being said, Kamala’s flailing and failing 2024 presidential campaign proved she hadn’t learned anything from her abortive 2020 campaign, and one assumes she will be making the same mistakes in 2028 and beyond.

Much like other failed Democratic presidential standard-bearers, expect her to get some sort of vague role in a future Democratic administration — think “climate envoy” or “intersectionality czar” — hopefully later rather than sooner. However, for those of you who shudder to think of what might have been, witness the Southern California wildfires and Karen Bass, the woman currently failing in her job as mayor of Los Angeles.

For those of you who don’t remember the vetting process for Biden’s running mate — which took on extra importance due to the high-mileage candidate’s age, something that the media would later claim wasn’t at all an issue before admitting it was and demanding he step aside for the woman he chose, then-Sen. Harris — Bass was one of the three black women who emerged as the trio of top candidates in the veepstakes.

At the time, Bass was chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and a member of the House from California. Harris and Bass, along with Susan Rice — chair of the national security council under the Obama administration — were the three receiving the most mentions as possible candidates.

While other women entered the considerations — Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, now-former Rep. Val Demings of Florida, and now-former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms were three mentioned by CNN in June of 2020 — that trio eventually got the most scrutiny.

In the end, Biden’s team apparently felt that Bass’ past association with the Castro regime in Cuba and the “Church” of Scientology (along with Rice’s part in the Obama administration’s preposterous attempts to blame the Benghazi consulate attack on some random YouTube video) made those candidates potential liabilities, culminating in the choice of Harris.

It’s probably just as well, when you look at the city of Los Angeles and what the current mayor is doing during one of its biggest crises in recent years — the wildfires ravaging Southern California, which have claimed five lives and have forced the evacuation of over 100,000 people, as well as scorched thousands of acres of land.

Bass, who was elected mayor in 2022 after a decade and change in Congress, as was part of a delegation that went to Accra, Ghana, for the inauguration of new Ghanian President John Mahama and Vice President Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, the country’s first female veep, according to The Hill.

Not only was she out of the country for the wildfires, but she’s under scrutiny for the decisions she made with the Los Angeles Fire Department before that as well.

It’s not like this couldn’t have been anticipated, either. According to NBC News, given the weather forecast for unusually high winds and very low humidity and recent rainfall, California Gov. Gavin Newsom was already preemptively ordering state resources to be diverted to Southern California in case anything broke out.

It wasn’t until Wednesday, however — well after the storm was underway and evacuation orders were in place — that Bass began her return to the United States.

In the meantime, she — or at least her team — was talking up how dire the situation was on social media.

An emergency shelter is open in the city for residents evacuating from the #SunsetFire.

📍Pan Pacific Recreational Center: 7600 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036.

If you’re in the evacuation zone, please heed the evacuation order immediately. pic.twitter.com/7cmw51c61x

— Mayor Karen Bass (@MayorOfLA) January 9, 2025

A Mandatory Evacuation Order is now in place for residents between Runyon Canyon and Wattles Park.

The boundaries are:

📍Laurel Canyon Blvd (on the west) to📍Mulholland Dr (on the north) to
📍101 Freeway (on the east) down to
📍Hollywood Blvd (on the south)

If you are near… pic.twitter.com/HvKwUBy8p9

— Mayor Karen Bass (@MayorOfLA) January 9, 2025

She also reposted outgoing President Biden — her one-time prospective boss — showing him being more on top of the situation than she, the mayor of the biggest city in Southern California, was. Please do let that sink in.

Already, my team has provided 24/7 weather forecast support, sent 5 Air Tankers and 10 firefighting helicopters, prepositioned dozens of fire engines, approved grants to reimburse firefighting costs, and I’ve approved Governor Newsom’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration.

— President Biden (@POTUS) January 8, 2025

Bass also stood stone-faced, unable to answer questions posed to her by a reporter who noted Elon Musk had called her “utterly incompetent.” She was also asked why she previously cut millions from the fire department.

“Do you owe your citizens an apology for being absent while their homes were burning? Do you regret cutting the fire budget by millions of dollars?

Elon Musk says that you’re utterly incompetent.”

Karen Bass has no response. She failed Los Angeles. Never seen a politician… pic.twitter.com/dtGGTlsuwL

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) January 8, 2025

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but at least give Kamala Harris this much: She would have attempted one of those circuitous non-answer answers of hers, not just stood there and looked like a buffoon. Sure, it would’ve sounded something like “we did what we had to be done about what we have to do, and that’s why we’re going to do it, and that’s why I’m doing it: because it needed to be done, which is why we’re in the process of doing it, and we’ll tell you why it was done, because it needed to be done.”

But at least that’s an attempt at words coming out of her mouth. Bass didn’t even bother.

And yes, as the New York Post noted, Bass cut $17.6 million from the LAFD’s budget for this fiscal year. That and a visit to Ghana (not part of her constituency, for those of you who don’t have a world map handy) makes this look worse than it already does.

When she knew that a generational-scale disaster was potentially about to break out in her city, she didn’t cut her trip short. Then she refused to even take questions.

Also, the Post reported, the city is dealing with fire hydrants that have no water supply, partially in thanks to what it called “years of mismanagement of LA’s water system — including a federal indictment of a leader and high profile resignations — as well as major operational problems that drained reserves too quickly.”

Just think: This woman could have been one heartbeat away from the presidency, all thanks to Joe Biden’s desire to pander to the base. Not because she was particularly adept at her job, but because she checked all the right boxes. Given Biden’s decision to abandon the race after his horrid performance in the June debate, the Democrats might have been in the hands of a woman who abandoned her city in the literal heat of disaster.

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