Many presidential election enthusiasts love to analyze the candidates’ running mates, although they rarely matter (NOTE: rarely is different from never). For instance, there was much ado about the competence of two Republican VP nominees: Sen. (IN) Dan Quayle in 1988 and Governor (AK) Sarah Palin 20 years later. The difference was in the ticket headliners: leading the Quayle ticket was a healthy, young-looking 64-year-old George H.W. Bush, whereas the 2008 GOP nominee was 72-year-old John McCain, whose eight-year chronological seniority over Bush aesthetically seemed much greater. In 2008, therefore, a running mate mattered.

Turning to 2020, there are age-related concerns about Democratic nominee Joe Biden who, if elected, would be sworn in at age 78. Granted, similar concerns about Trump are not exactly nonexistent either, as Trump on Inauguration Day will be 74. But the difference in the sizes of the two groups of worriers is staggering. “Concerned” parties about Trump are almost all his most rabid critics, whereas a whopping 49 percent of likely Democratic voters think Biden won’t make it through a single term. That’s right, almost half of those who evidently support Biden think he’ll be replaced at some point by his VP. And that’s why in 2020, a running mate matters too – perhaps more than ever.

Accordingly, it is vital for us to know more about Kamala Harris, because statistically and intuitively, there is a strong argument to be made that if Biden wins, she’d be sitting in the Oval Office well before 2025.

There is no need to waste time explaining that Harris is likely to advocate for government-controlled health care, a woman’s right to choose, and activist judges. Of course she is – she’s a Democrat, after all. The question is: just how far to the left is she, compared to traditional Democrats? When Barack Obama was in office, many of his bashers labeled him “the most liberal president ever.” While that may not be entirely true, I’d say Obama is surely in the top five. But Kamala Harris is to the left of Obama by leaps and bounds.

To be clear, Harris is not a radical leftist anarchist who hates America and wants to see our institutions dismantled. That is political overhype from the opposition. However, some of her policies and proposals are indeed troubling. Here are a few:

Defunding the Police

The aforementioned anarchist radicals want to see police departments wholly dismantled and replaced with social workers. Imagine a notorious serial killer on the loose and a posse of unarmed social workers sent out to counsel him on the error of his ways. Harris does not want police departments eliminated, but she does favor “reallocating resources,” which means taking money away from police departments and investing it in other public initiatives – such as social programs and schools – as a smarter way to use the people’s money to better society. Doesn’t sound so smart to me. The equivalent would be to defund the military and let negotiators obliterate jihadist terrorist groups.

Decriminalize Border Crossings

Like every other Democrat in the primaries (except, to his credit, Biden), Harris called for decriminalizing illegal border crossings. Essentially, that does nothing to discourage aspiring illegal border crossers, because all they have to do is find a way to sneak over here, and the worst thing that could happen to them is they get caught and are sent back. That’s like sneaking into the Super Bowl, or the Oscars, with absolutely no fear of being arrested. In the case of Prohibition, making and selling alcohol was illegal, but not drinking it. So, if you managed to get your hands on a case of good booze, you could invite the entire FBI over for cocktails and they couldn’t do a thing to you. Prohibition was a disastrous failure because once you scored the liquor, no one would bother you. Same with decriminalizing border crossings: if you can get here, you’re safe. It’s like stealing home plate (in baseball).

Free Health Care for PHIs

As I wrote in my book Stop Calling Them “Immigrants”, I would never want to deny any human being, including PHIs (Persons Here Illegally) emergency medical services or protection from imminent physical harm. However, I draw the line at dental work, long-term housing, and even education. PHIs are here illegally. They are trespassing. Either they have to be sent back, or some provision must be made permitting them to stay (I’ve also outlined categories for exceptions). They cannot dilly-dally in limbo forever. Kamala Harris wants all of those freebies for PHIs, thereby rolling out the red carpet for them, after decriminalizing their attempt to enter illegally. And, yet, she says that “we must have a secure border.” Wink-wink.

Let Boston Marathon Bomber Vote

During the Democratic primaries, Sen. (VT) Bernie Sanders astonished most reasonable Americans when he proclaimed that currently imprisoned violent felons, including murdering terrorists like the Boston Marathon Bomber, should be permitted to vote from prison. To be fair, Harris never made that statement overtly, but when she was asked about it, her reply was: “I think we should have the conversation.” That she, as someone potentially a heartbeat away from the presidency, did not totally denounce the idea is alarming. Essentially, she favors entertaining the possibility of letting murderers – who are obviously deemed too dangerous to be allowed to exist other than under secure lock and key – make decisions about who will lead our country. What next, can the Bomber run for president too?

To reemphasize, there is a dangerously insane far-left movement in this country that thankfully does not comprise the majority of Democratic voters. But it is considerably larger than its insane far-right counterpart (KKK, Neo-Nazis, etc.) and growing by the day. Kamala Harris is not part of it, but she is ideologically closer to it than anyone who has ever been president or vice president, and so there is cause for great concern about how serious she would be, as president, to stop it in its tracks.

Constantinos E. Scaros' latest book, Trumped-Up Charges!, is available in print and Kindle formats on amazon.com.