A thread on @KamalaHarris's town hall today w/ @cthagod & @jamooreforsc15 on her Plan to Provide Mental Health Care on Demand. You can read more about her plan here:
https://kamalaharris.org/policies/mental-health/
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First, few candidates have unveiled policy proposals on the campaign trail here in SC, as the @postandcourier discussed in a story in September. So this was very nice to see Senator Harris unveiling her mental health care plan here in SC.
https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/analysis-few-presidential-candidates-pitch-new-policies-when-campaigning-in/article_6029d7ee-decc-11e9-addc-23744459d284.html
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All of us at the event received this handout, which provides details on @KamalaHarris's mental health care plan. 3/

After an excellent introduction by @jamooreforsc15, @KamalaHarris discussed her mental health care plan as well as other policies & why justice is on the ballot. Next came a Q&A w/ @jamooreforsc15. He asked her why it was important for her to release the plan here in SC...4/

. @jamooreforsc15 talked about his brother James's mental health challenges growing up & James's struggle w/ post-traumatic stress disorder upon coming back from serving in Iraq. @KamalaHarris talked about veterans' mental health issues & about PTSD more generally. 5/

. @jamooreforsc15 asked @KamalaHarris about the stigma that's often attached to mental health issues in marginalized & minority communities & how to break through this. He also asked her about her record as a prosecutor & she offered a spirited defense of this & pointed out...6/

that there's a candidate in the race who wrote the 1994 crime bill, another who voted for it, & that no one else in the race had addressed the criminal justice system until running for president, while she has made it her life's work to reform that system. 7/

. @jamooreforsc15 then asked about infrastructure spending & @KamalaHarris discussed her plan for investing in infrastructure. Next, @cthagod joined the discussion after rushing to the event from the airport. Rushing so much that @KamalaHarris got him some water to drink. 8/

. @cthagod talked about his cousin's tragic suicide & how his own father revealed that he had thought about killing himself but decided not to because of @cthagod's sister & him. @cthagod also stressed the importance of getting therapy. 9/

. @cthagod also said that his father & cousin hadn't received the mental health care they deserved & that when he heard @KamalaHarris was unveiling this plan he had to be here for it b/c of how important mental health care is & b/c she's the first candidate w/ a detailed plan. 10/

There's several videos of the event & I encourage everyone to watch one. Mental health is a critically important issue & one that too often has a stigma attached to it in our society. Here's one of the video links:
https://www.facebook.com/wjlatv/videos/2530587497027093/
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A few other items about the event...once again a @KamalaHarris event here in SC was standing room only even after additional chairs were brought out. The audience was very supportive of the Senator & I saw several people in Kamala Harris For the People t-shirts. 12/

There was a woman in the row behind me who said, the one thing @KamalaHarris has to change is her Medicare for All plan b/c she doesn't want to be forced to not have private insurance (she didn't know that Senator Harris specifically allows people to have private insurance). 13/

When @KamalaHarris said that unlike some others on the debate stage she's going to give Americans the option of having private insurance, the woman behind me shouted out "yes!". 14/

The crowd also really liked @KamalaHarris's new line about Biden's & Buttigieg's health care plans. It felt like the crowd was glad someone finally mentioned the size of South Bend, Indiana at a campaign event. 15/

The crowd gave @KamalaHarris a standing ovation in the middle of the event after her stump speech & also gave her a standing ovation when she said there's a criminal in the White House. 16/

The crowd looked like South Carolina & was markedly more diverse than @ewarren's crowd in the same city just two weeks ago. I encourage you to compare photos. When Time magazine tells you that Warren's outreach to African-American women is working, take a look at the photos...17/

of these events and ask yourself whether you're going to believe the narrative that Time magazine is promoting or the photos from these events. Being here on the ground in SC, I can confirm that the the natl media's narrative isn't always consistent w/ the facts on the ground.18/

Finally, a couple of personal notes. Always good to see @jamooreforsc15 at these events. Also, nice to see @mayaharris_ at the event. Senator Harris's organizers, as always, did an excellent job, including @aliakapasi who gave one of the speeches before the event. 19/

Finally, as I've said before, it's great to have a front-row seat to American democracy here in South Carolina. Part of that treat has been meeting 22 of the presidential candidates in person. It's been a particular treat getting to know @KamalaHarris a bit on the trail here. 20/

Thanks again to @KamalaHarris for always being kind & supportive in our conversations. & thanks for the question from the stage tonight. That was very cool! Safe travels to @KamalaHarris in Iowa. We look forward to seeing you again in SC soon. 21/21