Self-described “progressives” seem to be tired of Kamala Harris' attempts to downplay her left-wing policies, telling her they don't want to be downplayed when she tries to portray herself as a “moderate” candidate.
“My values haven't changed,” Harris said in her first and only media interview with CNN last month, but her campaign has told media that she no longer supports some of her most radical policies, such as ending private health insurance, cutting the police budget, ending the detention of illegal immigrants, supporting a “Green New Deal” and banning fracking — policies that are harmful to mainstream Americans but popular with left-wing Democrats.
These policies include “taxpayer-funded sex-reassignment surgery for immigrants in detention,” so extreme that Andrew Kaczynski shocked CNN's Erin Burnett when he reported on the news.
Not surprisingly, the campaign has tried to bury Harris' record without explaining how, when or why she changed her mind. (Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) made it clear last weekend that Harris was changing policies to win the election.)
But “progressives” are tired of being told to ignore change and trust their party leadership.
In the lead editorial New RepublicAlex Shepherd suggested Tuesday morning that the left has had enough, noting that Harris was simply plagiarizing President Joe Biden's policies while declaring a “new step forward.”
3 days ago Times The opinion poll came out [showing Trump ahead by 1 point]middle Growing unrest In what has been described as a deliberate lack of a clear, detailed agenda, Kamala Harris' campaign has unveiled a new platform of sorts. No longer supported She supports banning plastic straws. Five years ago, as a California senator, Harris supported phasing out plastic straws and replacing them with paper ones — as long as they were better than the flimsy ones that go bad after a third of a McDonald's Diet Coke. Now, she's happy with the status quo.
It's a humorous example of a very real trend that emerged after Harris became the presumptive nominee in late July. Abandoned progressive stance She touted a range of policies during the 2020 presidential campaign, including gun buybacks, a fracking ban and Medicare for All, but she hasn't said much about where she stands now. Last month's Democratic National Convention was a celebration of the party's normalcy and the middle class, but there was little substance behind it. Her big policy proposals in August included punishing price gouging at grocery stores, ending the tip tax and encouraging new home construction.
…The debate will be Harris's chance to swing the polls back in her favor and to clearly articulate where she stands to millions of undecided voters. But it will also require her to take uncomfortable and controversial positions. She can no longer expect to continue reaping political rewards without taking risks.
That means Harris can best use Tuesday's debate (airing at 9 p.m. ET on ABC) as a platform to highlight her “progressive” credentials, arguing that taking a controversial position is better than taking no position at all.
John Nolte of Breitbart News said: New RepublicTrump has said he only criticizes Harris to offer friendly advice and has mocked her for shamefully plagiarizing Biden's policies, but he remains hopeful that she can still change tactics.
Either way, Harris now appears to be falling into the trap that plagued Hillary Clinton in 2016: appeal to the “progressive” base and alienate moderates, or stick to the status quo and the unpopular policies of the incumbent.
Biden ran to unseat the Republicans in 2016 and managed to unite “progressives” and moderates, but Democrats are in power and divisions lurk just beneath the surface — divisions that can't be solved by copy-and-paste.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sundays from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm (4:00 pm to 7:00 pm ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. Agenda: What President Trump Should Do in His First 100 Daysavailable for pre-order on Amazon. He also Trumpian virtue: The lessons and legacy of Donald Trump's presidencyavailable now on Audible. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
