Kamala Harris has long been accused of being little more than a gesture from the Biden campaign and White House. Trump and the Republicans argue that she is a “DEI” hire, too. And even as her party’s official presidential nomination this year, it’s hard to escape the fact that in the absence of a single unscripted media interview since she became the nominee, she is being pulled in multiple different ways by her own party.
The Harris campaign is, at least for now, largely based on two things: her image as a non-white female candidate and her opposition to former President Donald Trump. A glance at her campaign website won’t leave you any more informed about what she believes because the site contains no policies. She hasn’t offered any specifics on how she plans to lower prices, especially when she comes from the administration that oversaw a rapid increase in the cost of living. And perhaps that’s all by design.
Within the party, Harris is no doubt being tutored on how to respond to the press and how to deal with former President Trump when they eventually appear on a debate stage together, but the influence isn’t only coming from within the official machinery of her party. It’s coming from Democratic members of Congress, it’s coming from the grassroots, and it’s coming from the media class. Kamala Harris may have her sights set on becoming the first female president in history, but she may not be able to achieve it on her own terms.
Reparations Are Back on the Table
Writing for Newsweek this week, former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner, who also serves as a senior fellow for the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy, argued that Vice President Harris should “put reparations on the table” to secure the support of Black and progressive Americans.
Describing the “electric” energy at the first rally attended by Harris and her vice presidential pick, Governor Tim Waltz of Minnesota, Turner said that the only way to keep that kind of energy moving was to establish a policy platform that centers around the “Black agenda,” the working class, and Gaza.
“The inadequacy and misuse of identity politics is a threat to the struggle for Black liberation. Identity politics is foundational to American politics in general and to the construction of whiteness in particular. It is identity politics that bound the landless white wage slave to the white planter. Identity politics, rightly understood, is an organizing vehicle for advancing the political and economic interests of identity groups. The only question is which identity group is being advanced?” Turner added, before claiming that identity politics has been “weaponized” to undermine the political and economic interests of Black Americans.
It’s a divisive position and one that is firmly rejected by most American moderates – but it’s a position that she and a large portion of the Democratic Party want her to adopt.
A New “Narrative” on Crime?
Beyond reparations, others want Harris to establish a new “narrative” on crime. No, not solve crime, but to establish a new narrative that might help her get elected.
Also writing for Newsweek this week, Insha Rahman, the vice president of advocacy and partnerships at the Vera Institute of Justice, argued that Vice President Harris should use her campaign as an opportunity to reshape the narrative around crime and public safety. Specifically, she wants Harris to promote the idea that people should have the “freedom to be safe” – a claim that sounds good, but could mean many things.
She also criticized the Republicans for “fearmongering” over crime, and the Democrats for trying to silence Republicans. She may be right, of course, that the Democrats should stop attempting to silence Republicans on the crime issue – well, let’s be honest, she is right – but that only really matters if Harris actually has a plan to clamp down on violent crime. Including violent political protesters.
But Harris’ record, just like her VP, shows that she’s perfectly happy for riots to take place as long as their cause is progressive.
Does America want a new narrative on crime, or do the American people want action?
Will She Shift Right?
While it’s certainly the case that Democrats, particularly the progressive wing of the party, want to see the vice president campaign and govern as a diehard liberal, there are some within the party who recognize that she may need to shift rightward to secure a victory in November.
We know this for several reasons; not only have there been leaks of discussions about this very topic, but the campaign chose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to be her running mate. Sure, he’s one of the most progressive governors in the country – aggressively progressive, in fact – but he’s also the kind of guy who could appeal to white, working-class, middle-income voters. He might not represent those voters in substance, but in terms of style, he gets the Democrats at least part way there.
We also know that the DNC is counting on Republicans switching sides and voting for her as a protest against a third Trump campaign. Last week, the Harris campaign launched their “Republicans for Harris” effort – a campaign effort has seen a number of already-anti-Trump Republican voices come out in vocal support of the vice president.
Writing for Bloomberg, columnist Erika D. Smith noted that, with the support of Republicans, Harris has a real shot at winning Arizona. We’ve also already seen Harris lean in to some Republican talking points, too. Early in her campaign, Harris changed her tone on Israel pretty dramatically; sure, she was hostile to visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but she also issued statements promising that the United States would maintain its financial and ideological support of Israel in the event she wins in November. Harris proved that she was willing to throw her progressive counterparts under the bus just to get ahead of some Republican attacks in the future, and she may will do it again in the future.
