Just Tell Me Where Kamala Harris Stands on the Issues
The brat and coconut memes aren't going to cut it.
The way this election year has gone, what I'm about to write might be outdated by the time you read it.
A few weeks back, I was prepared to write about the Democrats' situation with Joe Biden, but then an assassination attempt against Donald Trump happened. Regardless of my stance on the Trump candidacy, that was something I couldn't look past.
Thus, I delayed my Biden piece until a week later, which came out the same day he announced that he would not accept the nomination from the Democrats. And, now, the Democrats have gone full speed ahead with current Vice President Kamala Harris as the nominee.
I'm expecting what I'm about to write will become outdated in a matter of days, if not hours, but here goes: What exactly does Kamala Harris stand for?
I have yet to hear a single policy position from Harris since she was named the nominee. What we have, instead, are clips of her supporting certain policy positions back in 2020, with "leaks" being shared on social media about how she's promising donors she won't support those positions.
Lee Fang wrote about the Harris candidacy and who is behind it. A theme among those who are behind her candidacy is that they all represent corporate interests.
Given that, it makes me wonder how much the decision to back Harris is less about where she actually stands on policy and more about that she doesn't really have a policy position, which allows those who are unelected — not just D.C. bureaucrats, but corporate interests, lobbyists and interest groups — to push Harris to back certain positions.
I have my views on what I think would be the best policies to pursue and, yes, some of them have changed over time. But if you ask me what my policy positions are, I'll tell you. And if you ask whether or not some have changed, I can tell you and explain why. You will likely find I have policy positions which you agree with, ones which you don't, and ones in which I explain why my position changed, you believe it shouldn't have changed.
If Kamala Harris held a policy position that was, for example, "we should raise taxes on the rich," you at least know where she stands. You don't have to agree with the statement "we should raise taxes on the rich" to know that it's a policy position that you can discuss and debate.
Instead, what we get are instances of Harris, back in 2020, saying she'd back the Green New Deal, a number of policies that get support from plenty of environmental activists, only to now hear she has pivoted on, for example, a proposed ban on fracking, which is something that environmental activists oppose.
So what happened there? Does she truly believe in the Green New Deal? If she doesn’t any longer, what made her change her mind? Is she only supporting parts of it? What exactly is her position on environmental issues, and can we hear it from herself and not people citing past statements and present-day insider chit-chat?
If she is truly somebody who is worthy of being President, she should be able to state her policy positions and explain them, with people allowed to ask her questions about why she believes these policies will work or are for the best.
But this is not what we are getting. We are instead getting memes about brats and coconuts, as if this is somehow an appropriate substitute for policy discussions.
I know there are those who will cite the talking points about "is Kamala Harris really black" but it matters not to me whether she thinks of herself as black, Indian-American or biracial. I get that some cite this matter because, back in 2016, she was billed as the first Indian-American U.S. senator, and now, is billed as a black woman.
However, when criticizing Harris, it's better to ask about her policy positions because that's where it really matters when trying to figure out what she stands for and how she sees the future of the United States taking shape.
My opinion of the "is Harris really black" talking point is that this is less about how Harris sees herself and more about how media types want to pump a narrative that's designed to distract people. And if you'll notice, it's those media types who aren't talking about things like the economy, inflation, immigration, foreign policy, bureaucratic overreach and the loss of trust in institutions.
It's those issues that I want to know what Harris thinks about, what ideas she has and what policies she believes will work. She could present a host of ideas that I don't believe will work, but at least I will know her positions and her thoughts about the direction the United States should go.
But if all we are going to do is fire off a bunch of memes, talking points and other distractions, you're going to have a hard time convincing me that the Harris candidacy is about anything but appeasing donors who don't like Trump and believe they won't get their way if Trump wins the Presidency.
I don't believe the Democrats can get away with having Harris hide under the radar except when she's given a carefully crafted speech. Just because it worked to a degree in 2020 with Joe Biden doesn't mean it will work now, especially when the issues on voters' minds are not exactly the same as they were four years ago.
Just let Harris herself tell everybody where she stands on the issues. At least then we'll know and we might be able to have some semblance of an election that is about the issues that voters predominantly care about.