Joe Biden’s (D) selection of Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) as his running mate is emblematic of the progressive shift steadily embraced by the former vice president, as Harris’s record displays her radical, far-left ideology, despite the more moderate demeanor she attempted to display during her failed presidential bid.
Establishment Democrats praised Biden’s choice. The Clintons applauded the selection, with former President Bill Clinton describing her as a “terrific” choice and failed Trump challenger Hillary Clinton deeming her an “incredible public servant and leader.” Former President Barack Obama praised Biden, proclaiming that his former running mate “nailed this decision.”
Regardless of the chatter and ongoing analysis from political pundits, commentators, and officials, Harris has a well-documented record of embracing radical progressive ideas, touting them herself on numerous occasions.
Here are nine examples of Harris putting her far-left ideology on full display.
1. The Green New Deal
While most traditionally think of self-described democratic socialists, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), when it comes to climate change, Harris is also a champion of the Green New Deal, describing climate change as an “existential threat to us as human beings.”
“Being practical recognizes that greenhouse gas emissions are threatening our air and threatening the planet and that it is well within our capacity as human beings to change our behaviors in a way that we can reduce its effects. That’s practical,” Harris said last year, telling CNN’s Inside Politics that “of course we can afford” costly programs like the Green New Deal.
“It’s not about a cost. It’s about an investment. And the question should be, is it worth the cost in terms of the investment potential? Are we going to get back more than we put in?” she asked.
Harris, who unveiled her own $10 trillion climate change proposal which aimed for total carbon-neutral electricity in 10 years, has also expressed support for banning plastic straws and reshaping the food pyramid to reduce red meat consumption.
2. Marijuana loans
While Harris effectively jailed nearly 2,000 people for marijuana-related offenses as her time as a prosecutor and California’s attorney general — despite joking about smoking weed herself — she released a sweeping criminal justice reform plan last year, which promised to facilitate government loans for “socially and economically disadvantaged individuals” in the marijuana industry.
At the time, Harris explained that she would help end the War on Drugs via the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, “which according to her website ‘legalizes marijuana at the federal level by removing the substance from the Controlled Substances Act,'” as Breitbart News reported. Additionally, it teased loans to “assist small businesses in the marijuana industry that are owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.”
3. Brett Kavanaugh
Harris was among one of the most vocal senators during the Democrats’ effort to take down now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, as Breitbart News extensively detailed.
Despite the gross discrepancies in Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony and Kavanaugh’s vehement denial, Harris concluded, based on her unsubstantiated attacks, that he “lied to the U.S. Senate and most importantly to the American people” and called for his impeachment.
Stunningly, Harris tried to used her crusade against Kavanaugh as a personal highlight during her presidential campaign, bragging that she has “taken on Jeff Sessions, Bill Barr, [and] Brett Kavanaugh:
She did not mention that she lost all three battles, as all were ultimately confirmed.
President Donald Trump reminded the public on Tuesday that Harris was “extraordinarily nasty to Kavanaugh.”
“She was nasty to a level that was just a horrible thing the way she was, the way she treated now-Justice Kavanaugh,” he said. “And I won’t forget that soon.”
4. Impeachment
The California senator vehemently supported what has since been dubbed as the Democrats’ impeachment witch hunt against President Trump. Throughout the process, Harris repeatedly referred to Trump as a “criminal” and “unpatriotic”:
In January, cameras famously caught the senator flashing a large smile before going live with MSNBC, quickly adjusting her giddy demeanor and tone as she realized the interview began.
“This is a solemn, serious moment,” she said:
Harris’s giddy behavior eventually earned her a slap on the wrist from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who scolded her for goofing off at an impeachment press conference in January:
5. ICE = KKK
During a 2018 hearing featuring former ICE chief Ronald Vitiello, Harris attempted to liken the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to the Ku Klux Klan, proclaiming that she was talking about “a perception.”
Harris had Vitiello address his previous description of the Democrat Party as “NeoKlanist,” and he apologized, stating, “the Klan was what we could call today a domestic terrorist group.”
“Why?” Harris pressed.
“Because they tried to use fear and force to change the political environment,” Vitiello stated.
“And what was the motivation for the use of fear and force?” Harris asked.
“Based on race and ethnicity, ” Vitiello said.
“Right,” Harris said, making the comparison. “And are you aware of the perception of many about how the power and discretion at ICE is being used to enforce the law and do you see any parallels?”
Vitiello said he did not see any parallels, prompting Harris to push back.
“How can you be the head of an agency and be unaware of how your agency is perceived by certain communities?” she asked.
6. Biden’s Ukraine scandal
While the lawmaker sparred with Biden during the primary, she refused to discuss the looming questions surrounding Biden’s role in the firing of the Ukrainian prosecutor who was investigating Burisma Holdings, where his son Hunter pocketed tens of thousands of dollars per month. Biden, as vice president, threatened to withhold $1 billion in aid unless the prosecutor investigating the company was fired.
“If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money. Well, son of a bitch,” Biden said, recalling the event. “He got fired.”
Harris told reporters that she refused to get “duped” into discussing the issue.
“I’ve said many times that on this issue of Ukraine, leave Joe Biden alone,” Harris said on the campaign trail, dismissing the concerns as a “trap that the president has laid, which is to manipulate the power of the president and the relationships that we have with allies like Ukraine in a way that has been about personal and political benefit.”
“So I’m not going to get duped into having that conversation,” she continued. “Let’s leave Joe Biden alone”:
7. Pro-abortion
Last May, Harris bragged about raising over $161,000 for pro-abortion organizations, and during last year’s October debate, Harris falsely stated that “women will die, poor women, women of color will die” due to abortion restrictions in red states.
In October, Harris stumped for Virginia state lawmaker Kathy Tran, who previously proposed a bill to allow abortion up to the time a woman is dilating — to the very moment of birth.
Harris praised Tran as a courageous and strong leader.
“She is somebody who never puts up her finger and says, ‘Oh, is this going to be popular or not?’ You know that. You know she’s taken on huge fights, in particular for the women of Virginia and the families that love them, saying it’s not about what’s popular at the moment,” Harris said.
“It’s about what’s right. And these are the kinds of leaders we need in our statehouses,” she continued.
Pro-life leaders say that the addition of Harris to Biden’s ticket has created the “most pro-abortion presidential ticket in history.”
As Breitbart News reported:
It was Harris who, as California attorney general, directed her office to lead the raid on Center for Medical Progress (CMP) project lead David Daleiden after CMP released undercover videos exposing Planned Parenthood’s fetal tissue sales practices.
It was Harris’s office that collaborated with Planned Parenthood to produce legislation that would criminalize the CMP undercover journalists for publishing and distributing recordings of private communications with abortion providers in California.
8. Gun control
Biden’s addition of Harris also heightens his campaign’s anti-Second Amendment views. Last year, Harris vowed to take action on guns via executive orders:
As Breitbart News reported:
On September 7, 2019, Breitbart News reported Harris’s support for government-mandated buybacks of AR-15 rifles. Bloomberg reported that Harris had not worked out all the details on how the buyback would work, but she said, “I think it’s a good idea.”
…
Harris is on record voicing support for universal background checks and prohibiting rifle purchases for 18-20-year-olds. And as California Attorney General she fought to preserve the “good cause” requirement, which means law-abiding citizens without a criminal record were still barred from getting a California concealed carry permit unless they could prove why they needed to carry a gun.
9. Free health care for illegal aliens
Harris, like her Democrat competitors at the time, signaled that she supports free, taxpayer-funded health care for illegal aliens, which by some estimates could cost up to $660 billion per decade.
GovTrack.us rated Harris the most liberal lawmaker in the Senate in 2019, even putting her to the left of Sanders. These details may seem irrelevant to some, who argue that the vice president does not play a major role in policy decisions. However, a majority of Americans believe it is “likely” that his running mate “will be president before the end of Biden’s four-year term,” according to a Rasmussen poll released Monday.
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