We all have friends, colleagues, and loved ones who are lifelong Democrats. This column is intended for them and for those of us willing to engage in discussions with them about the upcoming election. Conversations about politics are challenging, but voters should be able to answer the questions I pose here if they take their responsibilities as citizens seriously.
When you ask Democrats (or others) who support Vice President Kamala Harris why they intend to vote for her, a significant number will give some version of, "Because Trump ..." They may believe the propaganda that he's "a threat to democracy," or that he's "going to start World War III," or that he'll "throw his political opponents in jail." Some will simply say they just don't like him.
But if that's your answer, it's not good enough. Nor is it sufficient to parrot platitudes like "I'm voting for joy" or "hope" or "progress," whatever that means.
You're not just voting against Candidate X or for some happy feeling; you are casting your ballot in favor of another candidate and her policies. What are they? Do you know?
If you do, kudos. You've done some homework. It's not as if Harris' presidential campaign has told you what her policies are -- her website has only slogans, ways to donate, and merch sales.
Nor was the platform of President Harris/Vice President Tim Walz's administration laid out at the Democratic National Convention earlier this month. As journalist Camilla Long explained in a blistering piece for the New York Post, the convention was both a surreal swoonfest of Kamalove and a hotbed of Trump Derangement Syndrome.
The media is in on the obfuscation. Harris has refused to give interviews or press conferences since President Joe Biden was forced out of the campaign, and the press has been only too happy to cover for her.
The radio silence is a feature, not a bug. Because, in fact, Harris actually has a track record of supporting specific policies. The problem is that most Americans don't agree with them.
Indeed, except for the legalization of abortion on demand up until birth, her own voters don't even know what they are.
The Media Research Center published a recent survey of 1,200 registered Democrat and independent voters, and the results were shocking, if not surprising. When asked about ten policy positions Harris supports, the overwhelming majority (between 71% to 86%) of those surveyed did not know any of them. They did not know, for example, that Harris supports getting rid of the border patrol, allowing death row inmates to vote, and abolishing all private health insurance.
Columnist Byron York wrote earlier this week that Harris is trying to triangulate by having campaign officials insist that she has "moderated" her earlier positions; he notes, however, that Harris herself has made no such public statements. This, of course, leaves Harris the ability, if she gets elected, to disregard those surrogates' statements and pursue the policies she has consistently espoused in the past.
So, I'm asking you, Democrat and never-Trump friends, do you know what you are voting for? Because if you're anything like the voters that MRC surveyed, lost in all the anti-Trump propaganda and Gen Z babble about "vibes" is the possibility that Harris might not represent the values you say matter to you:
-- Do you support freedom of speech? The Biden/Harris administration pressured media companies to censor truthful information about COVID-19, and the point person for that effort -- Rob Flaherty -- is now Harris' deputy campaign manager. That bodes well.
-- The integrity of the democratic process? Harris was installed as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, not selected by voters. And the DNC tried to destroy Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s independent candidacy by burying him in lawsuits. Kennedy -- penultimate Democratic Party royalty if there ever was any -- left the party and endorsed former President Donald Trump. So has former Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.
-- A fair and impartial justice system? The Biden/Harris administration has weaponized the Justice Department to go after Democrats' political opponents, try them, convict them and throw them in prison -- including but not limited to Trump.
-- A secure border, safe cities, lower crime, and adequate care and support for our veterans? As a "border czar," Harris presided over this administration's open borders policy that has allowed 10 million illegal aliens into the country. Crimes and drug trafficking have victimized Americans. Tens of billions of dollars have been diverted to benefits for people here illegally that could have been spent on America's poor, our homeless, and better care for our veterans. Harris promoted a fund to post bail for criminals arrested for riots and arson during the widespread violence in 2020.
-- A strong middle class and a robust entrepreneurial economy? Biden and Harris stifled America's energy production on Day One of their administration, sending oil prices skyrocketing and creating record inflation levels. Now, Harris is pushing for massive tax increases that will penalize investment, crush small businesses, and send the prices of consumer goods even higher.
-- Stable foreign policy, an end to American involvement in foreign wars, and wasteful spending of American taxpayer dollars in other nations? The departure from Afghanistan was an unmitigated disaster. War has broken out in Eastern Europe and the Middle East under the Biden/Harris administration. Israel was brutally attacked. U.S. taxpayers have sent or promised one hundred seventy-five billion dollars to Ukraine.
Is this really what you want? Because if you vote for Harris, it's what you're voting for, whether you know it -- or admit it -- or not.
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