Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) has labeled herself as a tough-on-crime, "progressive prosecutor," despite multiple left-wing news organizations concluding otherwise. She made herself out to be pro-law enforcement, a law and order kind of Democrat. It was something that backfired during her failed presidential election. Now that Democrats have decided lawlessness and chaos is their MO, she's having to backpedal and work overtime to cover up that image she tried so hard to portray.
That stance came back to bite her in the butt on Sunday when CNN's Dana Bash asked her, point blank, whether or not she's flip-flopped on the public safety issue.
"Because this is where you come from, law enforcement, and you know, 'top cop' is where you come from, I want to ask about something that you wrote in a 2009 book, which is: 'If we took a show of hands of those who would like to see more police officers on the streets, mine would shoot up.' And then in June of this year you said to the New York Times, 'It is status quo thinking to believe that putting more police on the streets creates more safety. That's wrong.'" Bash read. "So, my question for you now, in retrospect, looking at your time as DA and Attorney General of California, through the lens of 2020, did you help contribute to what you describe as a 'status quo thinking,' that more police equals more safety?"
Harris became visibly uncomfortable at the question. After all, it wasn't that long ago that she claimed to be the DA who would prosecute crimes (and even went so far as to lock up a high number of African Americans for truancy-related issues).
"I'm very clear that we've got to, in America, reimagine how we are accomplishing public safety and what I believe now and what I believe then remains true and consistent, which is, if you look at the communities that have no or very little police presence, as compared to those who have a high degree of police presence, you will see stark differences," the vice presidential nominee replied.
According to Harris, the biggest differences in areas where less law enforcement is present has to do with resources.
"What you will see is well-funded public schools, higher rates of home ownership, small businesses that have access to capital," she said. "You'll see families who have jobs where they don't have to worry about getting to the end of the month and feeding their children."
She said investing in communities is the way to have safe communities, although she failed to explain what exactly that means and looks like. Of course, Harris also failed to answer Bash's follow-up question: would her hand still shoot up in favor of more of a police presence?
"I would say now, which is what I would say then, which is if a woman is raped, a child is molested, or one human being murders another human being, that there will be a police officer that responds to that case and that there will be accountability and consequence," she said matter-of-factly.
It's hard to know what Harris thinks or believes. She flip-flops so much. Her "tried and trued" stance seems to be whatever the popular opinion of the day is.
Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris says while she is not in full possession of the facts in the Jacob Blake shooting, based on what she has seen, she believes charges "should be considered in a very serious way and that there should be accountability." pic.twitter.com/HqQ88zgPcN
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) September 6, 2020