With less than two months before the November election, the Faith & Freedom Coalition has been reaching out to the Harris-Walz campaign to seek answers on key issues that impact U.S. policy abroad, such as stances on Israel, as well as our institutions here at home. In a letter first shared with Townhall, the group is asking the Harris-Walz campaign for answers about packing the U.S. Supreme Court, eliminating the filibuster, abolishing the Electoral College, and granting statehood to DC and Puerto Rico.
Earlier this week, Timothy Head, the executive director for the FFC sent a letter to Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN). "Of particular concern is the campaign’s continued ambiguity on defending sacred American institutions responsible for preserving our republic for nearly 250 years," he writes early on.
His letter also goes on to reference Harris' own policies on such matters:
Firstly, Vice President Harris, you repeatedly championed ending the Senate filibuster—a longstanding practice rooted in our founding principles that encourages compromise, restrains majority power, and supports public trust in American governance. During your 2020 presidential campaign, you declared that if elected president, you would be “prepared to get rid of the filibuster” to pass the Green New Deal. As Vice President, just before the 2022 midterms, you stated that you “cannot wait to cast the deciding vote to break the filibuster,” this time to codify Roe v. Wade into law. The campaign has yet to outline its current stance on this issue. Vice President Harris, has your position on ending the filibuster shifted during your time as the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee?
Your 2020 presidential campaign also saw you advocate for “increasing the number of people on the U.S. Supreme Court.” You reiterated to both the New York Times and Politico that you were open to adding more seats to the high court. Just last month, you backed President Biden’s Supreme Court reform proposals, including the idea of term limits that require appointing a new Supreme Court justice every two years. Yet, the Harris-Walz campaign has not adopted an official position on this matter. Vice President Harris, do you still believe that “everything is on the table,” including court-packing?
Similarly, during your 2020 presidential bid, you stated that you were “open to the discussion” of abolishing the Electoral College. The Electoral College importantly preserves the right of all Americans, from all states in the nation including less populated areas, to have a say in who governs our country. In 2019, you expressed frustration that the Electoral College has “diminished” the voices of certain people in “making the final decision” about who is president. What is your campaign’s current stance on the Electoral College?
Lastly, both Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. have supported the Harris-Walz campaign while simultaneously asking for statehood. During last month’s Democratic National Convention, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser cast her vote for you while pushing for D.C. to be added as a state, proclaiming, “we know Kamala Harris will fight for our freedom, and we will work together to make Washington, D.C., the 51st state.” Similarly, delegates from Puerto Rico referred to the island as “the commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the next state of the United States” before casting their vote for you. You accepted both gestures of support but have yet to publicly state your position on statehood. The Constitution never intended for D.C. or Puerto Rico to become states. Our Founders wisely feared the dangerous concentration of power that would come with giving residents of the nation’s capital privileges reserved for states. Puerto Rico was briefly occupied by the U.S. in 1898 to secure access to the Panama Canal, not to be added as a state. Most Americans reject granting D.C. or Puerto Rico statehood. As Mayor Bowser suggested, will you work to add these states to the union?
Head's letter also includes a reminder about the importance of such institutions. "The American people deserve a response to these questions worthy of their seriousness and stakes. Our republic has thrived for centuries because of our Founders’ vision of checks and balances, separation of powers, and a constitution that upholds basic democratic principles," he writes towards the end.
The concerns mentioned in the letter could be well-founded, especially if Democrats control the White House, the House, and/or the Senate. Congressional Democrats have proposed legislation to pack the Court, and Biden, shortly after withdrawing from the race, introduced a plan meant to supposedly "reform" the institution, with Harris saying Congress should pass "important reforms" to do with the Court.
Democrats, including Harris, as Head's letter mentioned, have come out strongly against the filibuster, and have even campaigned on the issue in their Senate races.
Congressional Democrats also tried to pass legislation during previous sessions of Congress to grant statehood to Washington, DC, despite the constitutional concerns.
Head also spoke further with Townhall about how such questions matter not only to Christians in America, but also to all lovers of religious liberty.
"The answers to these questions concern all Americans, but they matter especially to Christians and everyone who cherishes religious liberty and our Constitution. Every important conservative policy victory of the last several decades would be wiped out if the Left succeeds at erasing or radically changing these institutions," he said in a statement for Townhall. "With all hurdles to full power removed forever, along with at least two permanent Democratic seats added to the Senate, the Left would render our country unrecognizable. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz must tell voters precisely where they stand before voting begins."
Harris has flip-flopped considerably throughout her brief presidential campaign since she replaced President Joe Biden as the nominee, despite having never won a single primary vote. Her campaign, and the particularly biased moderators during Tuesday's ABC News debate, claim she has changed her stances, though Harris herself has claimed "my values have not changed."
The Democratic nominee also only just recently posted an "issues" section on her website and was also thoroughly mocked for using the Biden platform.
Harris has been trying to promote herself as the "change" candidate, an absurd premise given that she is the sitting vice president and part of the Biden-Harris administration. Polling from The New York Times/Siena College released earlier this week found that 55 percent of likely voters consider Harris to represent "more of the same" while 53 percent consider Trump to represent a "major change."
Even Harris' fellow Democrats have something to say about her lack of interviews, with Gov. Gavin Newsom from Harris' state of California urging her to do more.
As of Friday, the Harris-Walz campaign has not gotten back to the FFC in response to either letter.