By: Madison Shanfeld
The undecided population in the United States hold the utmost power in this neck and neck presidential election. Thus, The Political Pen will conduct a two part article series about the reasons why each candidate does, and does not, appeal to voters. Starting with Kamala Harris.
BACKGROUND
Kamala Harris is the current democratic vice president. She ran with President Joe Biden in the 2020 election and came out the winner. Before her run for the White House, she worked as a prosecutor, Attorney General of California, District Attorney of San Francisco, and a senator. Kamala Harris is running to be the first female President and the first female President of color as she is proudly biracial, being both Indian and Jamaican.
THE VICE PRESIDENT
Before diving into what Kamala Harris accomplished as a Vice President, it is important to understand the true role and powers the Vice President holds. They are president of the senate, or a tiebreaker vote, responsible for looking over the reception and counting of the electoral ballot votes in presidential elections, and principle advisors of the President. Everything beyond these powers are not within the Vice President’s control, which will be important in the debates.
As Vice President, Kamala Harris aimed for equality between races, sexes, sexual orientation, etc. In addition, in her time as Vice President she has cast the most tie breaking votes in American history, breaking a 200 year standing record. Examples of her tie-breaking include the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act and the appointment of the first black woman to the supreme court, Ketanji Brown Jackson. Also, Joe Biden established the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention which Kamala Harris oversees.
POLICIES AND VALUES
One major component of why citizens vote for one candidate or another is their opinions and policies on various issues that plague the country. Some are more controversial, have more religious ties, and affect one economic class differently than others. In this section, the spoken policies and values of the Harris campaign will be explained.
Kamala Harris has a strong Pro-Choice policy when it comes to abortion. She claims, “ I
pledge to you when Congress passes a bill to put back in place the protections of Roe v. Wade as President of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law” in the 2024 presidential debate. This issue is one of the most controversial in the United States at the moment. Some people fully agree with the Harris campaign and in the women’s right to choose what happens to her body. In addition to the choice and rights of the women and their autonomy, her campaign highlights the healthcare benefits and lives that could be saved with an abortion when life-threatening problems occur during pregnancies.
The gun law policies under the Harris Campaign are typically misunderstood. Kamala is clear and adamant in revealing that both her and her Vice Presidential pick, Tim Walz, are gun owners. It is popular in the media to spread that the Harris Campaign is attempting to pass laws that make citizens' guns illegal; however, several times, including during the presidential debate in September of 2024, Kamala Harris debunks this rumor and sets the story straight. Her goal as President is to regulate the usage of guns, not extract them from the country. This is in response to the country’s recent increase in shootings, particularly in a school setting.
The topic of climate change is also hot in the election (pun intended). Kamala Harris is a true believer in climate change and often expresses remorse for the citizens affected by extreme weather. Notably, she claims to continue what President Biden has done throughout his presidency in increasing domestic gas and using more clean energy resources. The topic of climate change in the election has more so been used to devalue their opponent than pull in undecided voters.
Health care is another stressing point of the Harris campaign. In the recent presidential debate, Vice President Kamala Harris stresses the work done with the Affordable Care Act, she states that, "we over the last four years have strengthened the Affordable Care Act, we have allowed for the first time Medicare to negotiate drug prices on behalf of you the American people.” However, the Harris campaign also plans on maintaining the outreach enrollment and funding that was put back in place during the Biden administration from the Trump administration.
As with every election, the economic policies and plans of the candidates have had an overwhelming effect on the 2024 Presidential Election. To begin, Harris promises that within
her first 100 days in office she will propose a federal limit on price increases on food and grocery. She also wants to crack down on mergers in the food industry because she believes that they have greatly contributed to the rise in food prices. In addition to the food industry, Vice President Kamala Harris also plans on addressing the housing market. Her stated plan is to build 3 million new housing units across the four year presidency as well as introduce a tax incentive for builders who create starter homes for first time buyers. The economy behind healthcare and medicine affects all citizens within the United States and the Harris campaign plans to cut the price of medications by 40-80% by the year 2026, or half-way through her presidential term as well as cut 7 billion dollars in medical debts for at least 3 million Americans.
ISRAEL VS PALESTINE
A prevalent issue within not only the United States, but the world, is the war between Israel and Palestine. Kamala Harris stands behind Israel in this war for a multitude of reasons; however, she also understands the bloodshed of the Palestinians. Israel has been a long standing ally of the United States and withholding against Israel now shows America’s other foreign alliances they are not going to stand with them when conflict strikes. Harris also commonly references how the whole war started on October 7th 2023 when Hamas, the terrorist organization, slaughtered 1,200 Israelis and raped hundreds of women. She claims that “Israel has a right to defend itself. We would.” but she references the bloodshed by both sides during the debate in September by saying, “how it [Israel] does so matters. Because it is also true far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. Children, mothers. What we know is that this war must end. It must end, end immediately.” In addition to referencing the much needed end to the war, she also comments on the hostages that have been held for over a year now. In short, her view on this war is that America must stand by their ally Israel but the hostages need to be returned and the bloodshed must end as soon as possible.
VICE PRESIDENTIAL PICK
Kamala Harris chose Tim Walz as her pick for Vice President within her campaign. His experience is as a history teacher, veteran, congressman, and Governor of Minnesota. His primary demographic is middle class and working families and he shares similar values of Kamala Harris which makes him a good running mate for her campaign. In addition, the people claim he has a positive and familial energy that makes the public comfortable and fond of him. Overall, many sources claim he is a good pick for the Harris Campaign.
He performed well in the Vice Presidential debate, narrowly losing to Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance, but overall reflected the ideas of the campaign well and participated in a passionate and civil debate.
ONLINE PRESENCE
Social media and the internet have been game changers when it comes to presidential elections. Younger voters get most of their information from social media sites rather than from the campaign sites or debates. Kamala Harris has her famous “Kamala HQ” account on Tiktok that can get their messages across to Gen Z and Millennial voters while using current and popular trends to keep voters interested. She also has viral sound bites and videos that shed Kamala Harris in a positive light. Overall, the public is being ambushed by Harris' positive content making her appear personable, relatable, and the best woman for the job.
TRUMP VS HARRIS
The Presidential debate was an integral moment in the Presidential election. The whole goal was to convince undecided voters to join their campaign. This served Kamala Harris well as she came out of the debate victorious. She was notably calm, concise, and debunked false narratives. While it wasn’t an overwhelming win for her, it shifted the votes in her favor.
they may have with her Republican opponent, Donald Trump. Some people are voting for Harris because they don’t want to see Trump re-elected. As a convicted felon, some American citizens can be put off by the idea of him as President or simply don’t like his policies or values. Donald Trump’s tweets and occasionally false comments are not everyone’s cup of tea and that is serving the Harris campaign well.
CONCLUSION
Hopefully, part one of this two part series provided insight to understand the Harris-Walz campaign better and see if it aligns with your values and opinions. Part two on her opponent, Donald Trump, is coming next week. By the end of this series, hopefully not only your own values become more clear, but so does your choice in the next election.
WORKS CITED
Anderson, Meg. “Kamala Harris is a gun owner — but she's still a proponent of stricter gun laws.” NPR, 11 September 2024, https://www.npr.org/2024/09/11/nx-s1- 5107973/kamala-harris-gun-owner-debate-donald-trump. Accessed 9 October 2024.
“Compare Trump and Harris Health Care Records and Positions.” KFF, https://www.kff.org/compare-2024-candidates-health-care-policy/. Accessed 9 October 2024.
“Governor Tim Walz / Office of Governor Tim Walz and Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan.” Minnesota.gov, https://mn.gov/governor/about-gov/timwalz/. Accessed 13 October 2024.
Hoffman, Riley. “READ: Harris-Trump presidential debate transcript - ABC News.” ABC News, 10 September 2024, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/harris-trump-presidential-debate-transcript/story?id=113560542. Accessed 9 October 2024.
“Kamala D. Harris (D-CA).” Senate.gov, https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/image/HarrisKamala.htm. Accessed 13 October 2024.
“Kamala Harris: The Vice President.” The White House, https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/vice-president-harris/. Accessed 9 October 2024.
Lennard, Natasha. “Kamala Harris Bolsters Right-Wing Immigration Narrative at Debate.” The Intercept, 11 September 2024, https://theintercept.com/2024/09/11/kamala-harris-debate-immigration/. Accessed 13 October 2024.
O'Connell, Oliver. “New polls reveal state of Trump v Harris race in critical battleground states Pennsylvania and Arizona.” https://uk.news.yahoo.com/polls-reveal-state-trump-v-191656391.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMupRLZi6DRWg0mn32wWG7FxrzYYXh2472nnIf0hq2HsmzUTxjqcRBIlqHhsogSiOLhskrgqAXTAqslOfnzyXx3itCNZcGt5a3ksjPF8UEO.
“Tim Walz.” Kamala Harris for President, https://kamalaharris.com/meet-governor-tim-walz/. Accessed 9 October 2024.
“U.S. Senate: About the Vice President (President of the Senate).” Senate.gov, https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/vice-president.htm. Accessed 9 October 2024.
Weissert, Will, and Farnoush Amiri. “Harris has proposed a slew of economic policies. Here's a look at what's in them.” PBS, 16 August 2024, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/harris-has-proposed-a-slew-of-economic-policies-heres-a-look-at-whats-in-them. Accessed 9 October 2024.
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