Vice President Kamala Harris is in the process of defining her political platform since becoming the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee. With a late entry into the presidential race and no written platform, she is shaping her positions through public statements, sometimes aligned with President Joe Biden’s, sometimes diverging, and often differing from her previous stances.
Republican strategist Ford O’Connell told The Epoch Times that Harris may have an advantage with less than 100 days to go before the election, making it easier for her to introduce her policy positions than for her opponents to define her.
Here is an overview of her current views on major issues compared with her past statements and Biden’s policies.
Abortion
Harris has emphasized abortion access as a central theme of her campaign, contrasting herself with former President Donald Trump’s stance on the issue. Like Biden, she supports federal legislation to restore nationwide protection for abortion rights provided by Roe v. Wade.
As a U.S. senator for California, Harris co-sponsored legislation to ban states from imposing restrictions on abortion and voted against a bill that would have banned abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. In 2019, she advocated for Justice Department approval for states and localities with a history of violating Roe v. Wade before enacting any abortion laws or practices.
US Border
Harris’s position on the border has evolved since 2020. While she previously called for starting over with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, she now rejects that idea. She now views immigrants as integral to the fabric of America and has vowed to pass immigration reform.
She has acknowledged the influx of illegal immigrants as part of a global migration crisis and a humanitarian issue, distinguishing herself by emphasizing border enforcement and criticizing Trump for opposing a bipartisan border security bill that failed in the Senate.
Appointed as the unofficial border czar by Biden in March 2021, Harris has focused on addressing the root causes of migration to reduce global migration through various initiatives.
Israel-Hamas War
Harris has consistently expressed support for Israel and condemned Hamas. She favors a two-state solution in the region but has also raised concerns about the scale of human suffering in Gaza and called on Israel to do more to protect innocent civilians.
She appears willing to challenge Israel on its treatment of Palestinians in Gaza, indicating a potential shift in policy approach.
Ukraine-Russia War
Biden’s stance on providing military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine for its conflict with Russia has been supported by Harris. She has emphasized the strategic interest of the United States in continuing support for Ukraine and announced significant aid to bolster Ukraine’s energy sector and address humanitarian needs.
Supreme Court
Harris originally appeared receptive to the idea of expanding the Supreme Court during her 2020 presidential campaign but has since shifted her position on Supreme Court reform.
Harris acknowledged the “crisis of confidence” in the court, stating that “all options are being considered” to address the issue, as reported by Politico in March 2019. Two months later, she expressed openness to discussing the possibility of increasing the number of justices, as noted by Bloomberg.
Despite this, Harris later endorsed Biden’s proposed court reforms, which focus on implementing 18-year term limits and a judicial code of ethics enforceable by law, without including an expansion of the number of justices. In a statement on July 29, she emphasized the need for these reforms to restore public trust in the Supreme Court, especially in light of ethics scandals and decisions that have overturned longstanding precedents.
Harris’s stance highlights the importance of addressing the current crisis of confidence in the court and implementing reforms to ensure fairness and accountability. Can you please rewrite this sentence? Please rewrite the following sentence for me: “The cat quickly ran across the street.”
Source link
