Kamala Harris has been praised for leading a more moderate campaign to appeal to all Americans, but progressives say they are waiting to radicalize her if she beats Donald Trump.
Harris was ranked as one of the most progressive senators during her brief tenure in the upper chamber of Congress, second only to self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
She has championed the Green New Deal, fought for sweeping abortion rights and vociferously decried the terrors of deportation and building a U.S.-Mexico border wall.
These policies, however, do not go over well in a presidential election, so Harris has been instead focusing on centrist issues like enhancing small business tax breaks, immigration reform and lowering the cost of goods, including that of energy.
Seeing this as a winning strategy, progressives have decided to bide their time and wait until Harris wins the White House before pushing her further left.
‘It’s about us organizing and seeing how far we can push her once she wins the presidency,’ progressive ‘Squad’ member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., told the Washington Post of her efforts to force Harris left post-election.
Omar, a devout supporter of Palestinians and outspoken opponent of Israel, said currently her ‘only hiccup’ with Harris is the VP’s support of Israel.
‘My commitment to the security of Israel is unwavering,’ the Democratic candidate said Tuesday.
Earlier in the day the Jewish Nation received a barrage of roughly 180 missiles fired upon it from Iran.
Harris has largely been in lockstep with President Joe Biden’s handling of the war, something that has irked many progressives.
And keeping progressives motivated to turnout for the Harris ticket is critical to Democrats taking power, ‘Squad’ leader Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told the Washington Post.
‘We’re not going to win constituencies and really turn out the vote with pop culture alone – these are constituencies that are highly motivated on substantive issues,’ she said.
AOC also floated some areas in which she’d like to see Harris lean more left.
‘I think that expanding health care is crucially important, and it’s something that I personally would love to see more,’ the New Yorker said.
House Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., stressed how Harris needs to understand the leftmost flank of the party – particularly how crucial it is to securing the Democratic agenda.
‘I do believe and hope and expect that [Harris] understands how important progressives were to the Biden administration’s victories,’ she said. ‘I hope she sees how valuable that partnership and that work together was.’
And that agenda can only be carried forward with a diverse array of liberal voices, Jayapal said.
‘I do believe it is important who she surrounds herself with.’
‘It is important that she has a team as the president did and a chief of staff as the president did that really values progressives as part of the coalition.’
A Democratic strategist also told the Washington Post that the party will hammer out specific priorities after November 5.
‘I think lots of people are holding their nose because they’re, like, whatever it takes to get you to win,’ the strategist said.
‘I have no doubt they’ll duke it out after the election.’