The Fatal Folly of Attacking Kamala Harris from the Left

rred in the 2020 Presidential primaries and specifically during a debate with Tulsi and Kamala. In 2020, when Tulsi Gabbard launched her now-infamous attack on Kamala during the Democratic primaries, she struck at a moment when the winds of political sentiment were shifting dramatically. During the era of George Floyd riots and overzealous outrage over police brutality and the disproportionate incarceration of black men Gabbard's attack focused on Harris's record as a prosecutor. Tulsi accused Harris of contributing to the mass incarceration problem and of being harsh on non-violent offenders, particularly when it came to marijuana convictions. This line of attack resonated with a left-leaning base that had grown increasingly skeptical of the criminal justice system, particularly in the wake of high-profile incidents of police brutality and systemic inequality.

But what worked for Gabbard in 2020 is not only irrelevant today but downright foolish for any Republican to attempt, especially someone like Donald Trump. It is not 2020 anymore, and the political landscape has shifted significantly. Crime has returned to the forefront of voters' minds, with rising concerns about public safety taking precedence over the ideological purity tests that defined the left's discourse during the previous election cycle. Trump himself, during his presidency, attempted to exploit these concerns, positioning himself as the defender of "Law & Order" (or at least tweeting those words everyday while doing little else) in contrast to what he portrayed as the chaos and lawlessness of Democrat run cities. For Trump, or any Republican, to now mimic Gabbard's attacks from the left on Harris would be an exercise in political self sabotage and would be ceding even more ground to the left of what were once Republican principles.

Tulsi's Topsy Turvy Talk

Consider the absurdity of the proposition. Tuls’s attack was rooted in the left's disdain for "tough-on-crime" policies a stance that was at least in vogue during the 2020 Democratic primaries. Kamala, in response, attempted to distance herself from her prosecutorial past, knowing that it was a liability among the progressive wing of her party whose nomination she was seeking. She downplayed her role in law enforcement because, at the time, "being a cop" was seen as a liability rather than an asset within Democratic circles. In fact my major criticism of Harris has always been her duplicitous nature in doing one thing when in power and then apologizing for the actual successes she had in law enforcement in order to placate a mob of radicals with no understanding of the balance that needs to be made to protect society.

In 2024 Harris no longer has to try to win over the left base, she has the nomination and they are unified against Donald Trump. Instead she has to win over the center and the center right, In the current climate, with crime being a top concern for many voters, the pendulum has swung back. Many who once advocated for more lenient policies have reconsidered their positions, recognizing that public safety is a non-negotiable priority for any functioning society. Even Democrats who once flirted with the idea of defunding the police have had to walk back those statements, acknowledging the political reality that voters want order, not chaos. Trump or at least his advisors have an inkling of an understanding of this which is why they have spent so long trying to focus on "migrant crime" and to criticize the administration on crime rates in general. Attacking Harris on tough on crime policies opens the door for him and the Republican party to be incidentally conflated with the idea of being weak on crime, especially when the man who is supposed to be at the helm has his own problems with the law.