Hannah Meredith Gardner | 08 October 2024
Until fairly recently, it was difficult to find presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ campaign policies. For some time, there was no policy and issues section on her website, and the Democratic Party Platform still refers to Biden in its materials. The best way that US voters could determine Harris’ vision of the USA was through looking into her statements made in her Democratic National Convention Speech, and her August 29th interview with CNN. However, ahead of the September 10th debate, her campaign finally added an “Issues” section and it is clear that it aims to not only inform voter’s about her platform, but also to use the negative public reaction to Project 2025 against her Republican counterpart. This piece will look into the stated policy strategy for Harris’ campaign, and the how use of Project 2025’s infamy has benefits and drawbacks.
The policy section of Harris’ website is extensive and detailed in comparison to Trump’s “Project 2025 Agenda” section. While the policy section of Trump’s website lists 20 objectives with every letter capitalized, Harris’ policy page consists of 19 points which consist of a drop down section with 1-2 paragraphs of text explaining the campaign’s policy plan for that specific issue. Each category ends with a Project 2025 comparison section. The sections follow 4 major categories: economy, civil and reproductive rights, security, and international policy.
The economic section is by far the largest of the categories with 10 of the 19 points being dedicated to it. This section is also the one with the most concrete policy proposals. This makes sense as the economic state of the US is a top priority for many voters who are struggling to make ends meet with the rising cost of living combining with stagnant wages. For context; the national minimum wage in the US hasn’t been raised since 2009, which set the minimum federal hourly wage at $7.25. While many states have higher minimum wages, the national minimum wage hasn’t been able to keep up with the high and increasing cost of living in most communities in the US. Harris’s campaign discusses the reintroduction of two tax credits that are intended to act as tax cuts for middle class families. The campaign especially highlights Harris’s “Opportunity Economy agenda” that intends to boost small business growth, extend tax benefits for new parents and first time home owners, along with anti-price gouging measures and other policy ideas.
The second cateogory is the shortest of the four and is focused on reproductive rights and civil rights protection. Regarding reproductive rights, Harris has firmly aligned herself with the Democratic Party’s support for abortion access. The campaign cites her for having “driven the Administration’s strategy to protect reproductive freedom” and notes running mate Tim Walz’s state of Minnesota becoming “the first state to pass a law protecting a woman’s right to choose following the overturn of Roe”. The campaign also promises to reject any national abortion bans and sign any legistation to restore the national standards that were dissolved when Roe was overturned. The civil rights section discusses securing 2 billion dollars in funding for the Office of Civil Rights and promises to sign the Equality Act into law when Harris is president.
The third category primarily regards internal policy and security. This category is the second largest, with 4 of the 19 points. These points are gun violence and crime, border control and migration policy, the US’s opioid crisis, and judicial and presidential codes of ethics. Harris’ campaign discusses how the administration increased funding for police, which is controversial for many, and proposals for increased gun legislation. The campaign also points to increased border control while acknowledging “our immigration system is broken and needs comprehensive reform”.
The final category is mainly geared towards international policy, which has been a sticking point for many in the US. The campaign pointed towards America’s military and the ongoing pressures between the US and China, Russia, North Korea and Iran. The campaign also reiterated the campaign’s position of Israel while endorsing a two state solution and an end to the “war in Gaza”. This category on the page may be the most controversial and in many ways most right leaning policies of the campaign, which may be part of why it was at the bottom of the page.
Each category has an end section that compares the Harris policies listed above with Project 2025, which is labeled as “ Trump’s Project 2025 Agenda”. This strategy has its advantages as Project 2025 is becoming increasingly known and unpopular with the American public, but it is also a risk for the campaign. Project 2025 is not technically Trump’s official agenda, it is a policy brief written by The Heritage Foundation and is intended for any Republican candidate. While this may seem like a small detail, it is one that allows the Trump campaign to deny knowledge of the plans, even if those denials seem to be in bad faith. It is not that Project 2025 isn’t worth knowing about but it is simply that attaching it solely to Trump could be described as a chink in the campaign’s armor that should not be ignored; even if the policies of Project 2025 align with Trump’s official policies in Agenda 47.
While the Issue’s section of the Harris campaign website provides valuable insight into what voter’s can expect from Harris and Walz if elected, it came incredibly late in the US election cycle. As expansive and detailed as the website feels: many in the US still don’t feel like they know Harris’ policy as well as they know Trump’s and many progressives and leftists have been left disappointed in the apparent catering to the right and the ever persistent desire to draw “moderates” to the party. The November 5th election will be unbelievably close and it will be interesting to see if Harris’ “New Way Forward” will help her current popularity or draw away from any momentum she gained after the DNC.
Keywords: #UnitedStates #Election #PresidentalElection2024
Hannah Meredith Gardner is a Lund University master’s student in the Human Rights Studies program. Her focuses are on the intersections of human rights, food, the arts, and colonialism. She is originally from the United States and did her undergraduate degree in Political Science at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.
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