Harris is crafting a 'tough-on-crime' image for her presidential campaign

The ascent of Vice President Kamala Harris as the presumptive Democratic nominee has reinvigorated the Democrats’ sagging campaign for the White House. But while Harris, a very youthful-looking 59-year-old, brings a new energy to the ticket, she also has some minuses — among them, being perceived as markedly further to the left than President Joe Biden, the ultimate centrist.

Can she succeed in gaining the support of those centrist Democrats, independents, and Republicans who oppose Donald Trump and are prepared to vote for a moderate Democrat?

Harris’ critics point to evidence of her supposed radicalism: strong support in the summer of 2020 not only for the racial justice protests that followed the murder of George Floyd, but for a bail fund for people arrested in those protests; opposition to fossil-fuel-based energy sources; an embrace of what many regard as progressive excess on transgender issues, including transition-related services for minors; her expression of empathy for anti-Israel protesters.

It should be noted that Harris’ progressive persona is, in many ways, an expedient self-reinvention. Her professional background is that of a tough-on-crime San Francisco district attorney who boosted convictions for drug trafficking, pushed for the prosecution of parents of habitually truant schoolchildren, and supported notifying federal authorities of criminal cases involving people living in the country illegally in spite of San Francisco’s sanctuary laws.

When Harris launched her presidential bid in 2019, progressive sentiment was surging, and "Kamala is a cop" became a line of attack. To counteract this image, Harris leaned hard — perhaps a little too hard — into a progressive identity. During the 2020 protests, then-Sen. Harris penned an article which not only rightly advocated police reform, but suggested that anyone who did not actively speak up against racism was "complicit." She also urged people to donate to a bail fund for protesters at a moment when many protests were exploding into riots.

At times, Harris’ progressive persona led her into unfortunate situations. In 2021, the vice president’s office had to do damage control after she told a college student who accused Israel of "ethnic genocide" that it was important for her voice and her "truth" to be heard. Harris, who is generally pro-Israel, had to clarify that she was not expressing agreement. But she should have known that "your truth" sends the wrong signal — and is the sort of lingo most people outside the progressive movement find obnoxious.

Harris is now crafting a new image for her presidential campaign. So far, the signs are encouraging for those who want to see her return to her more centrist roots. She has reclaimed her identity as a "cop," positioning herself as the tough prosecutor going after a crooked and lawless opponent. While she has distanced herself from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, she has strongly condemned the anti-Netanyahu protesters who chanted anti-Jewish and pro-Hamas slogans and burned American flags in Washington, D.C., this week.

Harris would also do well to move toward the center on energy for instance, to support hydraulic fracturing with appropriate environmental safeguards and on some social issues including medical transition for gender-dysphoric minors, increasingly questioned by some scientific authorities. With an image as a patriotic liberal, and with a moderate running mate, she can capture the center alienated by Trump’s right-wing populism. 

Opinions expressed by Cathy Young, a writer for The Bulwark, are her own.

By Cathy Young

Cathy Young is a writer for The Bulwark.