Behind all the early excitement over her campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris quietly is dialing back several progressive policy positions she’s held in recent years.
During the 2020 election cycle, Harris publicly supported bans on fracking, mandatory buy-back programs for assault weapons, and decriminalizing illegal border crossings. Now, her campaign says she’s changed her positions.
Harris wouldn’t be the first candidate to change their mind on major policy ideas. Former President Trump has had flip-flops of his own.
On abortion, for example, Trump described himself as “very pro-choice” in 1999, and as “pro-life” in 2011. More recently he’s touted his role in choosing Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade.
Even so, Republicans are diving into a trove of past quotes and video clips to accuse Harris of being dangerously progressive — or insincere — for shifting positions on various issues.
Harris campaign officials are casting her thinking as having evolved, as pressure builds for Harris to directly answer more policy questions herself.
A few days ago, Harris’ campaign released a statement saying the vice president “does not support a total ban on fracking” to drill for oil and gas. Video clips from 2019 of her telling CNN that “there’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking” have been circulating on social media.
A spokesperson said Harris wouldn’t push a mandatory buy-back program for assault rifles, Fox News reported Friday, though she endorsed the idea more than once in 2019, including during an appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
Harris also doesn’t plan to push for a single-payer health care system, despite earlier proposing “Medicare for All,” the Hill reported and a campaign official confirmed.
Harris does not support expanding the U.S. Supreme Court, a spokesperson told the Hill last week. In 2019, she didn’t rule out the idea. She has endorsed President Biden’s recently proposed reforms for the high court.
Read more at Axios.com
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