MALIK: Harris' rightward shift should not be celebrated
In the past week, I read an article from Vox that claimed a loss in the upcoming presidential election for current Vice President Kamala Harris would lead to a shift toward the political Right of the Democratic Party.
In a way, I could understand the argument. If Harris' all-encompassing campaign can include current and former Republicans, along with young activists who care about issues like climate change and abortion, a loss could necessitate a move to the Right to gain voters.
The potential benefits and risks are clear with this all-encompassing campaign that claims to have room under the umbrella for everyone. The potential is a win for Harris and greater unification of the Democratic Party amid constant political polarization.
While potential is great, the risk will always hold the greater price and likelihood of becoming true. In real-time, we are seeing the risks come true with Harris' campaign and realizing that some people should not be under the same "umbrella."
To understand the Harris hype and potential with young voters, it is important to acknowledge the early actions of the campaign that facilitated the excitement. President Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s centrist second run had disillusioned voters, whereas Harris has many long-standing progressive policies.
Harris chose Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) as a running mate in comparison to other candidates like Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.), who could have aided her more in winning the election due to his connections to a swing state. This choice, to many, reflected a commitment to having a less staunchly pro-Israel running mate.
The point of divergence, in my opinion, became clear with the Democratic National Convention (DNC). While it started as another action to aid in creating the hype and engaging with young voters, with its party-like atmosphere, it ended with a stark contrast between who is given a platform in this new Democratic Party and who is not.
Despite the Uncommitted National Movement's constant campaigning, they were denied a platform on the stage. The DNC hosted billionaires, Republicans and former members of former President Donald J. Trump's administration. Still, it could not platform a Palestinian speaker for a 5-minute slot in an event with more than 100 speakers. This is the legacy of not only the DNC, but also the Harris campaign.
Harris has cozied up to former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and received an endorsement from former Vice President Dick Cheney. She has let go of her criticisms of fracking. She has stood in support of the wall at the border the Democrats were against just a few years ago. She has paraded herself as a proud gun owner in the party that usually focuses on gun control.
In a way, the Democrats have established themselves as being the party that hugs you while also hugging or being the person bombing your country, deporting your family and ruining the climate for future generations.
A political party must stand for something for people to believe in it. It has to give as much as it wants to receive, and if it cannot give, it must be able to communicate its goals. The Harris campaign currently fails to have goals that do not directly harm the same people it relies on to win. Michigan, an important swing state, has a large Arab-American population and many voted "uncommitted" for the Michigan Democratic primary due to the Israel-Hamas War.
Harris has not strategically unified the Democratic Party, and she is accelerating the cracks within and forcing people to look toward other options. If you are not going to help people or even if you plan on harming them, it is better to probably not parade that reality around.
Harris' campaign proves that a campaign focused on letting everyone in, almost to a fault, will inevitably alienate those who constitute the party and those who the party relies on as a core base.
Those alienated and relied on are left with a choice: to continue voting for a party that takes them for granted, be disillusioned and stop voting or join a different party that aligns more with their policies and does not pretend to care for them. With the election less than a week away, I think it will very soon become clear just how much the umbrella stretching has forced people out.
Sehar Malik is a junior in the School of Arts and Sciences majoring in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry and minoring in French. Malik’s column, “People Talking,” runs on alternate Tuesdays.
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