The Kamala Conundrum.

INTERNATIONAL / POLITICS

When is a progressive candidate no-longer considered progressive?

Kamala Harris should represent a sense of normalcy. Her credentials are immaculate. She served as a DA, Attorney General and Senator for California before becoming Vice President.

In comparison to Republican Donald Trump, a convicted felon and conman marred in further legal drama, Harris is an entirely reasonable candidate for election.

For the majority of New Zealanders, this is a no-brainer. An NZ Herald poll showed that 81% backed Harris over Trump.

But while the 59-year-old is no stranger to breaking the glass ceiling, becoming the first Asian-American Presidential nominee and Vice President, she is yet to convince many progressive voters. Despite her lead across popular vote polls, Trump has narrowed or surpassed Harris’s lead in several swing states. 

Polymarket now lists his election odds at 54%.

Two University of Canterbury students of American heritage shared their views on the Kamala conundrum.

Riley Neupauer, a Bachelor of Arts student hailing from New Jersey, offers a brutal assessment of Harris.

“There is nothing progressive about Kamala, and her identity as a black woman highlights the insidious façade of representative politics.”

Harris was initially viewed as a progressive candidate, through her passionate defence of women’s freedoms, justice and environmental reforms. As recently as 2019, Harris openly advocated for a ban on the extraction of natural gas via fracking. This practice releases greenhouse gases and other pollutants into the environment. But she has now shifted in support of fracking, aligning with the centre-right perspectives that lack environmentalist input. Harris’s flip-flop contrasts with her progressive reputation. It is these policy positions that make Neupauer question her progressiveness.

“The fact that many Americans genuinely believe she resembles anything close to a leftist - or a communist, if you ask Republicans - is a testament to the disturbing success of McCarthyism.”

UC student Jackson Duguid shares similar concerns. The Washington native, a first-time voter, displayed dismay at the lack of progressive options between the two candidates.

“I’m mainly annoyed that we only have two options, one who’s right wing and one who’s righter wing.”

Harris remains notably progressive on certain policy positions. She is an outspoken advocate for ratifying Roe v Wade in a contentious abortion debate. She spoke passionately on the topic as part of the Call Her Daddy podcast.

“You don’t have to abandon your faith or deeply held beliefs to agree that the government or Donald Trump shouldn’t be telling women what to do with their bodies.”

It is these issues, and the injustice of sexual violence against women, that drew Harris to the law and eventually public office.  But it is Harris’s ties to the Israeli assault on Gaza that troubles Neupauer and Duguid.

“Her undying support of Israel makes us dislike her as a candidate. We cannot support that.”

On CBS 60 Minutes, Harris committed to ensuring a ceasefire in Gaza. But at the Democratic National Convention, her speech reinforced support for Israel.

“Let me be clear, I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself”

Many, Neupauer and Duguid included, view this as a commitment to supporting Israel’s war. The IDF’s offensive has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, including many women and children. Around 1,200 Israelis were killed by Hamas during the October 7th attacks, while a further 1,200 have died since. Gaza continues to divide American politics.

Trump frames himself as a protector of Israel, lambasting Pro-Palestinian protestors as “Raging Lunatics.” However, he has equalled goaded his supporters as they labelled Biden “Genocide Joe.”  For him, it is simply a means to political gain.

Green Party nominee Jill Stein is an outspoken advocate for Palestinians. She has labelled a vote for Harris or Trump as a vote for genocide. But her party consistently fails to establish the grass-roots movements that propel Green parties globally. They hold only 149 of 500,000 elected positions nationally. Stein faced criticism from Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for this very reason.

“All you do is show up once every four years to speak to people who are justifiably pissed off, but you’re just showing up once every four years to do that, you’re not serious”

While Harris is not entitled to a progressive vote, many Americans recognise that Stein has no chance of electoral success. Neupauer and Duguid are resigned to this fact but will not vote for Harris in the election.

“We do recognize the value of strategic voting. However, being from true-blue New Jersey (and Washington), where our votes don’t matter, we will be voting Independent.”

If voting in a swing state, they would be supporting what progressives view as the lesser of two evils. The electoral college ensures their views will not be represented. But sometimes, democracy calls for a deeply flawed candidate over a fundamentally broken one.

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Tarek Patchett