Harris risks losing the progressive left by courting unhappy Republicans
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Much to Donald Trump’s displeasure, Kamala Harris was interviewed by Fox News on Wednesday. Trump said the channel had “lost its way” and gone “soft” on the Democrats by giving them air time and exposure.
However, the fact that the interview took place was less about the editorial policies of Fox News and more about Harris, who is trying to capitalize on the discontent with Trump among a certain segment of Republican voters by courting them. In doing so, however, might she lose the support of the progressive left? Maybe, but Harris has probably made some delicate calculations in reaching her strategy decisions.
The 2020 election was all about Trump. People went to the polls either to keep him in the White House or vote him out. Few went with the specific aim of voting in or keeping out Joe Biden.
Harris was chosen by the Democratic establishment as their candidate for president this time because they no longer believed Biden could beat Trump at the polls. This was especially true after the disastrous televised debate in which Biden demonstrated to the world he is diminished.
In many ways, the 2024 election is no different from the 2020 vote. Once again, it is mainly about Trump. Harris knows the left will vote to keep him out, whoever is standing against him. Therefore, she is not too worried about those voters. Whatever she might do or say during campaigning, to them she will at worst be the lesser of two evils. Even if they don’t like her personally, they will still vote for her to avoid a Trump victory. Hence, she is focusing on courting the disaffected right and those undecided voters, who might worry she is too far to the left.
This is why she was trying to appeal to viewers of Fox News. During her interview, she made it clear that her presidency would be different from Biden’s and that she represents a new generation of Democratic leadership. Hence her strategy is to maximize the number of voters she can persuade to shift from right to left, rather than worrying too much about the more progressive wing of her own party.
It is important to recognize the nuances that exist within the Democratic Party, which is ideologically split between its traditional wing and a more progressive one. The traditionalists are the old-school members of the party, as represented by the likes of Biden and Nancy Pelosi.
The progressives are represented by figures such as Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who have a more revisionist view of American politics and policies, as evidenced by their views on the Middle East and their opposition to Washington’s unconditional support for Israel.
Trump, with his combative attitude, is an awful figure for the Democrats. But some traditional Republicans are wary of him, too, fearing he has hijacked their Grand Old Party and turned it into the “Trump Party.” Therefore, they view Harris as the lesser evil.
Politics is all about taking risks, and come Nov. 5 we will know whether she made the right choices.
Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib
These are the right-leaning voters she is trying to court. This is why she campaigned last week in Pennsylvania, a crucial battleground state, alongside about 100 Republican former lawmakers who are backing her over Trump. This is why she is changing her liberal position on some major issues and adopting a more right-leaning position.
During her Fox News interview, Harris indicated that she no longer supports decriminalization of illegal border crossings, which she did in 2019. She also said she will choose a Republican to serve in her Cabinet. She is trying to present herself as a leader who can unite Americans, in direct contrast to Trump.
She said that “people are ready to turn the page on the divisiveness and the type of rhetoric that comes from Donald Trump,” and that she invites ideas from Republicans who support her. It is, therefore, very clear that she is courting the right; or more precisely, the center-right.
The election system in the US is majoritarian: winner takes all. Whoever wins the most votes in a state gains all of that state’s Electoral College votes, and whoever gets the most Electoral College votes becomes president.
A majority of people in most states traditionally align with either the Democrats or Republicans. California, for example, is a blue (Democrat) state whereas Texas is a red (Republican) state. The states that make the difference in a presidential election, therefore, are the “purple” states, also called swing states, in which party loyalties can shift from one election to another: most notably Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. And the voters that make the biggest difference within those states are those who are not ideologically committed to either party.
Harris, unlike Biden who is an old-school Democrat, has the reputation of being more of a progressive. But the word “progressive” is a turn-off to many Americans, who associate it with “woke” culture or even communism. This is why she is trying to reshape her image and distance herself from the progressive label. However, she should not forget that progressives are her base and if she disappoints them they might not go to the polls — which would effectively mean they were giving their vote to Trump.
In an election race that is neck-and-neck, Harris needs to get across a message that appeals to the largest possible number of Americans. But attempting to widen her appeal in this way is a gamble. Those on the right she hopes to persuade might not believe her or consider her a fake who changes her views just to win elections, compared with Trump who, no matter how divisive his message has been, is certainly consistent.
At the same time, Harris risks disappointing her base, who might abandon her if she strays too far from their core values. It is a tough call to make because any significant political shift is a gamble in which a wrong move could alienate her base and fail to convince those on the right she is courting.
Then again, politics is all about taking risks, and come Nov. 5 we will know whether she made the right choices or not.
• Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib is a specialist in US-Arab relations with a focus on lobbying. She is co-founder of the Research Center for Cooperation and Peace Building, a Lebanese nongovernmental organization focused on Track II.
