Is Harris Pandering Towards Conservatives?
In a recent interview Kamala Harris took part in, she was pressed about gender-affirming care for transgender Americans. This is coming off Trump's campaign being especially anti transgender rights, and many are wondering how Harris feels on the issue. It's also important for young millennial and generation Z voters identify with Harris more, but she won't give a specific and clear answer to the questions asked on gender-affirming care. A big criticism on Harris has been her lack of clear policy, but she is adamant on being anti-Trump rather than her own candidate.
In an article by USA Today, Harris says that "we should follow the law" and then points fingers at Trump and proceeds to say she will not put herself in the position of doctors to make the decision of whatever is medically necessary.
These quotes emphasize that Harris is not as liberal thinking as many younger voters would like her to be, and that she has uncertain policies on the rights many voters are voting for her for. This could be strategic to not upset conservatives that don't want to vote for Donald Trump, however, she is alienating her left-wing queer voters by having unclear policies. "Following the law" per state laws would be denying access to hundreds of thousands of Americans of gender-affirming care that can keep queer Americans happier and healthier. The risk of hurting thousands of Americans by not supporting and advocating for their care to prioritize keeping conservative voters happy is definite pandering, and hopefully it works in her favor. This is a way to alienate and get rid of her strong voter base while not entirely guaranteeing conservative voters either.
References
Kochi, S, Kuchar, S. (2024) "Harris pressed on transgender rights, potentially pardoning Trump: 5 key moments from NBC interview" USA Today https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/10/23/five-takeaways-from-harris-interview/75807424007/
Great blog post CJ! I really like how you try to remain neutral about this situation and are trying to just show how pandering is taking place. I could see how Kamala not giving straight answers on a lot of the questions is a tactic so that she does not lose undecided or republican voters. I believe it is also true that many are voting for her simply because they do not like Trump, so she does not want to lose those republican supporters. I think because we are studying Political Science and taking a class such as this media one, we are fortunate that we get to realize the pandering that is taking place. I wish more people will do research instead of blindly listening to the media, so we could have more well-informed citizens. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes that people should have knowledge about! After watching the video you added, I can definitely see the times in which Kamala is pandering or tip-toeing around the questions. However much of a tactic this is, the American people need to be careful when deciding which candidate actually has clear policies. If the candidate cannot give the people a precise answer now, then what makes anyone think they can once they are in office?
ReplyDeleteHey CJ this is a great post I really liked how you provided background information on previous things that Harris had said and provided your own analysis based on that article. I defiantly think that she has been very unclear and has a tendency to dodge questions. I think this is very common from politicians to do, but I would argue hers has gained special attention. While I do agree with your point that she has been pandering to conservatives I would also argue that that is in the job description of politicians to do in order to have the best shot at winning an election. I think the real question here is if she is doing enough by just "not being Trump" to be elected or if she will have to change her strategy with it getting into crunch time.
ReplyDelete