Kamala Harris and the Return of ‘Tough on Crime’
New York TimesAUG 2024
The Spin
Republican narrative
After watching her lenient treatment of murderers as a state prosecutor, as well as her sympathetic attitudes towards criminals during the 2020 protests, it's laughable to claim Harris is tough on crime. Trump, in contrast, will give violent criminals what they deserve. Democrat-run cities are plagued by crime as a result of Harris's preferred policies. Since Democrats won't protect their constituents, it's on Trump to step in and clean up these crime zones once and for all.
Democratic narrative
Despite the GOP's best attempts to undermine her, Harris's nuanced approach to criminal justice stems from years of experience dealing with convicted felons like Trump. She believes in keeping violent criminals who don't want to be rehabilitated behind bars, but her career has also proven that rehabilitation policies can be extremely successful. This philosophy has provided results in California and during the Biden admin.
Progressive narrative
While Harris represents America’s marginalized communities well, she needs to be more careful when distinguishing herself from Trump. Instead of pushing a "prosecutor versus felon" agenda — a phrase historically aimed at jailing people of color — it would be wiser to highlight Trump’s specific history of criminal activity, from abusing women to illegal business practices. Progressive voters will likely hesitate to support a candidate who brags about being a tougher cop than her Republican opponent.
Conservative narrative
The only way to stop the violent crime epidemic in American cities is to focus on who's committing it. In Republican- and Democrat-run states, violent crime is committed by, and mostly victimizes, majority Black urban communities. A primary reason for this is that 80% of Black children are raised without a dad in the home, leaving them more likely to fall into criminal lifestyles. The politicians running these cities must stop worrying about being labeled racist and start finding solutions to this underlying problem.