Three months out from the presidential election, Democratic candidate Joe Biden chose California Senator Kamala Harris as his pick for Vice President. Considering their clash during the Democratic primary, their newfound unity sets a new tone between the two politicians. With a long track record in politics, both Democrats have been praised and criticized for their stances and how well they complement one another. But, so far, surveys such as the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll indicate that voters are happy with Harris’ addition to the Democratic ticket with a 39% of Americans with a positive rating and 35% with a negative rating.
Why Kamala Harris?
Before making his pick, Biden spent much of his campaign deciding between various potential running mates. Publicly promising that he would choose a female Vice President, many wonder what other criteria the Democratic candidate used to put Harris on the ticket.
The pick clearly shows that Biden is appealing to more left-leaning, radical democrats, as Kamala Harris was ranked as the most liberal senator in 2019. Additionally, sensing a lack of support from black voters and the unrest surrounding people’s resistance to perceived racial injustice, Biden likely chose Harris to energize and mobilize voters. Harris is the first black woman and the first Asian American to be included on the ticket of a major party. Biden’s campaign has not been idle in touting the historic milestones.
Compared to other options for Vice President, Kamala was, above all else, safe. Her main competition, Susan Rice, was a U.N. Ambassador. While picking Rice would have signaled Biden’s intention to strengthen his stance on foreign policy given her credentials, she had never run for elected office. In contrast, Harris has been elected in California as both attorney general and Senator. In addition, she had already been vetted in her presidential campaign and had proven herself to be formidable in the eye of the public. As polls demonstrated a lead against Trump, Biden had no reason to shake things up by choosing a running mate inexperienced in the electoral process.
Policy
Kamala Harris’ foreign policy preferences generally fall in line with Biden’s. Despite growing solidarity with Palestinians among the Democratic Party, both Biden and his running mate believe in aligning America’s interest with Israel. Outside the scope of the Middle East, the Democrats take a decidedly anti-Trump stance in advocating for decreased negotiations with North Korea and Russia. However, while much of Harris’ positions on foreign policy remain unspoken, Biden expands his goals to include narrow uses of force for counterterrorism objectives. He has also stated his reluctance towards unilateral action to effect change in foreign governments.
Both Biden and Kamala are in favor of affirmative action. As attorney general of California, Harris expressed her support for affirmative action during the Supreme Court case of Fisher v. University of Texas. The plaintiff sought to challenge affirmative action in the race-based admissions policies of the university. Despite California’s banning of affirmative action, Harris decided to defy voters in her state by filing legal papers in the Supreme Court case that supported race-based admissions criteria. In addition, she filed papers in 2013 that advocated for affirmative action at the University of Michigan. Biden also supports affirmative action as he openly used gender as a primary factor in choosing Harris. In addition, he promised to appoint the first female, black Supreme Court justice. Harris’ and Biden’s stance on affirmative action carries with it an unavoidable irony as the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Fisher v. University of Texas that the gender and race-based conditions that Biden promises to follow in his Supreme Court appointment are unconstitutional.
Watching the Democratic debate, it would seem that Biden and Harris disagree over gun control legislation. However, further investigation indicates that contention about gun legislation revolves around how to enact legislation, not the substance of regulations. Both Democrats support dramatically expanding background checks for potential gun owners. In addition, they both hope to ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines. Biden and Harris diverge in the extent to which they would impose gun regulations given an uncooperative Congress. During her presidential campaign, Harris has stated that she would give Congress 100 days to pass gun control reform. If Congress refused, she promised to override their complacency with executive action. Biden retorted that such an act from the executive branch would be unconstitutional.
Both Democrats promise to prioritize action to address climate change. During the presidential campaign, Biden and Harris’ plans differed significantly in their costs. Biden proposed a $2 trillion plan while Harris advocated for a large-scale $10 trillion plan. Despite the difference in scope and cost, both remain committed to addressing environmental concerns.
Trade represents an area of disagreement between Biden and Harris. Initially, Kamala vocalized her support for free-trade policies. However, in practice, she has a protectionist record. She voted against the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a free-trade agreement between Mexico, Canada, and the US. She also stated that she would not have voted for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), an agreement that preceded the USMCA. In contrast, Biden voted in favor of NAFTA and has declared his support for the USMCA. Thus, Biden and Harris stand opposed on the topic of free trade.
They are also divided on how to approach health care reform. Harris has demonstrated her support for a single-payer health care system in which universal health care would be financed by a public system. She has signed on to Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All Act and raised her hand during the Democratic debate when asked who would abolish employer-provided insurance in favor of a government-provided plan. She later attempted to walk back her position and propose a plan that would simply make Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans available to all. Biden does not want Medicare for All. In contrast to Harris’ fluctuating position on reform, Biden would simply like to expand health care access and choice by protecting the Affordable Care Act, health care reform put in place by the Obama administration. Despite their differences in policies, both Biden and Harris are committed to working towards universal access to health care.
In addition to areas of contention, Biden and Harris agree on many policy preferences. Both argue for stronger legislative protections for LGBT people. They are also both in favor of rolling back Trump’s immigration policies, reforming but not abolishing Immigration and Customs Services (ICE), and protecting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Harris and Biden oppose the death penalty. Finally, both advocate for reversing the tax rates imposed by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 which lowered the top marginal individual income tax bracket to 37%.
Moving Forward
The differences between Biden and Harris’ policy preferences demonstrate that a Biden administration would be mostly united on Democratic approaches to policy. However, their disagreements highlight the fact that Harris holds more radical liberal views than any other democrat, surprisingly more than Bernie Sanders. That is, her positions are more left-leaning and she is far more willing to bypass constitutional regulations or democratic processes to further her agenda.
As the rift between moderate Democrats and radical leftists grows, Biden hopes to unify his base. Kamala provides a running mate choice that illustrates support for far left policies without having to compromise on his own moderate platform. However, if a Biden administration becomes a reality, we will see whether Harris affects policy in practice.
