Whatever Harris did as a prosecutor seems reasonable given both the context of the time she during which was a prosecutor, and her overall political alignment. I would rather have a progressive presidential candidate like Bernie (too late), or AOC (maybe 2028 or later). But choosing Harris means that the overall āliberalā agenda stays on the table
Some highlights from the article
Harris, as part of her previous presidential campaign, also released a criminal justice reform plan that seeks to scale back incarceration, end the death penalty and solitary confinement, ban private prisons, and get rid of cash bail. Biden also backs a fairly aggressive criminal justice reform plan, despite his own mixed record on criminal justice issues.
A close examination of Harrisās record shows itās filled with contradictions. She pushed for programs that helped people find jobs instead of putting them in prison, but also fought to keep people in prison even after they were proved innocent. She refused to pursue the death penalty against a man who killed a police officer, but also defended Californiaās death penalty system in court. She implemented training programs to address police officersā racial biases, but also resisted calls to get her office to investigate certain police shootings.
But what seem like contradictions may reflect a balancing act. Harrisās parents worked on civil rights causes, and she came from a background well aware of the excesses of the criminal justice system ā but in office, she played the role of a prosecutor and Californiaās lawyer. She started in an era when ātough on crimeā politics were popular across party lines ā but she rose to national prominence as criminal justice reform started to take off nationally. She had an eye on higher political office as support for criminal justice reform became de rigueur for Democrats ā but she still had to work as Californiaās top law enforcement official.
Harris also pushed for more systemic reforms. Her most successful program as district attorney, āBack on Track,ā allowed first-time drug offenders, including drug dealers, to get a high school diploma and a job instead of prison time. Adams, Harrisās previous spokesperson, noted that the program started in 2005, āwhen most prosecutors were using a ātough on crimeā approach.ā
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Soā¦ Ralph Nader actually went into this a little bit. He was disgusted with the left for agreeing to vote ahead of time for Biden without even trying to form any kind of a pressure bloc to demand concessions in terms of better humanity in Gaza. I feel you.
I canāt possibly see what you can demand from Harris though, materially. Sheās not in charge. Her priorities, until January 6th, are Bidenās priorities. And anything you do to try to pressure her for announcing better policies on Israel is flirting with fucking it up and Trump getting in and just giving Israel approval to go in and kill the other 90% of the Palestinians and open beachfront property and no āceasefireā or āweapons pauseā or any of Bidenās milquetoast resistance on the table at all.
Idk. Itās not even certain that she can win. Weakening her even more in service of the Palestinians I think has an excellent chance of killing a whole bunch more Palestinians.