The first presidential debate between Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump was a disaster, which led many Democratic voters, including myself, to call for a different and younger candidate. Hopefully, it would be a candidate who brought a fresh perspective to the issues at hand, such as the Palestinian genocide, trans rights and inflation.
When it was announced that President Biden dropped out of the race and Vice President Kamala Harris was going to take his place, I was initially a bit concerned. But I quickly became excited at the prospect of what would essentially be a clean slate.
She didn’t seem to have many positions and could adopt some of the things voters were looking for in a candidate. I was very pleased with her vice presidential pick, Tim Walz, as he had an incredible resume. He was successful in making sure children in his state had full bellies at schools and is a fierce advocate for reproductive rights.
On Tuesday night, Harris performed well on the debate stage, maintaining a steady composure and continuing to advocate for the average American. Granted, there were a few questions she fumbled, but it was a success overall.
However, my excitement for Harris comes with some grievances. Looking through her policy positions, I saw a great number of similarities with Biden’s positions from 2020, with a few very minor differences. When voters asked for a different candidate, I was under the impression that Harris was going to separate herself from the president. It seems that Democrats want to copy and paste policy positions and act upon old ways of campaigning, learning almost nothing about why President Biden won in the first place.
Don’t get me wrong, most of her policies are fine. I’m still excited about her policies on eliminating the subminimum wage and eliminating price gouging, two very important issues at the moment.
My disappointment stems from the fact that she really doesn’t stand out from Biden, and voters are beginning to notice.
Her switch on the border is concerning and disappointing. Her lack of energy when it comes to Palestine is infuriating. She no longer wants to ban fracking, most likely in order to secure votes in Pennsylvania. It seems to me that her key to the White House isn’t her policies, but the energy that Tim Walz brings to the ticket.
She cannot solely rely on Walz.
The people need a reason to vote for Kamala Harris, not Joe Biden 2.0. She needs to either separate herself from President Biden, securing more votes from the left, or pray she convinces enough Republicans not to vote for Donald Trump.
Considering some of her answers during the debate, it seems she’s aiming for the latter.
