Kama Chameleon

Harris's shifting stances on some key issues

Shifting positions is a long tradition in American politics. There aren’t many candidates or elected officials who haven’t “evolved.” There’s nothing inherently wrong with changing one’s mind and conveying that to voters. In fact, it could be considered a virtue if politicians change their minds based on facts, research, and listening to their constituents.

On the other hand, it could be considered a vice if politicial figures are blowing with the wind for no other reason than to curry the right votes. There’s no guarantee they wouldn’t flip right back if it were politically expedient.

With Kamala Harris only recently entering the stage as a presidential candidate, and a limited time to learn about her, it’s worth summarizing some of her old and new stances on key issues.

Read on for details.

Border Security

In 2020 when Harris ran for president, she indicated she would loosen border restrictions, and promised to close down illegal immigrant detention centers. She has also said she would decriminalize illegal immigration.

As Biden’s border czar overseeing border security, which morphed into a task to address “root causes” as to why Central American citizens are leaving their countries for the US, Harris took tougher public stances on border security, at times.

She supported a proposed law that would have included adding to the border wall and provided more Border Patrol agents. The law didn’t pass, with opponents saying it would have continued to escalate spending on the border while incentivizing illegal crossings and legitimizing those in the US illegally.

Originally, Harris claimed the porous southern border was secure, even as millions of people illegally flooded in. She has since altered the rhetoric to say that better security is necessary but that Trump and Republicans have prevented it from being beefed up.

Health Care

Harris supported “Medicare for All,” a controversial proposal to vastly expand taxpayer-funded health insurance. She also supported eliminating private health insurance, entirely, opting for a Socialist-style model.

Specifically, when she ran for president in 2020, Harris backed a plan to move toward government health insurance, a “single-payer” model, over a ten year period. She said that if the government provided all health insurance, it would eliminate unwanted delays and the necessity of bureaucratic approvals. Most experts say it would do the opposite, and have pointed to inordinate red tape, delays, and bureaucracy in comparative models, as well as rising total costs.

Now, Harris says that she would not push for a so-called “single-payer system.”

Death Penalty

Harris once fought against the death penalty and vowed to never seek it as a prosecutor.

But later, when in a close race for California attorney general, Harris changed her stance and said she would enforce the death penalty, and did so.

Bail

Harris once critized judges for setting bail too low. But when she was elected to the senate, she proposed eliminating cash bail.

Fracking

When Harris ran for president in 2020, she advocated for banning fracking.

Now, she says she does not want to ban it.

Marijuana

Harris once enforced marijuana laws and opposed legalizing recreational marijuana use.

When she ran for president in 2020, she changed her mind and joked about having smoked marijuana herself.

Gun Control

Harris once supported the controversial idea of gun confiscation of Americans through mandatory buy-back programs.

But now, Harris has reportedly pulled back from that position and says she advocates less radical gun control measures.

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