‘Uncommitted’ Nightmare Haunts Harris as CNN Interview Further Fractures Democrat BaseNick Gilbertson 30 Aug 2024
Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris is facing a severe crisis with the pro-Palestinian wing of her party after she doubled down on her and President Joe Biden’s Israel policies in her CNN interview Thursday.
CNN’s Dana Bash pressed Harris on arms policy toward Israel on Thursday night. After Harris initially skirted a direct question about potentially withholding “some” arms to Israel, as the pro-Palestinian Uncommitted movement has been demanding for seven months, Bash did not let her off the hook. Following up on the same question, she drew a “No” from Harris when she asked if there would be any “change in policy in terms of arms and so forth” towards Israel, igniting a frenzy of condemnation from prominent pro-Palestinian figures, including Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).
The response and the fallout underscore and worsen a massive problem for Harris, who has a fractured base heading into the home stretch of the election. These voters, more than half a million of whom protested the Biden-Harris administration with “uncommitted” votes in the Democratic primary, have threatened and continue to threaten to stay home in November, barring a radical change in policy or a cease-fire. The movement includes Arab Americans, Muslims, young voters, and far-left progressives.
Making the problem so severe for Harris is that the movement began in the ever-critical swing state of Michigan and spread to other key swing states like Wisconsin, places where the presidency is expected to be decided by a slim margin. Harris is on shaky ground, considering she still has not brought home her base at a point in the cycle where presidential candidates typically are focused on courting moderates.
Another aspect to contemplate is that if Harris does change course on this position, she runs the risk of looking that much more insincere to undecided voters on crucial issues. She has already waffled on a number of critical policy positions, including fracking, and polling shows the public views former President Donald Trump as the more genuine candidate by a wide margin. Regardless, the issue has festered so long that winning these voters back with words alone appears impossible. At this point, she needs a concrete stoppage in arms and a ceasefire, which are not on the horizon.
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https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2024/08/30/uncommitted-nightmare-haunts-harris-as-cnn-interview-further-fractures-democrat-base/
