Harris Corrects Her "Michigan Misstep"
In Arizona, Kamala Harris responded differently to anti-genocide protesters, proving the backlash against her outburst in Michigan worked.
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On Friday, Kamala Harris held a campaign rally in Arizona. She was again confronted by protesters calling for an end to the genocide. Her response this time showed that the backlash against her poor handling of the same situation in Michigan was effective; that she learned from her misstep; and that, in the end, her words are just that and no more, but that is the minimum that was required in terms of her campaign.
In response to the protesters this time, Harris said, “We’re here to fight for our democracy, which includes respecting the voices that I think we are hearing from. And let me just say this on the topic of what I think we’re hearing…and then I’m going to get back to the business at hand. So let me say, I have been clear now is the time to get a ceasefire deal and get the hostage deal done. Now is the time. And the president and I are working around the clock every day to get that ceasefire deal done and bring the hostages home. So I respect your voices, but we are here now to talk about this race in 2024.”
In terms of Harris’ campaign and the effort to defeat Donald Trump, this was what she needed to do, and it was successful. From nationalistic and jingoistic chants of “USA! USA!” against protesters objecting to the ongoing Israeli genocide, which made the crowd sound like a Trump rally, Harris turned it around. With just a few choice words, she got that crowd to applaud much louder for a ceasefire in Gaza and the return of the hostages being held there.
As I noted in my piece criticizing her response to protesters in Michigan, there really isn’t much Harris can do, outside of speech and campaign promises, to address the protesters’ demands until she is elected. And that assumes she wants do, an idea that many people seem to believe without any significant evidence to support it.
Harris’ proclamation about a ceasefire was her most viscerally forceful to date, but in substance, it was no different than what she has been saying since March. Even Joe Biden has been saying the same thing, albeit with far less vigor since late May.
While Harris says she wants a ceasefire now and while Biden and his team continue to talk about ceasefire talks as if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will ever agree to a deal, the United States continues to enable Israel in every way imaginable.
On Friday, the Biden administration released $3.5 billion to Israel for more weapons. This was a part of the $14.1 billion appropriated for Israel in the spring, and it comes as Israel is dropping bombs on schools, refugee camps, and other places of civilian shelter with alarming frequency.
On the same day, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli defense Minister Yoav Gallant that the U.S. would not pursue sanctions against a notorious Israeli army unit, Netzah Yehuda, that has been accused of serial human rights abuses and even murdered an American citizen, Omar Assad, in 2022. Omar was beaten, gagged, bound, and left to lie on the cold ground in winter for an extended period of time until he had a heart attack. He was 78 years old.
These are the grim realities. The possibilities of results in the near term from protesting Harris at rallies are virtually non-existent if we think of what matters, which is ending Israel’s genocide. But every time those protests get Harris to get a crowd chanting “ceasefire now,” abandoning their nationalist racism for a call for peace, it is progress. It gives us tools to press Harris with once she is the president, and it strengthens the tools we have.
The protests are not pointless. And, as studies have repeatedly shown, disruptive, non-violent action is a very effective method of bringing about social change. Contrary to those who praised Harris’ response in Michigan, her response in Arizona demonstrates that the protests are effective. In the long term, they will be meaningful, and the more pressure Harris feels, the more political leverage there will be when she is in position to make the decisions on Gaza.
That’s crucial. She is not in that decisive position now. Her career does not indicate that she will take steps to stop the genocide on her own. But it does show that she is not zealously committed to backing Israel right or wrong like Biden is. That means politics can move her. This is how that political pressure is built.
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Of course, Kamaladevi is going back to her business at hand ….to make sure that IsraHell gets everything it needs and everything it wants to finish the job in their hand ….then it will be an easy ride into ….what should I say ? Anyone ? …OK, this is what I think, ….”then it will be an easy ride into Oblivion ! It’s het wish !! Not mine !
Empty campaign promises that will never be of consequence. She's a Zionist like her Jewish husband, like senile Biden, and loves Netanyahu. GENOCIDE should be her business because the whole world is watching in opposition to the US and EU colonizers and their bastard nations.