Each week Liberty Nation straps on its Personal Protective Equipment and dives into the TwitterZone to bring you the biggest news, the most outlandish arguments, and the real Zeitgeist of what is taking place in the internet’s wildest frontier.
All has been forgiven for Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) in the eyes of the progressive left. Once attacked on all fronts by resentful progressives on Twitter during the Democratic primaries, Senator Harris has found her place with the new crowd. Throughout her entire run to become the Democratic nominee for president, Harris found herself under attack for her influence in law enforcement as a criminal prosecutor, district attorney, and attorney general. This legacy, usually attacked and criticized in today’s Democratic Party, has instead been rehabilitated and reintroduced as a symbol of Harris’ dedication to progressive causes.
When progressives had plenty of options to choose from earlier this year, Twitter tarnished Sen. Harris’ reputation and continually labeled her as a “bootlicker,” the far left’s new favorite description of anyone supporting or part of the criminal justice system. Harris has always called herself a progressive prosecutor, even while joking about smoking marijuana while putting 1,500 citizens in jail for doing the same. The radical left certainly still has its fair share of people who despise Harris’ prosecutor past and who vow not to support the Democratic ticket. Still, the overwhelming majority of influential progressives on Twitter have come to defend the senator from her critics – though they were also her critics.
Shaun King Gets Amnesia
Shaun King, notable “civil rights activist” and race agitator – otherwise recently known as “Talcum X” in some online circles for his questionable claims of being biracial – has led the charge in introducing a new narrative about Kamala Harris’ legacy. Less than two years ago, King vowed never to support either Kamala Harris or Joe Biden in their bids for the presidency. King attacked the two for “contributing to mass incarceration” and advancing the agenda of the criminal justice system throughout their careers. Being tough on crime is no longer popular in the Democratic Party, so the Biden campaign should be thankful that progressives like King are doing their part in rehabilitating their legacies to young progressives to guarantee their support in 2020.
As activists work to make Joe Biden’s legacy more palatable to the Democratic audience, many progressives aren’t buying into the new narrative. Shaun King’s fantasy that Kamala Harris was the most progressive candidate for the vice presidency on Biden’s shortlist was a complete lie, especially with women like Elizabeth Warren rumored to be part of the consideration. While President Trump has the First Step Act under his belt as a demonstration of his openness to criminal justice reform, Biden’s central criminal justice policy was his involvement in passing the 1994 crime bill. The bill introduced minimum sentencing, three-strikes laws, and exacerbated the problem of mass incarceration. Biden was attacked for this while running to become the Democratic nominee, but these criticisms have become invalid now that they can be used to attack Biden in his campaign against President Trump.
Neither Harris nor Biden have shown any meaningful growth in their attitudes towards criminal justice in the last year and a half. The idea that both have grown and changed their opinions is a cover for what is really occurring behind the scenes. The Biden campaign understands that without a significant coalition, they will be unable to defeat Trump in 2020. Woke Twitter has had no problem canceling endless amounts of politicians for their controversial pasts but – suddenly – the two most influential figures in the Democratic party have received a free pass for their controversial histories. While many political commentators struggle to justify this political phalanx shielding the Democratic candidates from criticism and others jump on board right away, the desperate hypocrisy and flip-flopping are undeniable.
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