Fellow 2020 Dem Gabbard Blasts Harris's 'Political Ploy' to 'Smear' Joe Biden
One of the standout moments from the first Democratic primary debates in June was the unexpected attack by California Sen. Kamala Harris against former Vice President Joe Biden’s remarks about busing policy and working with segregationists in Congress.
In the days since that attack, Harris has also seemingly admitted that she herself isn’t necessarily in favor of the forced busing policy either, even though she had attacked Biden for opposing it at the time.
That admission from Harris has prompted some on the left to openly wonder if her attack on Biden had less to do with the policy in question and more to do with setting herself apart from the rest of the field of two dozen Democratic candidates. One of those now asking the question is Hawaii Rep. and fellow 2020 candidate Tulsi Gabbard, according to CBS News.
Gabbard first raised the issue on Twitter by sharing a post from former Obama adviser and CNN senior political commentator David Axelrod, who noted that Harris and Biden appeared to be on the same page when it came to the busing issue, prompting him to wonder “what was that whole thing at the debate all about?”
Gabbard tweeted, “I agree with Axelrod. But let’s get real. It wasn’t a ‘whole thing’ — it was a false accusation that Joe Biden is a racist.”
I agree with Axelrod. But let’s get real. It wasn’t a “whole thing” — it was a false accusation that Joe Biden is a racist. https://t.co/KQ8OnhDQ8A
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) July 8, 2019
To be sure, Harris had explicitly stated during her attack on Biden that “I do not believe you are a racist,” only to then lay out several issues that implied he was, in fact, bigoted and racist.
In Gabbard’s view, however, what Harris did was little more than a “political ploy” to try and ruin Biden’s reputation on the issue of race and civil rights.
Gabbard told CBS that Harris had used the tactic of “leveling this accusation that Joe Biden is a racist — when he’s clearly not — as a way to try to smear him.”
The congresswoman further stated that Harris had unfairly attempted to smear front-running candidate Biden in a bid to raise her own profile while taking his down a notch or two, and suggested that Harris was hypocritical for attacking the former VP over a stance that she herself also seems to hold.
“Really what she’s saying is her position is the same one she was criticizing Joe Biden for,” Gabbard said.
“So this is just a political ploy and I think a very underhanded one just to try to get herself attention, to move herself up in the polls,” she added. “I think we need to be above that. All of us.”
CBS News reached out to the Harris campaign for a comment on Gabbard’s remarks but did not receive a reply.
Unfortunately, Gabbard is most likely correct that Harris’ motivation for attacking Biden was less about opposition to his stance on a particular issue and more about dragging him down in order to raise herself up.
The fact that it is one of Harris’ fellow Democratic candidates who is calling her out suggests that Harris may have gone too far in her effort to smear the front-runner, which may very well come back to bite her.
Kamala Harris is little more than an empty shell of a candidate, one with few original or successfully tested ideas who has no other real options but to slander and smear her opponents while simultaneously pandering to whatever particular interest group she thinks will help her get elected. Her campaign is a sad commentary on the state of politics in America today.
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