Harris touts tough-on-crime image that was once a liability
livemint.comSAN FRANCISCO—In Kamala Harris’s rise from California prosecutor to the second highest office in the U.S., she has maneuvered between embracing progressive ideals and trying not to alienate law enforcement. The result is a record that has drawn mixed reviews from both sides. Early on, as San Francisco’s district attorney, she launched a jail diversion program for drug offenders.
And later, as California attorney general, she implemented a first-of-its-kind program requiring police officers to undergo implicit bias training. But progressives criticized her for fighting the release of prisoners whose supporters claimed they were wrongfully convicted and for going to court to defend a death penalty she had long opposed. Meanwhile, police groups praised her for those stands.
Wearing the two hats—reform-minded progressive and tough prosecutor—has compelled Harris to perform a balancing act that has continued in Washington. “I think her political ambitions and own views led her to these centrist positions," said Paul Butler, a Georgetown law professor and former federal prosecutor. The expected Democratic nominee has staked her campaign on her unique ability to “prosecute the case" against Trump, the Republican nominee.
“I took on perpetrators of all kinds—predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain," Harris said at a campaign rally in Wisconsin Tuesday. “So hear me when I say, I know Donald Trump’s type." Meanwhile, Trump is attacking Harris, accusing her of being soft on crime, blaming her for allowing a wave of migrants into the U.S. and criticizing her record as a prosecutor.
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