# How will the Republicans demonize Kamala Harris? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** kamala-harris\ **Created:** [July 23, 2024, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698 "2024-07-23T17:38:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/181 "2024-07-26T05:06:08Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > It’s not even a “problem”, it’s a matter of _us_ exploiting _them_ and blaming our victims. With a hefty dose of racism. If we actually “solved the problem of illegal immigration” it would cause economic dislocation and a funding crisis due to the loss of a work force that does jobs Americans refuse to do and the sudden loss of all those taxpaying undocumented immigrants (who pay taxes _without_ receiving services). Right. Look the 'problem" (and I deny there is one) is 100% caused by the GOP- the migrants arent allowed to work, and when Biden and the Dems came up with a solid plan- Der fuhrer trump told them to vote it down, as he needed this issue and having Biden solve it would ruin his chances for election. > [@aceplace57](#): > > Harris was appointed to that position for a reason. I think The President was looking for ways to manage the crisis and open up ways to legally immigrate. There is no “crisis” there is barely a “problem” and what problem there is - is 100% caused by the GOP. > [@Horatius](#): > > Open borders my ass. Yep. One of my buddies came back from Mexico and they found some firecrackers- not a lot, not enough to sell or anything, but certainly illegal. They detained him for hours, tossed his vehicle completely, and made threats of arrest- most of which he deserved. And he was a US citizen- with a passport. > [@aceplace57](#): > > It seems to me that Harris saw the border issue as damaging to her popularity and political future. Whatever she did would get criticized and hurt her future ambitions. There is no “issue” and she was not “Border Czar”. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/182 "2024-07-26T05:16:52Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Der fuhrer trump told them to vote it down, as he needed this issue and having Biden solve it would ruin his chances for election Right. This is the best angle to take, I think, with people such as those mentioned, who are unhappy about the border. This was already posted once above, but bears repeating: > **[Republicans kill border bill in a sign of Trump's strength and McConnell's...](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/republicans-kill-border-bill-sign-trumps-strength-mcconnells-waning-in-rcna137477)** > > Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell encouraged GOP senators to pass an immigration and Ukraine aid deal. Just four of them supported it. In the end, even he voted no. So you can say, “Hey, they _did_ do their job, and they _did_ bring a solution to the table, and it was heading toward passage, but Trump explicitly derailed it so he could claim it was still a problem in the election. Who do you _really_ trust to put the nation’s interests first?” ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/183 "2024-07-26T05:53:15Z")
As to how they’ll demonize Harris, a “libertarian” Facebook friend posted this in reply to my meme about how badly they’d demonize her if she showed up at the DNC with 5 kids by three husbands: > [@](#): > > Can you imagine if Trumps granpa was so good at slave management that he went from owning zero and only managing other folks slaves to owning hundreds? > > Can you imagine if Trump purposely used a tainted lab to get the results he needed to imprison folks? > > Can you imagine if while prosecutor that Trump knew the defendant was innocent and hid the evidence until the Supreme Court forced it to be revealed exonnerating [sic] the defendant? > > Can you Imagine if Trump > > extended prisoners sentences (no new charges or violations) just to keep slave labor to fight the wildfires? > > Can you imagine if Trump had to sleep with Hillary to get his political career started? Of course, he lives in California, so he feels that he has unique insights into Harris as an executive. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/184 "2024-07-26T06:12:33Z")
So he thinks his lies/exagerations are more insightful then those of out of state libertarians? 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/185 "2024-07-26T06:20:28Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > But what is the actual position? Best I can find is that Jacobson was asked to manage Mexico-U.S. border affairs at the NSC. > > Harris was asked to handle diplomacy with Central American countries that have been the source of a lot of the migration. > > There is no position. There is no “Border Czar”. For that matter, the Senate never confirmed Harris to the office of “Border Czar”, so according to the highly respected constitutional authority Judge Aileen Cannon, her appointment was unconstitutional anyway. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/186 "2024-07-26T08:28:06Z")
About the border: voters have been told for years that there’s an issue and a crisis there. Whether or not that’s true, that perception will be hard to beat. Granted it’s old and it’s The Daily Beast, but this article talks about her work on immigration. > **[Kamala’s Conundrum: She’s Doing a Great Job But Her Story’s Not Getting Out](https://www.thedailybeast.com/kamala-harris-conundrum-shes-doing-a-great-job-but-her-storys-not-getting-out)** > > If the VP’s record is supported as it should be, the chattering classes will spin it into the idea that the president is a lame duck. If not, it will be spun as a critique of her. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/187 "2024-07-26T12:57:21Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > FACT CHECK: Harris was Biden’s second ‘border czar,’ despite recent media claims If your best source is the _Center Square_, you’re going to have to try again. Even taking the “FACT CHECK” article at face value, it doesn’t even refute the factually correct position that Harris was never appointed as Biden’s “border czar.” But the _Center Square_ is the mouthpiece of the Franklin News Foundation, a front for wealthy conservative donors to push their agenda. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/188 "2024-07-26T13:45:38Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > And why was that, when these migrants wanted nothing more than to work? Because the GOP congress passed a law prohibiting them from working for a fairly long period. They would love nothing better than to start working in the fields the day they arrive- a job they do better than people born here- and for less money. Honestly, this is a pretty simplistic – and pretty patronizing – portrait of the millions of individuals who have entered the country via the southwestern border. The fact is that the unregulated influx of migrants into the country does cause problems – problems that are solvable, and that certainly didn’t begin with Biden’s Administration. But the challenge is real. I sometimes feel like the border is for Democrats what climate change is for Republicans. They would rather pretend it’s a completely manufactured issue rather than engage in the tough decisions about how to address it. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/189 "2024-07-26T14:16:32Z")
They _do_ engage in tough decisions about how to address it. But it gets undermined by the avalanche of bullshit the right make up about the border. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/190 "2024-07-26T14:34:25Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > They would rather pretend it’s a completely manufactured issue The thing is, it pretty much is a completely manufactured issue. It was caused by policy choices made in the past, and continues because of policy choices being made today. Fixing this issue would be far easier than fixing climate change, if Republicans weren’t so opposed to actually fixing it. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/191 "2024-07-26T16:09:11Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > if Republicans weren’t so opposed to actually fixing it. And it’s completely obvious that Republicans are opposed to fixing it. They recently had the chance to fix it and they refused for basic political reasons. They did not even try to put a fig leaf on this; they stated clearly that they would not fix the problem because the “other side” would look good. Republicans are the problem here. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/192 "2024-07-26T17:05:45Z")
100% agree but Harris and the Democrats need to be driving this message home over and over and over ad infinitum because DJT and the GOP will be doing the opposite. The media has done a shitty job holding MAGA talking heads accountable on this when they lie about it. I’ve only seen a few news people push back when they lie and blame Democrats. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/193 "2024-07-26T17:16:14Z")
The news sites seem to be very wimpy when it comes to Republican lies. They say things like “he said with no evidence” instead of “he told an outrageous lie” They need to start calling it what it is; Lying. ---
**Author:** ![GulfTiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e79b87/32.png) [@GulfTiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GulfTiger)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/194 "2024-07-26T17:22:46Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > There is no position. There is no “Border Czar”. Not officially of course. But it is still commonly understood as someone put in charge. There are scores of media reports calling her border czar. They are busy scrubbing them out of the public’s memory now. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/195 "2024-07-26T17:38:54Z")
I agree. Arguing she’s not officially the “border czar” is a shitty, semantic defense. Hammer on the bipartisan bill Trump torpedoed. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/196 "2024-07-26T19:45:07Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > The fact is that the unregulated influx of migrants into the country does cause problems The problems are all caused by the GOP. > [@Gyrate](#): > > But it gets undermined by the avalanche of bullshit the right make up about the border. Yep. > [@Horatius](#): > > The thing is, it pretty much is a completely manufactured issue. True. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/197 "2024-07-26T19:56:52Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@flurb](#): > > > > The fact is that the unregulated influx of migrants into the country does cause problems > > The problems are all caused by the GOP. All right, buddy. Since this is a thread on how Republicans will demonize Harris, I just hope that when they come after her on border crossers she has a better response line than, “They would love nothing better than to start working in the fields the day they arrive- a job they do better than people born here- and for less money” if only the GOP would just let them. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/198 "2024-07-26T19:58:46Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > how Republicans will demonize Harris, I just hope that when they come after her on border crossers she has a better response line than She does- t"here was a proposal to fix the border problem but the GOP voted it down based upon trump ordering them to, as he needed it for a ballot issue. " ---
**Author:** ![Win\_Place\_Show](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/win_place_show/32/13469_2.png) [@Win\_Place\_Show](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Win_Place_Show)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/199 "2024-07-26T19:59:11Z")
Since it seems like this is the thread that we’re gonna discuss the border for a bit, is there a solid cite or source that says exactly how many crossings there have been? I suppose that we would refer to as “getaways”? Because I have a pretty good feeling that the numbers that get thrown around by MAGAts (10 million! 15 Million! 20 MILLION!) are of course manufactured nonsense, but I think that they are quoting “encounters”, correct? I found this cite here : > **[Migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border hit a record high at the end of...](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/02/15/migrant-encounters-at-the-us-mexico-border-hit-a-record-high-at-the-end-of-2023/)** > > The U.S. Border Patrol had nearly 250,000 encounters with migrants crossing into the United States from Mexico in December 2023. _Text of the article below (I don’t know how to embed it)_ : The term “encounters” refers to two distinct types of events: **Apprehensions** : Migrants are taken into custody in the U.S., at least temporarily, to await a decision on whether they can remain in the country legally, such as by being granted asylum. Apprehensions are carried out under Title 8 of the U.S. code, which deals with immigration law. **Expulsions** : Migrants are immediately expelled to their home country or last country of transit without being held in U.S. custody. – ETA : If there have been 10 million apprehensions and expulsions (turning the logic around on them) then I would argue that that’s a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/200 "2024-07-26T20:01:37Z")
Fully agree on that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698.md?page=11)