# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/61 "2024-07-23T21:54:55Z")
In the 90s, Harris briefly dated future SF mayor Willie Brown, who was Speaker of the California Assembly at the time. The right claims that Harris leveraged this relationship to get her political career off the ground. Brown was married at the time, but legally separated from his wife, so you’ll also see a bunch of attacks that cast her as a home-wrecker. ---
**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 23, 2024, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/62 "2024-07-23T21:59:15Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > To black male voters, by contrast, she will be painted as a right-wing cop who thinks of nothing except jailing them. This is what I came in to say. And as @Buck_Godot notes, the idea is not to flip them into Trump voters, but to sap their enthusiasm so they don’t bother to vote. ---
**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 23, 2024, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/63 "2024-07-23T21:59:39Z")
Yep, seeing a lot of the same myself - gotta hand it to them though, I didn’t think they’d have the audacity to play the “inappropriate sexual behavior should be disqualifying” card, but here we are. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/64 "2024-07-23T22:00:15Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > In the 90s, Harris briefly dated future SF mayor Willie Brown, who was Speaker of the California Assembly at the time. The right claims that Harris leveraged this relationship to get her political career off the ground. He is also 30 years older than her, and appointed Harris to the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and then to the Medical Assistance Commission before supporting her jump into politics. Now, it’s perfectly reasonable to conclude that Brown respected and admired her, and she is mature beyond her years. It would make sense that he’d want to see her succeed, and there isn’t anything wrong with promoting her when you recognize her talent. But it’s definitely spun into the idea that she was an opportunist who used sex to advance her career. ---
**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 23, 2024, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/65 "2024-07-23T22:01:31Z")
Better a sexual opportunist than a sexual predator. ---
**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 23, 2024, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/66 "2024-07-23T22:02:39Z")
That’s the sort of thing that might have played after years of banging the drum. But four months isn’t enough time for it to really get established. Particularly when it’s competing with are the other stuff they’ll be throwing at the wall. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/67 "2024-07-23T22:04:35Z")
I had a look at a predominantly right-wing message board. Right now, they’re concentrating on the southern border. Specifically, that Harris was appointed as “border czar,” and promptly did little-to-nothing about the migrant crisis there. She didn’t even go there; at least not for a long time after her appointment. Anyway, their logic seems to be, if she did nothing there, what else will she do nothing about? But that’s all _right now_. They may find more as time goes by. Oddly, and contrary to what has been suggested in this thread, there is nothing about Harris being a “DEI selection.” But give them time, and who knows? It may eventually appear. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/68 "2024-07-23T22:11:18Z")
It’s been my sense that, under Biden, RW media has _absolutely hammered_ on the border/immigration issues. I can’t talk to a MAGA (nor should I) without hearing about a) The Biden Crime Family, and b) immigration and border security. The economy usually doesn’t make an appearance in these stultifying little chats. Harris’s immigration remit – while Not. At. All. what RW media _says_ it’s been (who’s shocked??) – creates a ready target for any fence-sitters who’ve bought into that issue from the conservative POV. And my totally unsupported WAG is that there are more undecideds who put border security/immigration high on their lists than there are undecideds who are paralytically scared of women and minorities. [Something, something, Venn diagram] I think we’ll see a _lot_ of that one, and – as usual – if you’re explaining, you’re losing. But every Democratic surrogate should remind voters that Trump put his own political interests ahead of _actual_ **[immigration reform](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/republicans-kill-border-bill-sign-trumps-strength-mcconnells-waning-in-rcna137477)** … out, loud, and proud. > **[Harris' border work was on 'root causes' of migration; she wasn't in charge |...](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2024/07/23/kamala-harris-not-border-czar-of-biden-administration-fact-check/74498717007/)** > > The post mischaracterizes Harris' work on migration. She was tasked with leading efforts addressing the "root causes" of migration in Central America. ---
**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 23, 2024, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/69 "2024-07-23T22:14:35Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > But it’s definitely spun into the idea that she was an opportunist who used sex to advance her career. As opposed to an adjudicated rapist. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/70 "2024-07-23T22:14:40Z")
They’re also certain to cherry pick some person she prosecuted, or didn’t prosecute, as some example of her problematic stance on crime. > **[Kamala Harris’ record as prosecutor in California spells ‘trouble’ for...](https://www.yahoo.com/news/kamala-harris-record-prosecutor-california-080013544.html)** > > Vice President Kamala Harris' criminal justice legacy as San Francisco DA and California Attorney General could be a liability, experts told Fox News Digital. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/71 "2024-07-23T22:30:12Z")
The obvious answer to “She slept her way to the top” is “He slept his way to the bottom.” ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/72 "2024-07-23T22:32:04Z")
We already have Congressmen putting forth articles of [Impeachment](https://www.thedailybeast.com/tennessee-rep-andy-ogles-files-articles-of-impeachment-against-kamala-harris) for her not stopping the border “crisis”. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/73 "2024-07-23T22:42:27Z")
Oh, God! This is Golden! ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/74 "2024-07-23T22:42:53Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > > [@Sherrerd](#): > > > > To black male voters, by contrast, she will be painted as a right-wing cop who thinks of nothing except jailing them. > > This is what I came in to say. And as @Buck_Godot notes, the idea is not to flip them into Trump voters, but to sap their enthusiasm so they don’t bother to vote. That’s likely. But I heard today that the Dems already have an excellent idea to combat this: framing the situation as an opportunity for black men to stand in opposition to the lies about Kamala. If they take on the role of being her protector, then they are more likely to remain engaged and interested in voting. > **[Thousands Of Black men raise over $1 million for Kamala Harris on ‘Win With...](https://newpittsburghcourier.com/2024/07/23/thousands-of-black-men-raise-over-1-million-for-kamala-harris-on-win-with-black-men-call/)** > > “Protection” became a key theme on a Monday night Zoom call organized by “Win With Black Men.” During the four hour call, several Black men discussed the importance of protecting Kamala Harris as she seeks to make history by becoming the first women... Seems like a legitimate need–she certainly will be attacked unfairly and viciously. And perhaps millions of black men will see this role as being worth their time and attention. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/75 "2024-07-23T22:57:58Z")
> [@Win\_Place\_Show](#): > > I didn’t think they’d have the audacity to play the “inappropriate sexual behavior should be disqualifying” card, but here we are. Don’t you know - it’s OK if you get one but not if you give one. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/76 "2024-07-23T22:58:40Z")
Isn’t that what today’s republicans want? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/77 "2024-07-23T23:01:23Z")
It’s been the standard for decades now that Republicans are _automatically_ considered “Christian”, and Democrats are considered atheists/Muslim/Satanic (often all at once). If doesn’t matter how religious the Democrat is or how much the Republican resembles an incarnation of the 7 Deadly Sins; what _matters_ is party affiliation. “Republican” and “Christian” have become conflated in the American political world. So, among other things you can expect to see her being bashed for being atheist/Muslim (because black), or Satanist. I’ve already seen the latter. [![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GTCj0N5WcAA6BEf.jpg) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GTCj0N5WcAA6BEf.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/78 "2024-07-23T23:08:04Z")
It isn’t aimed at the full-blown racist misogynist homophobes. It’s for the moderate suburban pinkish-purplish voters who are: 1. used to the idea of women and minorities in the workplace, who maybe aren’t great fans of affirmative action but don’t want discrimination either, and 2. while likely Christian themselves, wary of the more antediluvian evangelicals. People who maybe go to church on Sunday but drink, dance, don’t believe a woman’s place is only in the home, don’t expect LBGTQ+ people to disappear or go back in the closet, and absolutely positively don’t want abortion, birth control, or IVF to be banned. The idea is to ceaselessly emphasize that a vote for Trump is a vote for the more Handmaid-y aspects of Project 2025 and the MAGAts, _ **not** _ the pro-business country-club old-school GOP these voters may be comfortable with. “These aren’t your father’s Republicans!” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/79 "2024-07-23T23:27:53Z")
Been seeing another tactic from right wing Catholics. They’re harping on this one time she grilled a judge about being part of a Catholic fraternity. They don’t seem to get that her job was to make sure the judge wasn’t biased on abortion, and could follow the law even if he disagreed. This is one that I think could have some legs and should be debunked. But I think I’m giving up the gig. I’m starting to get upset at some of these people, instead of gleefully rebutting them. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-republicans-demonize-kamala-harris/1004698/80 "2024-07-23T23:29:59Z")
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