Harris Sends a Message to Dems' Pro-Palestine Flank

“Kamala, Kamala, you can’t hide. We won’t vote for genocide!”

The chants, faint against the backdrop of a roaring crowd at Vice President Kamala Harris’ rally in Detroit, Michigan, were coming from the mouths of pro-Palestinian protestors. Their demands have moving goalposts, which makes appeasing them difficult.

On Wednesday night, Harris put her foot down as the disruptions to her speech continued. “You know what?” she said, stopping her speech short and pivoting her attention to the monotonous buzz of the hecklers. “If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I’m speaking.”

Her reaction – and the roars of support that greeted her riposte – suggests the Democratic Party is getting fed up with its pro-Palestine flank, which demands a ceasefire that Harris has openly advocated for, ran a smear campaign against Josh Shapiro to ensure that Pennsylvania’s Jewish governor would not be selected as Harris’ running mate, and now insists that the United States stop sending weapons to Israel, even as the country faces threats from Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups. 

Harris’ reaction may have been more than just annoyance. It was a very public counter to Republican attempts to portray her as a “radical” who sought to appease the “pro-Hamas wing of the party” when she selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.

“The Democrat Party makes history as they anoint Harris-Walz to the ballot this November representing the most radical Far Left wing ticket in history,” said House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-NY.

This label of “radical” is something Harris will have to counter, as she and Walz truly do have progressive records. Harris has been walking back some of her most liberal stances, like a single-payer health insurance system and a ban on fracking, as she courts voters closer to the center of the political spectrum.

Walz, meanwhile, signed into law a progressive’s dream slate, dubbed the “Minnesota Miracle.” He legalized marijuana, enacted paid family leave, and mandated 100% clean energy by 2040, among other things. He came under fire from the right in 2020 for failing to immediately deploy the National Guard to Minneapolis after the murder of George Floyd set off a series of destructive protests that caused millions of dollars of damage to the city.

Still, Walz did not bend to pressure to defund the police, a demand of protestors at the time. Instead, he signed a series of police reforms that kept police funding static. He also sent $300 million to local public safety offices in 2023. 

Similarly, neither Harris nor Walz is as far left on the Israel-Palestine conflict as some on the right have been asserting and as some on the left would hope. Phil Gordon, Harris’ national security adviser, wrote on X that while Harris “will continue to work to protect civilians in Gaza and to uphold international humanitarian law,” the vice president “does not support an arms embargo on Israel,” as pro-Palestine protestors have demanded.

Walz, like much of the Democratic Party, has attempted to thread the needle on the issue. In a July interview with PBS News, Walz called for a two-state solution.

“The atrocities of October 7 are painful and they’re real, and Israel’s right to defend itself is real,” said Walz, referring to the terrorist attack that took 1,200 Israeli lives and 250 Israeli captives. “But, also, the situation in Gaza is intolerable. The humanitarian crisis must be brought to an end.”

Both Harris and Walz have expressed sympathy for pro-Palestine protestors. Of the thousands of Democratic primary voters who cast “uncommitted” protest ballots against Joe Biden over his support for Israel, Walz called them “civically engaged folks.”

Harris briefly met with two leaders of the Uncommitted National Movement prior to her rally in Detroit. The leaders called Harris “receptive” to their calls for an arms embargo and an immediate ceasefire, and said that Harris “thanked [them] for being there and for [their] work.”

A large majority of Americans (67%) join Harris, Walz, and protestors in their desire to see an end to the war in Gaza, saying they “strongly support” or “somewhat support” the United States calling for a permanent ceasefire and a de-escalation of violence, according to polling from Data for Progress.

The Middle East, like most prominent policy issues, has taken on a partisan cast, with Republicans expressing more solicitude for the Jewish State than Democrats. In the most recent Gallup Poll, only 23% of Democrats approved of Israel’s military action in Gaza, compared to 76% of Republicans. (Independents were at 34%.) A generation gap has been present since the outbreak of the war, with younger Americans far less likely to support Israel than their parents’ generation.

For those reading the tea leaves for clues about Kamala Harris’ own views, it might be notable that in June, President Biden said flatly that Hamas was the sole obstacle to accepting a ceasefire proposed by the administration. This week, however, National Security Council Communications Adviser John Kirby amended that framing, telling reporters that both Israel and Hamas stand in the way of working out a deal. 

Until the warring parties choose to accept U.S. attempts to mediate, there is little Harris can do – a message she tried to convey to protestors on Wednesday night. Unfortunately for Harris, the pro-Palestinian flank of her party likely will not rest unless she pledges to withdraw all military support from Israel, something an American interested in winning the White House would be highly unlikely to do. 

The fear of rank-and-file Democrats is that the most radical elements of the party’s pro-Palestine flank will continue to hammer away at the Biden-Harris administration and, in the process, pave the way for a second Trump term. Kamala Harris’ message to them? Be quiet.