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One of the more amusing claims mainstream media reporters have made this week about Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) is that she’s a “moderate” vice-presidential candidate and one who meshes perfectly with Joe Biden’s “centrist” vision for the future of America or something.
The New York Times, I think, was the first media outlet to make the eye-opening claim about Sen. Harris’ alleged “moderate” record – and they did so within minutes of the news breaking that Biden had selected her to be his running mate:
Breaking News: Sen. Kamala Harris of California is Joe Biden’s pick for vice president. A pragmatic moderate, she is the first Black woman on a major party ticket. https://t.co/Ttvh5RyxUB pic.twitter.com/NMcIz60ckH
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 11, 2020
Kamala Harris is a natural centrist who combines the authority of a prosecutor with the enthusiasm of a skilful retail politician. Read our first profile of Joe Biden's choice for vice-president from 2016 https://t.co/S64mPNrJkJ
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) August 11, 2020
The Associated Press absurdly reported on Tuesday that Biden “can point to her relatively centrist record on issues such as health care and her background in law enforcement in the nation’s largest state.”
These descriptions left a lot of conservatives scratching their heads. I mean, seriously. On what planet would Kamala Harris be considered even remotely moderate? Not this one, at least not for anyone who prefers to keep it real, anyway.
As it turns out, a surprising source decided to do exactly that in the aftermath of all the media gaslighting about Harris being a centrist. An astonished Jon Favreau, former speechwriter for President Obama, said the quiet part out loud about Sen. Harris’ record on the Thursday edition of his “Pod Save America” podcast:
“It was hilarious to me that she’s being called, in all this coverage, a ‘moderate,’ like Joe Biden has found a fellow moderate or centrist. She supports something extremely close to ‘Medicare for All,’ which Bernie Sanders acknowledged in his statement supporting her. She’s for the Green New Deal. She has one of the most liberal records in the U.S. Senate.
Like, if you want to call Kamala Harris’s record in the Senate and her policies that she’s supporting now centrist or moderate, great. If that’s where the Overton window has moved, then congratulations to all the progressive activists, because you have f**king moved the sh*t out of that window — that supporting the Green New Deal and basically Medicare for All is now moderate and centrist. Fantastic, I’ll take it.”
Watch:
Watch: Former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau mocks the media's narrative that Kamala Harris is a "moderate" — "She has one of the most liberal records in the U.S. Senate." @jonfavs pic.twitter.com/fqz6s36BA2
— TV News HQ (@TVNewsHQ) August 14, 2020
I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of Favreau’s comments on this matter featured in a future Trump campaign ad, which would be rather hilarious when you think about how Favreau would hysterically react to being used by Trump to credibly undercut media claims about the Democratic vice-presidential candidate.
My colleague Mike Miller wrote more about Harris’ liberal Senate record earlier today. Make sure to check that out here.
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