Vox says Biden is 'moving left' with Harris on ticket despite media calling her 'moderate'
Media outlets have previously described the California senator as a 'pragmatic moderate' and a 'small-c conservative'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Vox appears to be parting with the mainstream media's growing push to portray Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., as a "moderate" in a new piece arguing Joe Biden is "moving left" with her on the ticket.
"Most candidates run to the center in the general election. Biden is moving left," read the headline from Vox founder and editor-at-large Ezra Klein.
Klein began by citing the Democrat Party's recent history of VP picks Tim Kaine, Joe Biden, John Edwards, and Joe Lieberman, noting their commonality was that "they were all to the right of the candidate atop the ticket."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}BIDEN, HARRIS BLASTED BY MAINSTREAM MEDIA FOR NOT TAKING QUESTIONS FROM REPORTERS
"Biden’s decision to run alongside Sen. Kamala Harris breaks the trend," Klein wrote. "Harris is, by any measure, to Biden’s left. The New York Times describes her as 'a pragmatic moderate.'"
Flein cited the DW-NOMINATE system, which measures the ideology of members of Congress by tracking what they vote for and whom they vote with, as proof that Harris has been one of the most liberal members of the Senate since arriving in 2017 despite sitting alongside Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Cory Booker atop the rankings.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"In Biden’s final term in the Senate, he was the 26th most liberal member — and the Democratic Party was significantly more conservative then," Klein wrote.
The Vox journalist said Biden was "bucking that cliché" of running to the left during the Democratic primary and to the center during the general election, noting the former VP "ran to the center" in the primary and that he’s been "steadily shifting his policies and personnel left ever since."
"Harris is, it should be said, a liberal, not a leftist," Klein stressed. "Her record as a prosecutor angered many on the left ... But Harris’s record as a prosecutor is far more liberal than Biden’s record on criminal justice issues, and her ultimate health care plan, which obliterated employer-based insurance entirely, was the most ambitious proposal put forth besides Medicare-for-all — and was, again, well to Biden’s left, as were most of her other policies."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}There has been an increasing trend in the media to portray Harris as more moderate than she actually is. As Klein highlighted, the Times raised eyebrows by labeling her as a "pragmatic moderate" while an op-ed from The Washington Post called her a "small-c conservative."
ABC News anchor George Stephanopolous described Harris as coming from the "middle of the road, moderate wing" of the Democratic party.
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During her own presidential run, Harris expressed her support for the Green New Deal, Medicare-for-all, decriminalizing illegal border crossings, and gun buybacks.
"Biden has always said he intends to be a 'transition candidate,' and it’s increasingly clear that he understands that transition as leading to a more diverse, liberal America," Klein concluded.