In the opening wave of their attack As for the Democrats’ presumptive presidential nominee, some Republicans are citing Vice President Kamala Harris’ race and gender — despite confirmation Party leaders’ request for them is clear.
Members have religious rights Called her “Jezebel”. while other conservative activists Suggesting that he slept on top of her Referring to his past romantic relationships. GOP commentators have echoed similar sentiments “Birthism” attacks which were once used against former President Barack Obama. Falsely claims that his candidacy is not valid Because his parents were Jamaican and Indian immigrants. (Harris is a US citizen who was born in California.) And they tapped into the common. The GOP talks about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).Implying that Harris was not ready for the job and was selected as VP only because of his identity.
“The media indoctrinated this president, lied to the American people for three years, and then dumped him for our DEI vice president,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) X said in a post. (Burchett has since said he wishes he hadn’t said that, It is “true” when added.)
All of these attacks have a common thread: They target Harris’ identity rather than his agenda or experience.
And they actually came that last week, House Speaker Mike Johnson Urged his team to focus their criticism on policies and politics. “It’s not personal Kamala HarrisAnd it has nothing to do with her ethnicity or her gender,” Johnson said.
Many of these comments are simply hateful and examples of misogynoir, a compound form of sexism and racism directed at Harris, a black and South Asian woman.
But they also have a sinister political calculation. Collectively, they aim to undermine Harris’s legitimacy as a candidate and are part of the broader criticism Republicans have leveled of his qualifications. In addition, they try to use existing racism and sexism against Harris, who activates voters who share those biases.
“They hope that the position she has achieved will tarnish her with suspicion of not having earned it and exploit the fears of those who are upset by seeing women and people of color in elite positions,” said Juliet Hookeris a Brown University political scientist and author Black grief/white grievanceA book on race and politics.
MAGA attacks attempt to question Harris’ legitimacy
The thrust line of the attack against Harris is that they use aspects of his identity to argue that he is unfit for the job.
In a thread of xNina Jankovic, an expert on delusions who published the book How to be a woman online And who led the short-lived Biden administration’s initiative on the issue, noted that consistent threads have emerged in past statements, which he assessed as part of a 2020 study. Like other experts Melanie SmithDirector of Research at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, noted, too, that Women of color are victims of this type of abuse.
These statements include that Harris is promiscuous and has used her sexuality as a weapon to get where she is – a misogynistic claim often used against successful women to question whether they deserve the position they are in. Such attacks have manifested in conservative references. His past relationship with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and repeated offensive taglines such as “Joe and the Hoe”.
This is often linked to questions about why Harris has no biological children and how this disqualifies him from becoming a leader due to claims he has not invested enough in the country’s future. This line of attack implicitly dismisses the role of stepparents in America (Harris is stepmother to a son and stepmother to a daughter), these sexist statements both invoke traditional expectations on women and attempt to undermine the VP by arguing that she does not. Those who do not adhere to standards.
including racist narratives Attack the “birtherism” style That questions Harris’s citizenship status, similarly seeks to cast doubt on his eligibility for office. This is part of a long tradition of conservatives portraying non-white politicians as short of “real Americans” and therefore unfit to hold these positions.
And statements referring to Harris as a “DEI candidate” also seek to undercut her qualifications and ignore the significant experience she would bring as the nominee.
Those comments came from Biden’s statement of commitment Choosing a woman as his number two When he ran for office in 2020. Then he narrowed her list of finalists to include four black women. These choices were intended to improve representation and diversity at the highest levels of the party, which had never before had a black woman as president or vice president. Republicans, however, took his decision as saying that Harris was chosen for that reason alone, and not him. Brings considerable merit With decades of experience as a legislator and prosecutor. Such monikers are so derogatory because they suggest that people of color are unworthy of the roles they receive, and “implies that [they] We succeed only when we need to meet quotas, not because of merit, hard work or talent. Variety writes Clayton Davis.
The aim of the misogynoir directed at Harris is to suggest that he is somehow invalid as a candidate, and to signal to those who hold this bias that the GOP is a home for them. Democrats were guilty of such rhetoric toward Harris as wellSaid Howard University political scientist Dr Kenyatta GrantNote that those call from something Party donors chose another presidential candidate over him These include variations on the same theme.
The recent MAGA attacks, in particular, however, point to how focused Republicans have been on activating white, male grievances — and exploiting the fear of women and people of color gaining more power.
“White supremacy is a powerful organized construct,” Grant told Vox. “The GOP repeatedly makes claims that we cannot succeed together as a society, that one group must absolutely fail, and that one group is absolutely stealing from another.”
