Vice President Kamala Harris touched on all the major Democratic policies at a Houston campaign stop.
Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee Monday, a day after President Joe Biden announced he was ending his reelection bid. Harris is now attempting to rally Democratic support by hitting on all the major Democratic platitudes, showcased in her Houston speech.
While speaking at the American Federation of Teachers convention, Harris naturally focused some of her speech on the importance of unions.
“As head of the White House Labor Task Force, I have led our work to eliminate barriers to organizing in both public and private sectors, including for teachers,” she said. “But there is more that we must do. President Joe Biden and I promised to sign the PRO Act into law, and I promise you I will keep that promise.”
Harris went on to credit unions for better working conditions and the five-hour work week.
Since the repeal of Roe v. Wade, focusing on abortion has proved to be a successful electoral strategy for Democrats. Harris weaved this into her speech, contrasting Democrats with Republicans in their belief in “reproductive freedom.”
“And we, who believe in reproductive freedom, will restore the freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not have her government telling her what to do,” she said.
Harris claimed Republicans were trying to ban books showcasing true history.
“And while you teach students about our nation’s past, these extremists attack the freedom to learn and acknowledge our nation’s true and full history, including book bans,” Harris said. “Book bans, in this year of our Lord 2024!”
“And on these last two issues, on these last two issues, just think about it. So we want to ban assault weapons, and they want to ban books. Can you imagine?” she added.
Harris claimed Republican “extremists” were trying to ban gay marriage, contrasting it with her own acceptance of the practice.
“All the while, these extremists also attack the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride,” she said. “They passed so-called Don’t Say Gay laws. Now, so I have to tell you, so many of you may know, in 2004, on Valentine’s Day weekend, I was one of the first elected officials in the country to perform same-sex marriages.”
“So here’s the thing, it pains me so to think, 20 years later, that there are some young teachers in their 20s who are afraid to put up a photograph of themselves and their partner for fear they could lose their job,” Harris continued.
Harris brought up gun control on multiple occasions, blasting Republicans for not supporting the matter.
“In this moment, across our nation, we witness a full-on attack on hard-won, hard-fought freedoms. While you teach students about democracy and representative government, extremists attack the sacred freedom to vote. While you try to create safe and welcoming places where our children can learn, extremists attack our freedom to live safe from gun violence,” Harris said. “They have the nerve to tell teachers to strap on a gun in a classroom. While they refuse to pass common sense gun safety laws.”
Harris championed the cause of student loan debt, bringing up an anecdote about one teacher who had her student loans forgiven.
“We see a future where every student has the support and the resources they need to thrive and a future where no teacher has to struggle with the burden of student loan debt,” she said.
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Harris invoked the specter of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, which includes a list of conservative policy suggestions for a Republican administration. Though former President Donald Trump has repeatedly disavowed it, she once again claimed that it outlines a dystopian vision of the United States.
“And you, I’m sure, have seen their agenda, Project 2025,” Harris said to boos from the crowd. “Can you believe they put this thing in writing? Nine hundred pages in writing.”
“So Project 2025 is a plan to return America to a dark past,” she continued. “Donald Trump and his extreme allies want to take our nation back to failed economic policies, back to union busting, back to tax breaks for billionaires. Donald Trump and his allies want to cut Medicare and Social Security, to stop student loan forgiveness for teachers and other public servants.”