With the only scheduled debate between the two presidential candidates now behind us, Americans are still wondering what Harris has to offer other than questioning Trump’s record.
The GOP candidate is a former president and prolific businessman who is currently the target of a witch hunt unleashed by the Biden administration. The Democratic bait-and-switch candidate is a career politician who rose to the office of vice president despite her mixed record. The kid-glove approach to Harris sharply contrasts the grilling that Trump is subjected to at every turn.
The former president has had to defend his actions and policies numerous times, but Harris takes no responsibility for the mess the country is in. Her record as a prosecutor and AG has not received the kind of media and public scrutiny it warrants.
Take, for instance, the 2011 California truancy law, which Harris wholeheartedly supported as the state attorney general and championed into law. As a San Francisco local prosecutor then eyeing California’s attorney general post, she proudly declared, “I decided I was going to start prosecuting parents for truancy.”
Intended to curb absenteeism in schools, the law, which went into effect on January 1st of that year, instead led to the criminalization of parents. According to the legislation, parents could be fined up to $2,000 or “imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.” Parents and guardians of all school students aged six and above enrolled in kindergarten through eighth grade are covered by the law. The rule applied to any adult “whose child is a chronic truant … who has failed to reasonably supervise and encourage the pupil’s school attendance, and who has been offered language accessible support services to address the pupil’s truancy.”
Turning a blind eye to how the law could be misused, at her inauguration as California’s attorney general, Harris said, “We are putting parents on notice. If you fail in your responsibility to your kids, we are going to work to make sure you face the full force and consequences of the law.”
While much of the left welcomed the “tough on truancy” approach, others pointed out the perils of criminalizing parents and guardians. The rule brought law enforcement into contact with vulnerable families and young children in yet another disadvantageous instance. Missing school could result from a myriad of problems—from unemployed parents to health issues or learning difficulties. Experts from various fields wondered if the police and the courts were the best methods to address the issue or if the threat of court proceedings could actually remedy the situation.
As a member of the criminal justice system, Harris ignored the nuances of the problem at hand and utterly failed to realize the judiciary's limitations in addressing the overarching problems that plague the inner cities and vulnerable sections of America. And the fears were proved right.
Probably the most well-known case is that of Ms. Cheree Peoples. She was arrested by the Orange County Sheriff’s office and paraded in handcuffs before the media waiting outside her home for the photo-op. Ms. Peoples’ crime was that her daughter, suffering from chronic sickle-cell anemia, had missed a significant amount of school. The truth was that the school was aware of the situation and was putting together a plan to help. But, since the plan was not yet in place, Ms. Peoples was charged under the law. Even after the child’s condition and the school’s plans came to light, there was immense pressure on Ms. Peoples to plead guilty. Reeling under her daughter’s illness and struggling to stay employed because of her child’s needs, the African-American mother was forced to undergo the humiliation and stress of being arrested and fighting the charges in court.
Harris claimed during her short-lived 2020 campaign that criminalizing parents was “never the intention.” Eight years after the law came into effect, in 2019, she replied in the affirmative when asked if she would “extend the [anti-truancy] program on a federal level, or try to figure out ways to address truancy on a federal level.” The only concession was that the VP also concurred that “the Department of Education is more suited to handle truancy issues.”
While the GOP and the Democrats vow to unite the deeply divided nation, their approaches couldn’t be more markedly different. Trump promises to seal the southern border and stop aiding others who risk Americans’ future; Harris offers to continue Biden-era plans and propagate her ultra-left-leaning policies that many find hard to live with.
Choose wisely, America!
