科罗拉多州民主党州长贾里德·波利斯(Jared Polis)为副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯在2020年总统竞选和今年问鼎白宫之间的政策转变进行了辩护,因为共和党人抓住了人们认为的差异。
哈里斯的盟友波利斯告诉《本周》的联合主播乔纳森·卡尔,哈里斯在水力压裂、边境墙、医疗保健等问题上的转变是某人能够根据需要适应的标志。
“我认为这是一个优秀领导者的标志,他们会随着时间的推移而学习和发展,”波利斯说。“无论是向中间、左边、右边转移,都是关于什么是有效的。卡玛拉·哈里斯是一位务实的领导人,她着眼于数据和科学,尽可能做出最佳决策。”
当被问及2020年竞选总统的民主党人是否过于左倾时,他补充说:“民主党是一个广泛的政党,他们有保守的人,也有自由的人。”。“卡玛拉·哈里斯说过,我相信她的话,她将成为所有美国人的领袖,所有美国人的总统。这意味着,不管你的意识形态如何,你的观点都会有一席之地。”
共和党人抓住了他们在她2020年竞选期间的一系列问题上的人字拖,当时民主党沉浸在进步热情中。
在周四接受CNN采访时,她接受民主党提名后的首次深度采访哈里斯坚称她的价值观没有改变——这一观点在周日得到了回应。
当被问及哈里斯过去对“全民医疗保险”的支持时,这位科罗拉多人表示,副总统仍然致力于让医疗保健变得更加实惠。
“作为一种基本价值观,每个美国人都应该享有医疗保健吗?绝对的。几乎所有其他富裕国家都这么做。我们做得很差,”他说。“我想她理解美国人希望拥有自己选择的医疗保健,但我们能做得更好,为人们节省医疗保健费用吗?绝对是。”
哈里斯在2019年还抨击了时任总统唐纳德·特朗普提出的边境墙,称当时这是一个“中世纪的虚荣项目”,她不会支持为此提供资金。现在,她正在兜售对两党边境安全法案的支持,共和党人阻止该法案朝着特朗普的方向前进,其中包括大约6.5亿美元的边境墙建设费用,低于特朗普在2018年寻求的180亿美元。
波利斯表示,哈里斯认为特朗普的边境墙提案无效,是浪费纳税人的钱,这是正确的,但边境沿线某些地方的隔离墙和其他障碍可能会被证明是有效的。
“的确,唐纳德·特朗普提议的边境墙是对纳税人金钱的巨大浪费。他有效地谈论了跨越整个边界的隔离墙,而不是以具有成本效益的方式有效地使用不同种类的屏障,包括来自卫星的图像,包括地面情报,以确保和锁定边界。卡玛拉·哈里斯的目的是尽可能以最具成本效益的方式保护它,”波利斯说。
Jared Polis defends Harris' shifts on policy
Democratic Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado defended Vice President Kamala Harris' shifts on policy between her 2020 presidential campaign and her White House bid this year as Republicans seize on perceived discrepancies.
Polis, a Harris ally, told "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl that Harris' shifts on issues like fracking, the border wall, health care and others are the sign of someone who can adapt as needed.
"I think it's a sign of a good leader, that they learn and evolve over time," Polis said. "Whether it's a move to the middle, the left, the right, it's really about what works. Kamala Harris is a pragmatic leader who looks at data and science and makes the best decisions she can."
"Democrats are a broad tent party, and they have people who are conservative, they have people who are liberal," he added when asked if Democrats running for president in 2020 had veered too far to the left. "What Kamala Harris has said, and I take her at her word, is she's going to be a leader for all Americans, a president for all Americans. And that means, regardless of your ideology, there's going to be a place for your viewpoints."
Republicans have seized on what they cast as flip-flops on a range of issues from her 2020 campaign, when progressive fervor gripped the Democratic Party.
During an interview with CNN on Thursday -- herfirst in-depth interview since accepting the Democratic nominee, Harris insisted that her values hadn't changed -- an argument Polis echoed on Sunday.
When pressed on Harris' past support for "Medicare for All" -- a proposal she no longer supports -- the Coloradan said the vice president is still invested in making health care more affordable.
"As a basic value, should every American have access to health care? Absolutely. Almost every other wealthy country does that. We do it very poorly," he said. "I think she understands that Americans want to have their choice of health care, but can we do better and save people money on health care? Absolutely."
Harris in 2019 also lambasted the border wall proposed by then-President Donald Trump, calling it at the time a "medieval vanity project" and that she would not support funds for it. Now, she is touting support for a bipartisan border security bill that Republicans blocked from advancing at Trump's direction, which included roughly $650 million for border wall construction -- shy of the $18 billion Trump sought in 2018.
Polis said Harris was right to cast Trump's border wall proposal as ineffective and a waste of taxpayer money, but that walls and other barriers in certain places along the border could prove effective.
"That's true that the border wall that Donald Trump has proposed is a huge boondoggle and waste of taxpayer money. He effectively talked about a wall across the entire border, rather than using barriers of different kinds effectively in a cost-effective manner, including imagery from satellites, including on-the-ground intel to secure and lock down the border. What Kamala Harris is for is securing it in the most cost-effective way possible," Polis said.