The sharp contrast between the two parties was on full display yesterday. Democrats cheered as newly-selected VP candidate Kamala Harris stepped onto the presidential ticket and spoke of healing, unity and solutions. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the victor in a contested GOP congressional primary in Georgia, is known for her embrace of conspiracy theories, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, Islamophobia and the Confederacy.
Kamala Harris is an historic and inspired choice. As a woman of color and the daughter of immigrants, Senator Harris embodies an America that is inclusive, welcoming, optimistic and forward-looking. Senator Harris is a leader of the Democratic Party, a champion of immigrants and stands with the vast majority of Americans who want to create a roadmap to citizenship for their undocumented neighbors.
Marjorie Taylor Greene underscores the GOP’s embrace of a revanchist, fearful, and angry vision for America. Greene is not just a conspiracy theorist supporter of QAnon, she is a virulently racist and anti-Semitic candidate who is now poised to win the general election in a deeply red congressional seat. Greene has posed for photos with a KKK leader; embraced anti-Semitic tropes; and promoted openly racist ideas, including that Muslims shouldn’t hold elected office. She even cut an ad in support of the police officer who killed an unarmed Rayshard Brooks in the back in Atlanta. Of course, in today’s GOP helmed by Donald Trump, none of this seems disqualifying. In fact, Trump tweeted his support and congratulations after Greene’s primary victory. And as the New York Times noted, Greene raised money from Rep. Jim Jordan, a PAC associated with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, and major GOP donor Koch Industries.
The following is a statement by Douglas Rivlin, Director of Communication for America’s Voice:
What’s at stake this November is more than a set of policy distinctions but rather a fundamentally different vision for America and our future. Kamala Harris and Marjorie Taylor Greene perfectly encapsulate those dueling visions: one, an optimistic and inclusive America where the daughter of immigrants and a woman of color can rise through her smarts and savvy to historic heights; the other, a gun-toting, fear-mongering conspiracy theorist whose embrace of the ugliest of racist and nativist ideas is not a disqualifier for the most powerful figures in the GOP.
Evidently, just as the Republican Party cannot counter the spread of the coronavirus in our country, they cannot counter the spread of the racism virus in their party, either.
This November, we look forward to standing with the strong majority of Americans who are squarely on the side of an inclusive America that is strengthened by our diversity and is ready to work together to tackle the biggest challenges of our times.
