Harris Backs Away From Busing As A Federal Mandate After Biden Attack (Huffpost)

[Skya Rhen]

The comments section is interesting...

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kamala-harris-busing-federal-mandate_n_5d1df665e4b04c48140fdc3f

[Hoyt]

1. As article indicates, Biden played into what segregationists wanted -- more time to drag feet and

do nothing -- preserving separate, but unequal, schools right into 2020.


"Biden has insisted he only opposed busing ordered by the federal Education Department, and said allowing local governments and school districts to implement busing was “one of the things I argued for” at the time."

[JCannon]

12. Oh fer chrissakes...

You weren't around during the 1970s. I was. Forced busing didn't ameliorate segregation. Forced busing WORSENED segregation.

Parents don't want their kids to get up before dawn to take an hour long (maybe two-hour long) bus ride to the worst school imaginable. Plain and simple. When forced to deal with that situation, parents will move to a new district. Like it or not, that's what happens. Nothing can stop it. You can scream "Racist!" all you want, but nothing can stop it. The Supreme Court ruled a long time ago that kids cannot be bused outside of their school district. And it's not as though you'll get a different deal from THIS Supreme Court.

Talk to someone who lived through the 1970s. At that time, the post-Nixon era, the Republican party was on the ropes. People were talking about a Democratic stranglehold on the White House for decades. What turned it around? To a large degree, it was busing. People HATED busing. There were riots. Busing gave us the Reagan revolution.

Believe it or not, busing wasn't particularly well-liked by many of the black kids who came to my school in the San Fernando Valley as part of a voluntary busing program. I know this because I talked to them. Athletic programs and after-school clubs were a real pain (especially when away games increased the travel time). Those kids spent hours on the bus every day, and they came to hate it. Even then, traffic problems turned L.A. freeways into parking lots. The feeling of confinement, of being trapped, would drive anyone nuts.

I was a big Kamala Harris supporter until that debate. When she obstinately came out in favor of forced busing, it was the worst disappointment I've felt since election night, 2016. When she single-handedly wedded the Democratic party to that incredibly unpopular idea, she became the de facto chairwoman of the Committee to Re-Elect Donald Trump.

Harris says that busing worked for her. Well, how long was HER travel time? Maybe ten minutes, or so I've been told. Because SHE had a good experience, she wants to make kids in Los Angeles get up before dawn to travel for hours each day on freeways that are far worse than they were in the 1970s. Talk about self-absorbed! Her attitude is almost Trumpian.

And no, I do not prefer Biden. For reasons separate from this controversy, I have long believed that he must not get the nomination. I used to favor Harris. Right now, I (somewhat) lean toward Warren, though I'm keeping my options open.

[Tiggeroshii]

16. "Forced busing" was a term coined by Lee Atwater and crew to appeal to segregationists

It is a right wing talking point and does not belong here.

[TwilightZone]

32. The term predates Atwater.

It was in use in the early 1960s, during the debate about the Civil Rights Act, when Atwater was barely a teen.

He only co-opted it.

[Hoyt]

17. I was around, and forced busing was only used when the local white controlled government dragged

their feet.

Here's some of the states' rights BS I remember and Biden condoned when working with segregationists:

https://psmag.com/.image/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_1240/MTU0Nzg4NTg1ODAxNzg2NDk1/b197a887c90182409ab5f9a8d4699742.webp







?_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.cdninstagram.com

[Tiggeroshii]

21. "Forced busing" was a term specifically coined to form consensus against it

And make a white supremacist goal mainstream. That term should not be repeated.

[JCannon]

28. Forced busing is precisely the right term

It WAS forced. So why not use the correct terminology? A blinkered insistence on euphemism isn't going to make a two-hour bus trip in Los Angeles any more palatable.

And it wasn't Lee Atwater who concocted the term. Where do people come up with this ridiculous revisionist history? Atwater was unknown then, as far as the general public was concerned.

Los Angeles wasn't the south. In the 1970s, the San Fernando Valley was liberal. Working class liberals north of the boulevard, Hollywood liberals south of the boulevard. They all hated Republicans.

Until busing.

[Tiggeroshii]

29. Source of "revisionist history": New York Times, 6 October, 2005

"You start out in 1954 by saying, 'Nigger, nigger, nigger.' By 1968 you can't say 'nigger' -- that hurts you. Backfires. So you say stuff like forced busing, states' rights and all that stuff. You're getting so abstract now [that] you're talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you're talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is [that] blacks get hurt worse than whites.

https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/06/opinion/impossible-ridiculous-repugnant.html

[JCannon]

37. That's no proof at all

That's a story from 2005, and it does not mention the term in question. Atwater did NOT concoct the term "forced busing." Atwater was Charlie Nobody in the early 1970s. You weren't around then, kid, so stop pretending that you knew what it was like. Typical Sanders supporter -- lying your head off in order to divide Americans. You can't invent fake history and then expect people to go along with your hallucinations.

Forced busing increased segregation. Proven. Indisputable.

From Wikipedia.

"In April 1971, in the case Bradley v. Richmond School Board, Federal District Judge Robert R. Merhige, Jr., ordered an extensive citywide busing program in Richmond, Virginia. When the massive busing program began in the fall of 1971, parents of all races complained about the long rides, hardships with transportation for extracurricular activities, and the separation of siblings when elementary schools at opposite sides of the city were "paired", (i.e., splitting lower and upper elementary grades into separate schools). The result was further white flight to private schools and to suburbs in the neighboring counties of Henrico and Chesterfield that were predominately white...

"The percentage of white students in Richmond city schools declined from 45 to 21 percent between 1960 and 1975 and continued to decline over the next several decades. By 2010 white students accounted for less than 9 percent of student enrollment in Richmond.[40] This so-called "white flight" prevented Richmond schools from ever becoming truly integrated."

[R B Garr]

45. Thanks for your input. You are 100% correct about the disaster

it is to even insinuate Democrats are going to be arguing about this 40 year old issue.

[wyldwolf]

3. This

[Cirque du So-What]

7. Like that, do ya?

Got any disparaging words of your own that you'd like to contribute?

[wyldwolf]

4. From the darling of the left to self-inflicted wound...

... in less than a week.

[George II]

5. It never should have been raised as an issue.

[thesquanderer]

6. I don't see any comments section. Hmmph. (n/t)

[Skya Rhen]

9. You would have to click on the bubble icon, on the left of the website...

[SunSeeker]

18. The HuffPo comment section is infested with right wing trolls.

Why anyone here would direct people there is strange.

[SunSeeker]

8. Misleading headline. She did not "back away from busing as a federal mandate."

Here is what she actually said, as stated in the article itself:

After a Democratic Party picnic Wednesday in West Des Moines, Harris was asked by reporters whether she supports federally mandated busing.

“I think of busing as being in the toolbox of what is available and what can be used for the goal of desegregating America’s schools,” she responded.

Asked to clarify whether she supports federally mandated busing, she replied, “I believe that any tool that is in the toolbox should be considered by a school district.”

That is very different from saying she opposes federally mandated school busing. As she pointed out in the debate, sometimes the school districts refuse to do the right thing. That is when the feds must step in:

HARRIS: So, that’s where the federal government must step in.

BIDEN: The–the federal government must–

HARRIS: –That’s why we have the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act. That’s why we need to pass the Equality Act. That’s why we need to pass the ERA because there are–

BIDEN: –That–

HARRIS: –Moments in-

HARRIS: –history where states fail to preserve the civil rights of all people.

https://time.com/5616518/2020-democratic-debate-night-2-transcript/

[Skya Rhen]

10. This is Huffpost's Headline...

[SunSeeker]

13. Yes, and you posted it, without even including Harris' actual quote.

Why?

[treestar]

11. Any more unfair than the claim

that Biden "worked with segregationists" when he was only talking about how they could talk back then whereas now it is completely partisan?

[SunSeeker]

14. So two wrongs make a right? Seriously?

And who said Biden "worked with segregationists"? It wasn't Kamala Harris.

[treestar]

19. She found it hurtful that he mentioned talking with them

and worked with them again busing. That was the position in general. You can't really object to parsing her words or jumping to conclusions about them when that is what happens to Biden daily.

[SunSeeker]

22. That's what I thought. You made up the quote.

And I agree, Biden's and all the Dem candidates' words are being parsed and misleadingly interpreted. Why is that ok here too? Can't we leave the misleading shit-stirring to HuffPo and Rushbo and not give it space here?

[UniteFightBack]

15. She said "considered by a school DISTRICT". I think she did a pretty good job with the walk back.nt

[SunSeeker]

20. No, she just said the school district should consider it, not that the feds shouldn't intervene.

That is not a walk back.

[thesquanderer]

25. A misleading headline from HuffPo? What is the world coming to?

[NYMinute]

23. Epic flip-flop

This will be noticed

[SunSeeker]

24. Did you read the article? All she said was school districts should consider busing. nt

[NYMinute]

36. She said the same thing that she attacked Joe Biden with

Then, when it created heat of "Kamala is for busing children" - because of the attack, she flip-flopped to the exact same position as Joe Biden.

[SunSeeker]

38. No she didn't. Her position is fed action should be part of the anti-segregation "tool box."

Whereas Biden opposed federal action on busing. That is not the "exact same position."

[NYMinute]

42. You can try to spin it that way but it is obvious to everyone. nt

[SunSeeker]

46. I'm not engaing in spin. I'm stating her position. She stated it again today.

Today she addressed the Biden campaign's assertion that her "tool box" statement meant she agreed with Biden:

That statement led many within the Biden campaign to say that Harris essentially agrees with Biden. She pushed back on that notion at an Indianola house party Thursday afternoon. 

“Sadly, we do not agree,” she said. She said that although she currently supports voluntary busing, it was wrong to oppose it in the 1960s and 1970s when “there were forces and individuals and supposed leaders in our country who actively worked against the integration of schools based on race.” 

“I’ve asked him and have yet to hear him agree that busing that was court-ordered and mandated in most places and in that era in which I was bused was necessary,” Harris said. 

“He has yet to agree that his position on this, which was to work with segregationists and oppose busing, was wrong.
Period.”

 https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2019/07/04/joe-biden-kamala-harris-iowa-caucuses-2020-4th-july-busing-school-integration-debate-exchange/1647944001/

[Mme. Defarge]

26. A hit and run?

[ucrdem]

34. We're allowed to do that here ...

But this poster is not a troll. It's a holiday and people have things to do. Speaking of which happy 4th!

[Thomas Hurt]

27. sheesh, everyone including Harris should just move on from busing...

the longer any of the candidates linger on it, the more openings they give that fascist pig in the WH to use it as narrative.

Trump and his servile lackeys are good at that if nothing else.

[SunSeeker]

30. She was responding to a question from a reporter. It was not in her prepared remarks.

But I agree. We need to be discussing other issues. Like healthcare. And impeaching the motherfucker.

[ucrdem]

35. good luck putting the genie back in the bottle.

In my frank opinion the only way to stop this swiftboat before it ruins us is to declare a Biden-Harris ticket and call it early, formally or informally. Otherwise this thing is gonna kill us.

[wyldwolf]

31. Rev. Jesse Jackson says Harris on 'the wrong side of history' with busing

Rev. Jesse Jackson says Harris on 'the wrong side of history' with busing

The Rev. Jesse Jackson knocked Kamala Harris for her views on busing, saying the senator is on "the wrong side of history."

No wait! He said that about Biden before Harris flip flopped and took Joe’s position.

Ah well, Jessie. We’re waiting for you to call out Kamala.

[ucrdem]

33. LOL, Joe Biden, accidental prophet.

Who knew?

[SunSeeker]

39. Why should Rev. Jackdon "call out" Harris? She did not make a pro-states rights argument.

She just said busing should be part of the "tool box" to address segregation. She did not say she opposed the Department of Education ordering busing to desegregate schools. Biden said that.

[Demsrule86]

43. Sure she did...by saying she opposed federally imposed busing she left it to the states...states

right.

[SunSeeker]

44. That's not what she said.

That statement led many within the Biden campaign to say that Harris essentially agrees with Biden. She pushed back on that notion at an Indianola house party Thursday afternoon. 

“Sadly, we do not agree,” she said. She said that although she currently supports voluntary busing, it was wrong to oppose it in the 1960s and 1970s when “there were forces and individuals and supposed leaders in our country who actively worked against the integration of schools based on race.” 

“I’ve asked him and have yet to hear him agree that busing that was court-ordered and mandated in most places and in that era in which I was bused was necessary,” Harris said. 

“He has yet to agree that his position on this, which was to work with segregationists and oppose busing, was wrong. Period.” 

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2019/07/04/joe-biden-kamala-harris-iowa-caucuses-2020-4th-july-busing-school-integration-debate-exchange/1647944001/

[Demsrule86]

47. She said she had the same position as he does...so...Hope she can manage to explain herself.

[SunSeeker]

48. Nope. He opposes the fed ordered busing in the 60s/70s, she doesn't. nt

[highplainsdem]

40. I'm seeing a LOT of tweets about Harris's backtracking, and they're showing up among

the Top tweets whether I'm searching Twitter for

biden

or

kamala harris

or

harris debate



For instance, this from Slate's Jordan Weissman:

Link to tweet

and this from Sam Metz of the Desert Sun and USA Today, commenting on a TPM tweet on Harris's backtracking

Link to tweet

and this from CNBC's John Harwood

Link to tweet

commenting on a thread from James Surowiecki (Slate, the New Yorker) that starts here

Link to tweet

that was followed by a few unlinked tweets about her waffling, ending with this tweet:

Link to tweet

I even ran across this tweet from the digital TV producer for America's Got Talent (who supports Mayor Pete, judging by his tweets):

Link to tweet

I don't think backtracking was the meme Harris was looking for, but I couldn't help noticing how often it turned up, even from people who are definitely NOT Biden supporters.

[Cha]

41. Wow.. this should be an OP,

highplainsdem

Thank You!

[oasis]

49. Selling "authenticity" won't be so easy as selling t-shirts.