Yes, ‘Kamala is a cop.’ This time, it could help her win an election.

By Catherine Rampell,

Harris’s prosecutorial background could be a huge asset.

Vice President Harris is a “cop.” That’s how the progressive left attacked her the last time she ran for president. It’s also what might help her win this time around.

Republicans have suggested that Harris is poised to become the Democratic Party’s nominee solely because of identity politics. She’s a woman, Black, South Asian and the child of immigrants, ergo she must be a “DEI” or affirmative action case. And sure, when it comes to consolidating Democratic support, those traits don’t hurt.
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But demographics aside, her professional CV is unusually well-suited to the moment in one way: She’s credibly tough on crime, which is among both voters’ top concerns and Democrats’ biggest vulnerabilities.

Harris began her career in California in the Alameda County prosecutor’s office, pursuing child abusers and sex traffickers. In a saner, less partisan world, those legions of QAnoners who profess great concern over sex-trafficked kids would back her rather than Donald Trump, who palled around with Jeffrey Epstein.

But even if those nutters aren’t persuadable, perhaps the more moderate middle is.

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