Haley Voters: Policy Priorities
The Haley Voters Working Group continues to present common-sense policy priorities that will help to move all presidential campaigns to the reasonable center.
With Vice President Kamala Harris taking over as the presumptive Democratic nominee, we wanted to revise our priorities accordingly.
1) Moderate Vice President: It is critical that VP Harris select a moderate Vice President. Centrist voters would be particularly supportive of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. We would also welcome North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, or Arizona Senator Mark Kelly.
2) Border Security: Our working group strongly endorsed the June 4 Biden-Harris Executive Order to secure the border and we are pleased that border crossings have significantly reduced since then. It was a common-sense policy solution. We also believe the bipartisan border security bill was critical legislation and are disappointed that former President Trump blocked the bill for political reasons. We ask that VP Harris fully embrace the Executive Order and commit to prioritizing bipartisan legislation to secure the border once elected.
3) Bipartisan Cabinet: The Harris campaign should commit to appointing at least one reasonable Republican to a high-level Cabinet position to demonstrate her commitment to governing in a bipartisan way.
4) Israel/Anti-Semitism: We ask VP Harris to emphasize ironclad support for Israel’s security and press for the immediate return of the hostages captured by Hamas. We agree with the need to prevent the further loss of innocent Palestinian and Israeli lives, and to press for improving the humanitarian conditions in Gaza. The Biden Administration should also more aggressively challenge Iran and its proxies in the region. We appreciate VP Harris’s July 25 statements condemning pro-Hamas violence and vandalism, and we ask that the Vice President and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff continue to combat anti-Semitism.
5) Russia/NATO: The Haley Voters Working Group appreciates the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to strengthen NATO and stand strong against Russia. We encourage VP Harris to allow U.S. weaponry to be used by Ukraine to strike any necessary targets within Russia. We also ask VP Harris to commit to defending “every inch” of NATO territory.
6) Indo-Pacific: We welcome a tough economic and security policy that forces China to play by international rules and supports our allies in the Indo-Pacific. We ask that VP Harris strongly advocate for continuing military aid to Taiwan and make clear that any actions by the PRC to take over Taiwan will be met with devastating consequences. We also ask VP Harris to use all available tools to sanction China for human rights abuses in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.
7) Fiscal Responsibility: Both Republican and Democratic administrations have been fiscally irresponsible. We respectfully ask that Vice President Harris - while fully protecting Social Security and Medicare for those that have paid into the system - express openness to discussing our long-term fiscal health in a way that does not negatively impact the middle-class or anyone who has already entered or retired from the workforce. We respectfully ask for her to release a plan to reduce the national debt without increasing taxes on the middle class or small businesses.
8) Energy Production: The Harris campaign should commit to not just being “energy independent” but “energy dominant.” We recognize that this is already happening in reality with all forms of energy production reaching record highs. We believe that energy dominance makes us stronger at home and abroad. The Biden-Harris campaign told us there was no “EV mandate” so we would appreciate the Harris campaign better explaining its policies on EVs - please tell everyday Americans you will not take away their gas-powered vehicles! Any new international climate agreement should dramatically raise the commitments from India and China.
9) Reproductive Rights/Religious Freedom: We understand that VP Harris will continue to strongly and publicly fight to preserve the reproductive rights of women and fight against any effort to ban IVF. We welcome efforts to protect the right of women to freely travel in between states. Women should never be fined or punished for their decisions. At the same time, we ask that VP Harris commit to enforce existing laws stating that doctors and nurses receiving government funding should not be forced to perform an abortion if they have religious or ethical exceptions/concerns. We ask VP Harris to commit to maintaining a cultural tolerance for religious freedom and disavow any cultural or legal attempt to reduce the influence of conservative churches.
10) Supreme Court/Filibuster: We ask that you reject any effort to expand the size of the Supreme Court, which would only lead to partisan games that further undermine its credibility. We are open to engaging on a bipartisan discussion of Supreme Court term limits. Please reject any effort to eliminate the filibuster - it helps to prevent bad laws from being enacted and will surely backfire on Democrats when Republicans take over the Senate.
11) Gun Violence: We were appalled by the assassination attempt on former President Trump and the endless cycle of school shootings that have taken place. We applaud reasonable legislation like the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. We ask, however, that you express your firm commitment to upholding Second Amendment rights. We encourage you to assure law-abiding gun owners that they have no reason to worry about their guns being taken away.