Vice President Kamala Harris gave an incendiary speech in Columbia, South Carolina on Martin Luther King Day, comparing the violent Ferguson riots to the fight for freedom in the bloody Civil War.
“I do believe the true power behind the promise of America is in the faith of her people. The promise of America, I do believe, is in the faith of the people – our faith in the founding principles of our nation and our profound commitment to make those principles real,” Harris proclaimed while speaking behind a thick bulletproof barrier at the NAACP South Carolina State Conference’s annual “King Day at the Dome.”
“Generation after generation, on the fields of Gettysburg, in the schools of Little Rock, on the grounds of this state house, on the streets of Ferguson, and on the floor of the Tennessee House of Representatives, we the people have always fought to make the promise of freedom real,” she declared.
The comments were made in a speech that railed against conservatives and their stances on voting procedures that she claims force “students to wait in line for hours because of laws that intentionally make it more difficult for them to cast a ballot.” She also raised issues such as gun violence that purportedly forces “active-shooter drills” in schools, book bans, and gay rights. Harris accused Republicans of trying to rewrite history and supporting slavery. The vice president decried unnecessary debates that allegedly distract Americans as well.
(Video Credit: PBS NewsHour)
Harris contended that “freedom is under profound threat.” She brought into the mix the nixing of Roe vs. Wade, the landmark abortion case that the Supreme Court overturned in 2022.
“Freedom is fundamental to the promise of America,” Harris stated, adding that people must have “freedom from fear, violence, and harm, freedom to vote, to live, to learn, to control one’s own body, and the freedom to simply be.”
“On social media, Harris’ remarks comparing the Battle of Gettysburg, which is widely considered the turning point of the Civil War, to the protests and riots in Ferguson and gun control activists breaching the Tennessee Capitol last year raised eyebrows,” Fox News noted.
“Kamala Harris says the Ferguson riots and the disruptions by a few far-left Tennessee state representatives are just like what happened ‘on the fields of Gettysburg’ and ‘in the schools of Little Rock,’” RNC Research pointed out on X.
Kamala Harris says the Ferguson riots and the disruptions by a few far-left Tennessee state representatives are just like what happened “on the fields of Gettysburg” and “in the schools of Little Rock” pic.twitter.com/axM6U5buHj — RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 15, 2024
The fields of Gettysburg ran red with the blood of decent Americans fighting to make America a BETTER place; ZERO correlation between Gettysburg and Ferguson riots. My 4th g grandfather left his home in NH to fight and survived. Looking around today, he’d probably stay home. — Shainfla (@bur_shay) January 15, 2024
Comparing the raging protests that took place in Ferguson, Missouri to the Civil War is a stretch of such magnitude it is almost laughable.
The violence that ensued in Ferguson resulted in the arrests of 321 people. Sixteen individuals, including police officers, were injured in the riots.
“Harris’ comment that Americans ‘make the promise of freedom real’ through actions such as protesting on ‘the floor of the Tennessee House of Representatives’ was in reference to protests that formed outside and within the Tennessee Capitol last year,” Fox News reported.
“A trio of Democratic state lawmakers led protesters on the House floor last March calling for stricter gun control measures following the Covenant School shooting in Nashville. The Christian school shooting killed three children and three adults last March, while the shooter, identified as transgender former student Audrey Hale, was fatally shot by police,” the media outlet continued.
(Video Credit: Fox News)
Again, the comparison to the Civil War which resulted in many, many deaths, is patently ridiculous.
There were over 1,000 protesters who gathered outside the state Capitol. Legislative business was halted as “The Tennessee Three,” used a bullhorn, calling for gun control. Republicans compared the event to an “insurrection.”
Harris concluded her speech by spouting talking points that seemed to be a catchall for Democrat grievances while asserting that Americans will fight for their freedom. She urged people to fight back at the ballot box against Republicans.
The NAACP named the theme of Harris’ pandering propagandic speech “Ballots for Freedom, Ballots for Justice, Ballots for Change!”
Kamala Harris trots out her favorite line when paying respects to MLK Jr. pic.twitter.com/iogdHo2UT3 — Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) January 15, 2024
“The great Coretta Scott King once said, ‘Freedom is never truly won. You earn it and win it in every generation.’… At this moment in history, in the relay race of history, I say, then, let us not throw up our hands, because it’s time to roll up our sleeves. And we were born for a time such as this,” Harris said wrapping up her speech.