In 1959, Richard Condon’s book The Manchurian Candidate was published, a political thriller about a communist plot to infiltrate the highest echelons of the U.S. political system, thereby allowing communism to spread its wings in the United States. Fortunately, this work of fiction remained just that; a fictitious tale.

Yet, here we are, a few decades after the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, with an avowed Marxist on the top of the Democrat ticket.

Vice President Kamala Harris is a Marxist. This is not hyperbole; it is an indisputable fact.

Although Kamala Harris’ campaign likes to tell the story that she grew up in Oakland, the truth is that she was born and raised in the Marxist enclave known as Berkeley, California. Although there is nothing wrong with growing up in Berkeley per se, I find it interesting that Harris and her campaign have chosen to hide this fact from the people.

Another thing Harris’ campaign and the mainstream media are hiding from the American people is Kamala’s record and policy positions. While serving as the junior senator from California from 2017 to 2021, Harris supported several Marxist ideas and flat-out socialist bills.

Consider.

In 2019, then-senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) co-sponsored the Green New Deal (GND), a socialist wish list if ever there were one. In short, the Green New Deal calls for a transition to 100 percent renewable energy; carbon taxes; a universal basic income, even for those “unwilling to work;” a government jobs guarantee; free college; an increase to the federal minimum wage; among many other Marxian dreams. According to estimates, the GND would cost somewhere between $52 trillion to $93 trillion over a 10-year period.

That same year, Harris also endorsed Medicare for All, which would include the elimination of private health insurance. According to Harris, “The idea is that everyone gets access to medical care, and you don't have to go through the process of going through an insurance company, having them give you approval, going through the paperwork, all of the delay that may require. Who of us has not had that situation, where you've got to wait for approval, and the doctor says, ‘Well, I don't know if your insurance company is going to cover this?’ Let’s eliminate all of that. Let’s move on.”

If supporting the GND and abolishing private health insurance are not enough to convince Americans that Harris is indeed a Marxist, she also wants to ban so-called assault weapons. Throughout history, Marxist/socialist regimes have instituted gun grabs to disarm the people. After all, the right to bear arms poses a big hurdle to a government that seeks to gain total control over 330 million people.

Kamala also supports free health care, education, and housing for illegal immigrants. In other words, Harris favors an open borders welfare state. This is inimical to common sense and America’s foundational principles.

Now, many mainstream media pundits will say those are her prior positions. They claim, without evidence, that Kamala has changed her mind on all those issues. Well, until we hear from Kamala, who has ghosted the media for more than a month, we actually don’t know if she actually has disavowed her Marxist agenda.

However, we do know that as of this writing (which could change at any moment), that Harris supports Soviet-style price controls. And, we know, based on tidbits from her economic plan, that she wants the federal government to oversee the construction of three million new homes.

With less than 10 weeks before Election Day, I doubt the Harris campaign will deliver a detailed economic platform. It appears as though the Harris campaign believes that “joy” and “good vibes” alone will be enough to convince voters that she should be the next president.

But I believe this is a lousy plan that will backfire. Most polls show that the economy and the high cost of living are the top priorities this election. With that being said, I still think the American people have enough common sense to know that Marxist economic policies will make things much worse, not better.

Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is editorial director at The Heartland Institute.

Image: AT via Magic Studio