Kamala Harris woos Pa. Republicans where Washington crossed the Delaware

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Vice President Kamala Harris extended an offer of goodwill and potential collaboration in her effort to court disaffected Republicans. At Washington Crossing in Bucks County, Harris evoked patriotism and a collective American origin.

“We meet in a place that holds a very special meaning for our country,” she told the crowd. “Here on Christmas Night, 1776, General George Washington and over 2,000 troops crossed the icy Delaware River in darkness, then marched to Trenton where they surprised an outpost of enemy soldiers and achieved a major victory in the American Revolution.”

More than 100 Republicans attended the event, highlighting a broad bipartisan support for the candidate, whose polling numbers are close to her challenger, Republican former President Donald Trump. Senior officials from every Republican presidential administration since Reagan, along with those who have worked for Republican presidential candidates, have publicly endorsed her. Other Republican supporters include former members of Congress such as Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger and Jim Greenwood, who represented Bucks County in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican from 1993 to 2005.

Harris used the specter of Jan. 6 to make her pitch and pointedly applauded then-Vice President Mike Pence for his refusal to stop the electoral vote count.

“[Trump] refused to engage in the peaceful transfer of power. Were it not for the courage and patriotism of Vice President Pence that day, Donald Trump might have actually succeeded in overturning the will of the American people,” she said, adding that he can’t be given the opportunity to “do it again.”

“If you share that view, no matter your party, no matter who you voted for last time, there is a place for you in this campaign,” she said.

Harris was introduced by Pennsylvanian Bob Lange, a fifth generation Pennsylvania farmer, and his wife, Kristina. Bob said he voted for Donald Trump twice and Kristina voted for him once.

“I thought he’d fight for people like us, but it’s clear Donald Trump doesn’t care about helping hardworking people, and he certainly doesn’t care about our commonwealth and our Constitution,” Bob Lange told the crowd in Washington Crossing. “He only cares about what’s good for him. Jan. 6 was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me.”

“Never in a million years did either of us think that we’d be standing here supporting a Democrat,” his wife added. “But we’ve had enough.”

In a previous interview with WHYY News, Greenwood, who was an early Republican “never Trumper” and now chairs “Republicans for Harris,” said that he hoped that, one day, the Republican Party would choose to move on, putting country over a divisive personality.

“The first order of business obviously is we have to get Donald Trump out of the way because he’s toxic,” he said. “He is a malignant narcissist, and he has dragged a whole bunch of frankly gullible people into believing the things that he has said.”

He added that he disagreed with some of Harris and the Democrats’ policies, but that Republicans in Congress could “temper” any liberal policies they might agree with.

“That’s the way the system’s supposed to work,” he said.

Kinzinger appeared to share Greenwood’s sentiment, giving brief remarks at Washington Crossing.

“Donald Trump may be running as a Republican, but the truth is, he does not share those long-held Republican values of supporting democracy, of standing for the rule of law and of faithfulness to the Constitution,” he said. “As a Republican, that saddens me. But what gives me hope is that there is a candidate in this race who does hold those values.”

Kinzinger joined the Democratic-led Congressional committee that investigated the events of Jan. 6, for which he was censured along with Cheney. He chose not to run for reelection after Illinois Democrats reworked the state Congressional map, pinioning him into a Democratic-leaning district.

The Pennsylvania communications director for the Trump campaign, Kush Desai, released a statement, calling it “pathetic to see former ‘Republicans’ of the past dug up out of irrelevance to have one last moment in the sun by campaigning for another four years of unlimited illegal immigration, rising prices, and endless wars under Kamala Harris.”

“Fortunately, as with any other theatrical prop, they’re all going to be tossed aside the moment they stop being useful for Democrats – which will be November 5th, when President Trump is re-elected by Pennsylvanians,” the statement read.