2020, the year when norms took a leave of absence

Its a partisan article reporting on an exchange during the raucous debate, Biden Can’t Name Single Law Enforcement Group That Supports Him.  It is true, when called on to name a police organization which had declared its support for his campaign, Biden either could not or would not name one.  

There are thousands of police unions and associations in the US.  I am sure there has to be at least a few who endorse Biden.  

But what is striking is the weird symmetry of the Biden/Harris ticket.

Law and Order groups do appear to be arrayed pretty strongly against Biden.  But Civil Rights groups are pretty upset with Harris from her days as Attorney General of California when her record in terms of citizen rights and observance of the law was pretty patchy.  She was no law and order hardliner but she was astonishingly cavalier about rule of law and due process when it came to individual citizens' rights.

The irony is that Civil Rights groups ought to be much more focused on Biden's track record.  To be fair to him, I understand him to have been one of the principle architects for legislation related to Violence Against Women which seems to have been pretty effective.  On the other hand, he was also one of the chief architects for draconian sentencing, the consequences of which over subsequent decades disproportionately fell on African-Americans. 

For twenty or thirty years, Biden made no effort to rectify those known legislative failings either as a Senator or as Vice President.  Ironically it fell to Trump to broker two or three legislative reforms to address over-sentencing and other inmate reforms geared towards improving their chances of success once sentence has been served.  

To have Law and Order interests arrayed for or against a ticket is not unusual.  To have Civil Rights interests arrayed for or against a ticket is not unusual.  

But to have Law and Order groups AND Civil Rights groups both at odds with the same campaign?  That's kinds of an unusual trick to pull off.  

That would seem to be a failing campaign strategy but its 2020; the year when norms took a leave of absence.