Staff Reports
The Democrats are dusting off Kamala Harris like a used car hoping for a fresh coat of paint to make it look showroom-ready. With President Biden reportedly stepping back from the race, the party is scrambling to rebrand Harris—transforming her from a textbook example of ineffectiveness into the next great hope to take on Donald Trump. In a stunning display of political theater, the party is attempting to push aside her past antics in favor of a more polished, relatable persona that they believe can snag swing state votes.
Of course, some sources within the Trump camp are cautiously acknowledging this could work in the short term. A memo from Trump’s pollster suggests we might soon witness a ‘Harris Honeymoon’ in polling figures, predicted to arise as she hits the campaign trail. This honeymoon phase could brighten her image—though one wonders if a romantic getaway to the land of competency and respect would follow suit.
Kamala Harris reset: Democrats reshape the narrative around their presumptive candidate https://t.co/zwyiBuGATu
— WeinrothForCongress (@Weinroth4House) July 25, 2024
Harris kicked off this endeavour in Wisconsin, where she was met with a supportive crowd nearly as buoyed by her presence as they were confused about how she’d perform once up against the former president. Among her numerous claims about fighting for the “middle class,” she was busy painting Trump as the arch-villain of capitalism, claiming he’s out to help only the wealthy and corporations—an interesting stance considering she was once part of a California administration that could hardly be labeled tough on crime or business-friendly.
In response to her dismal approval ratings, which have plummeted alongside her old boss’s, Harris is presenting herself as a champion for a “people-powered campaign.” If only that enthusiasm translated into policies that voters actually want! Her recent fundraising successes—largely due to Biden’s exit—are being hailed, but one has to wonder how much good running a grass-roots campaign can do when her image is still being dragged down by a record of ineptitude, especially regarding her role as the Biden administration’s border czar. Spoiler alert: the border is still a mess, and those concerned voters are unlikely to forget that little tidbit.
In the same breath that she praises her career as California’s attorney general—a time when her measures were cheered by some but criticized by many for their lack of effectiveness—she conveniently ignores the elephant in the room: illegal immigration. It perhaps makes reasonably good sense to sidestep this issue while trying to reinvent herself as the candidate for ordinary folks, yet not addressing it could backfire spectacularly among the very independents she desperately seeks to woo.
While Democrats hope Harris’ elevation might offer them a fighting chance in battleground states, history is not on her side. She will need to work diligently to rehabilitate her standing and break free from both her and Biden’s tarnished legacy. The clock is ticking down to early voting starting in September, and with her well-documented past, this sudden quest for redemption seems more like a desperate spin than an actual pivot toward popularity. Will the voters buy what the Democrats are selling this time around, or has the Harris brand already soured beyond repair? One can only wait and see as the campaign unfurls, but it is sure to be a spectacle.
