Kamala Harris has a ruthless plan for
seeking the presidency. Ruthlessly, she avoids press questioning. Ruthlessly,
she has been subtracting from her policy positions, off-loading items to which
she was philosophically and politically committed when seeking the presidency
in 2020. To avoid having to criticize Donald Trump’s plan to stop taxing tips, she
ruthlessly adopted it herself.- Holman Jenkins Jr., ‘Kamala
Harris’s Avoidant Campaign, WSJ, Aug. 14
The WSJ op-ed trolls are on a tear, trying to halt Kamala Harris's preternatural momentum in a newly charged Democratic presidential campaign. To use former Bush Jr. strategist Matthew Dowd's words, appearing on Deadline White House on Wednesday:
"Once Biden stepped back, he stepped on a Faultline of our politics, and the tectonic plates fundamentally moved. And once that happened the facts that wee on the ground began to line up with people's feelings. Because what had held back the Democratic ticket wasn't the facts, which were always there, it was how people felt. So for whatever reason, this psychic shift from Joe Biden - where people felt sour, people didn't feel right - to Kamala Harris, saw everything change. And her favorable ratings have now improved by twenty points in two weeks."
In other words, with Harris the entire energy Zeitgeist changed, and Democrats now feel good about their candidates and chances. They also know, which the WSJ trolls like Jenkins do not, that this momentum and energy is driven by feelings, not policy elaborations. Which even if stated clearly, the trolls would misrepresent anyway.
Consider just the woeful op-eds from the WSJ's top clown Holman Jenkins Jr. on Wednesday (see excerpt above), bawling about Harris being "avoidant" and not giving interviews or pressers. To show how pathetic this twit is, consider just his malarkey about "adopting Trump's plan to stop taxing tips." Newsflash, Bozo, she didn't copy it she created her own REAL version to benefit working people, e.g. waitresses, busboys, casino assistants etc. Trump's version, as Robert Reich pointed out Monday ('Last Word') would in reality benefit Hedge Fund operators, investment bankers and private equity honchos who'd use his version to justify "tips" for their assorted machinations, selloffs, buyouts, what not.
Then there is the female WSJ Troll Kim Strassel, going nuts and ever more irate (WSJ, ‘Choose Your Own
Kamala’, p. A13,) because Kamala Harris has refused to buttonhole herself in
interviews, or pressers (“like Trump”). As Kim belched in her most frustrated (hack)
op-ed columnist voice:
“Are
voters really being asked to elect a woman who in her third decade in the
political arena has yet to decide about the most pressing policy questions of
the day?”
This shows poor Kim - like her fellow troll Jenkins Jr. - hasn’t the foggiest notion of what drives
modern American politics, at least its success stories. Clue one: it isn’t
detailed policy elaborations, it's emotions. Feeling good about a candidate. After all, where did all the trotting out of dozens of policy papers - a hallmark of Hillary
Clinton’s 2016 campaign- get her? Well,
nowhere because too many voters couldn’t connect. Too abstract. Too cold blooded. All they got were drab
lectures but no joy, no real hope vs Trump’s bombast and lies.
By comparison, Kamala has run a remarkably focused and disciplined campaign, that’s deliberately light on substance and high on feelings. So no, Harris has not yet given extensive interviews or done news conferences which would force her to detail her positions on specific issues. Instead, she has introduced herself to the American people in entirely human terms, presenting herself as a dynamic, warm, funny and optimistic person. Heavy on vibes, and, so far, it seems to be working. Pursuing the psychic "tectonic shift" that Matthew Dowd noted on Wednesday. So why should the Harris-Walz ticket change just because the yapping corporo-media wants them to?
All these WSJ trolls - and others throughout the cable media - need a clue. That is, there is a growing body of scholarship has shown that people don’t tend
to vote rationally (processing policies), but rather use voting to express themselves in emotional,
ideological and moral ways. (Think: “He’s the guy I want to have a beer with!”)
This view of human behavior, appears to be associated with
scholars such as Daniel Kahneman and Jonathan Haidt as Fareed Zakaria recently observed in a
WaPo article. In effect, modern American voters tend to see elections as
involving a great deal of intangible intuition and passion. Voters choose from
the gut and then rationalize their choice later, consciously or not. Kamala Harris’s
campaign seems premised on this, and why not? She has a full head of steam. So
let the press whine and cry about her doing no interviews or pressers, who cares?
She’s brought a powerful force of joy to douse the dour tones of the Trumpites.
Her running mate pick follows the same pattern. The practical “smart” choice would have been Josh Shapiro, the smart, effective and popular governor of the swing state with the most electoral votes. Instead, Kamala chose Tim Walz - the governor of a bluer state — but who projects an image that has resonated throughout the country: a folksy, affable, kindhearted man. The Tim Walz pick reminds us that, sometimes, EQ is as important as IQ. The problem with the Harris 'media avoidance' lot is they think in only one dimensions, one which dismisses EQ.
Yet another 'avoidance' scold is Farah Stockman (NY Times 8-12, Harris Should Take Gaza Seriously) who wrote:
"...it does matter
that such barriers are broken, but it can tempt Democrats to
focus on style and symbolism over substance. This risk is most evident, and
most significant, on the issue of Gaza. There is perhaps no issue that divides
the Democratic Party more than the U.S. government’s support for Israel’s
retaliation following the brutal attack by Hamas on Oct. 7. If the Harris
campaign is unable to address this thorny issue in a way that feels like
substance, then Democrats may not get the unity they’ll need to win in
November."
Ah yes, Gaza. Stockman was referring here to protesters' chants of "Kamala, Kamala you can't hide, ..." Then flouting the G- word. But in fact Kamala's response to these yowling twits was perhaps as mature and rational as one could want in the circumstances. As Harris said in response:
“We believe in democracy. Everyone’s voice matters, but I am speaking now,”
After the chants continued, she directly addressed the protesters:
“You know what, if you want Donald Trump to win, then say that.
Otherwise, I’m speaking.”
Which is exactly true. And let us be crystal clear that these purblind twerps will not get any free speech breaks if they allow Trump to get into power (say by not voting in "protest"). That's because Trump doesn't believe in democracy and will likely dispatch National Guard to shoot any protesters who get out of hand when he begins deporting Muslims by the millions, e.g.
How Trump Would Use Soldiers Against Unrest, Crime and Migrants on U.S. Soil
Donald Trump’s vision of deploying the military to enforce the law domestically would carry profound implications for civil liberties.
Just sayin'. So the pro-Palestinian protesters due in Chi-town for the DNC need to take note of Kamala's words, as should have Ms. Stockman.
Other pundits (e.g. on CNN, writing for WaPo etc.) have also made the bald, brainless claim that Kamala "avoids interviews, press conferences but at least Trump is out there." NO, he is not! Being "out there" doesn't count if all you are doing is spouting lies. Indeed, MSNBC had to shut down the orange Turd's presser yesterday after he began churning out lie after lie and MSNBC host Nicole Wallace complained and 'pulled the plug' on her Deadline White House show.
Again, pundits and people in general need to stop treating Trump as a normal, sane candidate. Also, mistaking feral yapping of lies to actually answering questions about policy etc. And oh, by the way, believing Trump is actually better on the economy when his planned 10% tariffs on everything (if elected) would send inflation raging past 25%. See e.g.
Donald Trump & GOP "Better For Economy" ? This Delusion Is Belied By The Facts
Meanwhile, as former Obama strategist Jim Messina pointed out on Morning Joe this a.m., enthusiasm (which is the secret 'sauce' of elections), has soared from 46% t0 85% among Democratic voters since Kamala became the de facto nominee. And as he (and John Heileman) noted that is the fuel which drives election success since the enthusiastic voters will spread their energy to their own circles. Kamala will deliver her economic message in NC later today, and the media collective needs to back off and take a break from huffing,puffing and bloviating about her "avoidance".
See Also:
And:
The first thing to say about the hate and scorn currently directed at the mainstream US media is that they worked hard to earn it. They’ve done so by failing, repeatedly, determinedly, spectacularly to do their job, which is to maintain their independence, inform the electorate, and speak truth to power. While the left has long had reasons to dismiss centrist media, and the right has loathed it most when it did do its job well, the moderates who are furious at it now seem to be something new – and a host of former editors, media experts and independent journalists have been going after them hard this summer.
Longtime journalist James Fallows declares that three institutions – the Republican party, the supreme court, and the mainstream political press – “have catastrophically failed to ‘meet the moment’ under pressure of [the] Trump era”. Centrist political reformer and columnist Norm Ornstein states that these news institutions “have had no reflection, no willingness to think through how irresponsible and reckless so much of our mainstream press and so many of our journalists have been and continue to be”.
by Amanda Marcotte | August 14, 2024 - 6:33am | permalink
In one sense, Donald Trump's false claim that Vice President Kamala Harris is faking her rally crowd sizes is a continuation of his lifetime of lying about numbers, especially any related to his ego. The first and last lies of his time in the White House were about inflating his popularity.
On his first day in office, Trump sent his press secretary, Sean Spicer, out to gaslight the public about the inauguration, saying, "This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration," even though photos showed it was a fraction of the size of the crowd that turned out for President Barack Obama in 2009. And, infamously, Trump ended his presidency with the Big Lie that he was the "real" winner of the 2020 election, and not President Joe Biden. Even Friday night, Trump was insisting 90% of the country backs him.
And:
by Maya Boddie | August 14, 2024 - 6:50am | permalink
Vice President Kamala Harris is gaining support from voters who typically back her opponent, former President Donald Trump.
Speaking with CNN data reporter Harry Enten on Tuesday, CNN host Erin Burnett reported that Harris "is making gains in key swing states with a surprising and crucial voting group."
Enten joined the Burnett to detail the statistics.
"The white working class voters — white voters without a college degree — that is Donald Trump’s core group," Enten said. "That's the reason he was able to break down that giant blue wall in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin."
Donald Trump still leads, Enten added, but the margin shrank significantly over the last few weeks.
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