It’s too little, too late. It will also blow up in their faces because Kamala Harris doesn’t have the political skill to pull this off. Democrats have finally recognized what will win the swing states: the economy. Some of us, like the Republican Party, have known this since 2022. Now, Democrats want to try and chip away at Donald Trump’s advantage over this issue with voters in the Rust Belt with less than a month to go before Election Day.
Harris is increasing her media hits, but it’s all with uber-friendly guests, most of which have vocally supported her candidacy. Her sit-down with CBS News was a trainwreck, being exposed for massive edits since she served up word salad. To this day, Kamala can’t cobble together a cogent statement on how she’ll be different than Biden, who got pushed out in July. Meet the old failed agenda, which is the same as the new one.
Just four days later, Trump has definitively taken the lead. When asked how she would be different than Biden, Harris said she would do the same things. Terrible answer. When asked what she would do in the White House, she said she's not Trump. Terrible answer. Big trouble ahead. https://t.co/lPWmTa46od
— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) October 10, 2024
Kamala’s atrocious plan to combat the inflation she caused, grounded in Soviet-style price controls, must be resurrected. Even liberals criticized this policy roll-out. The rich paying their fair share isn’t working, and the ‘I grew up in a middle-class family’ has become a punchline. All this campaign has is two weirdos who can’t act normally in public, running on vibes and joy. That’s not a message, something that was echoed with Democratic strategists (via NBC News) [emphasis mine]:
“With four weeks to go, we’re going to be laser-focused on this and be talking about this,” a Harris aide said.
The aide, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss strategy, said Harris and her team will spend the final stretch of the campaign presenting her as the candidate fighting for the middle class, citing her upbringing and agenda, while portraying Trump as caring more about cutting taxes for wealthy Americans like himself and hitting his plan for aggressive tariffs as a de facto middle-class tax hike.
Her strategy is playing out through TV and digital campaign ads, a gradual stream of policy rollouts and speeches, and a new media blitz by Harris designed to connect her biography to her economic vision — for instance, recalling her mother's struggles to buy a home and offering a $25,000 credit for first-time homebuyers. Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, argued in the recent debate that Trump’s economy was weak even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
[…]
“If I had one piece of advice: They need a much, much stronger and detailed economic message,” Democratic strategist Chris Kofinis said. “Talking about aspirations, hopes and dreams is not a message. The economic issue is still Trump’s core advantage and one of the only reasons this race is as close as it is.”
[…]
As Harris ramps up her media appearances, a Democratic strategist said she would do well to deliver “tight and strong” answers about the economy at every opportunity. The aide, who spoke candidly about Harris on condition of anonymity, added: “She has this instinct to go to a word salad, and there’s no need for that.”
[…]
Harris allies say that while she has improved compared with Biden’s standing against Trump on handling of the economy, it's not yet enough to ensure she wins the presidency.
“She’s still underwater overall on the economy. … There is still more to do,” said Alyssa Cass, the chief strategist for Blueprint 2024, a Democratic outfit that studies key voting groups. “I think fighting the issue to a draw would get her there,” she said, citing Harris’ strengths on other issues, like abortion.
“A closing message very laser-focused on reducing prices by going after corporations and a middle-class tax cut, paired with a focus on protecting Social Security, Medicare and the [Affordable Care Act], allows her to close the gap on prices that currently exists,” she said.
Anna Greenberg, a Democratic pollster, said that she has conducted focus groups with persuadable voters and that some voters who personally can’t stand Trump are open to him because of the economy.
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This NBC article is a lengthy testament to Harris sucking on the trail. When has she ever been able to deliver a “tight and strong” message? Never. That’s why she’s a loser who had to have Joe Biden save her from irrelevancy by giving her the vice presidency. And, of course, the piece buries the Democratic pollsters and data crunchers who all admit that Trump dominates Kamala on the economy. There’s not enough time to turn this around. Maybe someone with a modicum of political skill could, but not Harris.
Also, let's not forget that most Americans benefitted from the Trump tax cuts. They should be made permanent.
.@jaketapper: “Next year, 91% of middle income Americans will receive a tax cut. Isn’t that a good thing?”@BernieSanders: “Yeah, it is a very good thing. And that’s why we should’ve made the tax cuts for the middle class permanent” #CNNSOTU https://t.co/ei8xTHGo1E
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) December 24, 2017
Same analysis finds that 75.5% would see a tax decrease in 2025 compared to current law. The average decrease is $2530. 8.9% would see a tax increase. https://t.co/RopZNFqZPW pic.twitter.com/ewdM4vLtUd
— AG (@AGHamilton29) December 19, 2017
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