The Los Angeles Times has finally arrived at the conclusion reached by many Democrats ahead of the 2020 primaries: Kamala Harris is not an effective leader.
In its "Essential Politics" newsletter, LA Times staff writer Noah Bierman writes how the "failure of elections bill shows limits of Kamala Harris' influence" after the "For the People Act" couldn't get enough support to overcome a filibuster.
Filed under its "Covering Kamala Harris" beat — which was widely mocked when The LA Times announced the new coverage vertical for her "historic rise to the White House" — the reporting shows how even those in mainstream media are forced to recognize the VP's shortcomings.
Kamala Harris is the first vice president who is Black, South Asian, female and the direct descendants of immigrants.
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) January 26, 2021
Introducing “Covering Kamala Harris,” a beat dedicated to her historic rise to the White House.
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After being tapped by Biden to unsuccessfully lead the administration's work to push a radical federal takeover of elections, The LA Times notes of Harris' role that "the takeaway was how little we saw of her" during the lead up to Tuesday's defeat on the Senate floor:
No dramatic trips to the Senate to court votes. No statements on how to find compromise. No known talks with West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, the sole Democratic holdout in supporting the bill, or Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican who kept his members from breaking ranks in opposition to even debating it.
Bierman also calls Harris out for a "lack of any significant engagement in the Senate" after "she served only four years there, a good portion of that time running for president."
"What can she do except complain?" mused a subheading in the newsletter on what Harris will do as she seeks alternatives to legislation in her work on transforming the election process. "Her presence won't help, and could be counterproductive, in red states," explains Bierman.
Harris's failure to get the corrupt "For the People Act" across the finish line comes as she also caves on her avoidance of the U.S.-Mexico border with a Friday trip to El Paso, Texas, announced only after former President Trump announced he'd visit next week.