By the third week of August the Democratic National Convention will be over in Chicago minus perhaps the rancour had Joe Biden stayed on the ticket. All talk of a fractured party and a contested Convention literally evaporated the moment Biden pulled out and Vice President Kamala Harris established herself as the undisputed candidate. Even a few murmuring party elders quickly fell in line, with nearly everyone simply in awe with the kind of money that was raised, not just from traditional donors but first-timers.
Democrats were not the only ones stunned at the dramatic rise of Harris. The campaign of Donald Trump is still looking for ways to get over the shock. The former President’s usual tactic of heaping insults on his opponent is not working. Seasoned Republicans are asking Trump to change his strategy and quickly at that. Strategists of the Grand Old Party are desperately asking the former President to get over the obsession with crowd size at Harris’ campaign rallies — which he believes is the handiwork of artificial intelligence — and get down to issues that matter.
The Harris campaign is undoubtedly delighted where it is, barely 80 days to go for the November 5 showdown. National polls are showing the top Democrat ahead of Trump and has taken the lead in most or all of the seven battleground states. And the “bounce” in the aftermath of the Democrats’ Convention is to be seen.
Cheap tactics
There is some talk of the Republicans hitting the panic button seeing Trump faltering at the switch and indulging in cheap attacks or escalating fake news to the point of ridicule. The former President is lashing out at Harris as being solely responsible for all those lunatics, rapists and drug dealers somehow impacting the Presidential elections.
What goes around comes around. For a long time the Trump campaign was making the case of Biden’s mumbling, fumbling reflecting the President’s mental acuity. Now listening to Trump’s rants many Republicans are quietly asking whether the former President has lost his marbles. In fact, Trump has gone to the extent of saying that Biden would spring a surprise by getting back on the Democratic ticket — all this after the “coup” theory that Harris et al pulled in getting Biden out of the way! And the fear is whipped up, of what could happen if Trump loses.
Getting past laughs and giggles, there is no doubt that Harris has work cut out for her: that is, in defining what she really stands for, quite apart from that of the Biden administration. In terms of economic policy and immigration, Harris must define what her Presidency will be like for even Democrats to be comfortable. Casual remarks on social security and not taxing tips would be seen as borrowed ideas. How a Harris administration is going to deal with inflation and jobs on one hand and foreign policy issues pertaining to West Asia, Russia and China is of prime interest.
Former Republican Presidential contender Nikki Haley asked her party folks to “stop whining” about Harris and go after her positions. There is much at stake for Democrats: the party is banking on Harris to keep the 51-49 majority or better that in the Senate and get the House of Representatives back from the Republicans. All this can happen only if there is a clear agenda, not fancy memes and attack ads.
The writer is a senior journalist who has reported from Washington DC on North America and United Nations