President Joe Biden walks with Vice President Kamala Harris across the West Executive Avenue at the White House Monday, March 29, 2021, following the President’s remarks in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
A Deadlock Race
Six more weeks, and the race to the White House appears deadlocked. Kamala Harris has found her stride. Her walk is a stride, notes Peggy Noonan in the WSJ:
(Kamala) has appetite—she loves this thing, running for high office.
She has sentiments—she loves to say what divides us isn’t as big as what unites us, which, though a dreadful cliché, is true.
But in terms of policy, she comes across as “wholly without substance.”
The Artful Dodger
How did this happen? It’s been two months since President Joe Biden stepped aside.
Enough time to start making clear what Kamala “believes, wants and means to do.”
She hasn’t.
This week she couldn’t or wouldn’t answer a single question straight, and people could see it. She is an artless dodger.
When asked to name one or two things she would do to bring down prices, she speaks gibberish.
Ms. Harris: “Well, I’ll start with this: I grew up a middle-class kid. My mother raised my sister and me. She worked very hard. She was able to finally save up enough money to buy our first house when I was a teenager. I grew up in a community of hardworking people, you know, construction workers and nurses and teachers. And I try to explain to some people who may not have had the same experience, you know, if—but a lot of people will relate to this.
You know, I grew up in a neighborhood of folks who were very proud of their lawn, you know? And I was raised to believe and to know that all people deserve dignity, and that we as Americans have a beautiful character, you know, we have ambitions and aspirations and dreams. But not everyone necessarily has access to the resources that can help them fuel those dreams and ambitions. So when I talk about building an opportunity economy, it is very much with the mind of investing in the ambitions and aspirations and the incredible work ethic of the American people . . .”
On it went, with a few policy ideas tacked on at the end., reports the WSJ.
What Are Kamala’s Thoughts
Some supporters think she needs to be more “specific,” but it isn’t specificity per se that is the glaring omission. Her problem is not that she doesn’t say she’ll repeal section 13(c) of some regulatory act. No one knows what 13(c) is. What people want to hear, and deserve to hear, is her essential meaning and purpose as a political figure. It’s not about data points and the arcana of government; it’s about belief and the philosophical underpinnings of that belief.
What are her thoughts, right now, about illegal immigration and the border? After the past three years of a historic influx she said in the debate that she’d hire more border agents. Why? Toward what end, in pursuit of what larger goal?
Was the influx a good thing? Why? Does it constitute a national emergency? Why? What attitude does she bring to this crucial question?
Political Malpractice
Kamala Harris fails to speak plainly, truthfully about how she would handle immigration, taxing, spending, regulation, the national debt. Why does Kamala want to be president?
Harris Disrespects the Electorate
Kamala Harris owes voters her thoughts on these problems.
It is wrong that she can’t or won’t address them. It is disrespectful to the electorate.
If voters don’t get a sense of her deeper beliefs they will think of her as a construct, something other people built so they can run the country as she does photo-ops. Half of America wonders who’s really running things as the Biden years ebb. They won’t want to wonder for another four years.
Back to Awful vs. Empty
When Americans feel that’s the choice and neither side gives them reason to believe otherwise, they’ll likely start to think in ways they believe practical. Empty means trouble, a blur when we need a rudder, a national gamble based on insufficient information. It means a policy regime that would be unpredictable, perhaps extreme. You don’t want that.
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