“Okay, people, listen up! I want you all to forget the flight plan (tosses a binder into the wastebasket). From this moment on, we are improvising a new mission.” – NASA Flight Director Gene Kranz (played by actor Ed Harris) in the movie classic Apollo 13.
History buffs and movie fans may recall that the Apollo 13 spacecraft (in April of 1970) experienced a nearly catastrophic failure during the first stage of its flight to the moon which rendered years of careful planning irrelevant and useless in an instant. Flight Director Kranz told it to his underlings straight and to the point… from here on out, we’re making it up as we go along.
You’re forgiven if you figured that the reaction to the news (that president senile Joe Biden had decided not to fulfill his obligation to run for reelection) a couple days ago was greeted with a similar level of frustration and consternation at both Republican nominee Donald Trump’s campaign headquarters – and at the Democrat National Committee offices as well.
Despite widespread speculation (ever since his disastrous debate “performance” on June 27) that Biden was considering bailing on his fellow Democrats, press tidbits emanating from the White House reassured everyone that the Delawarean dolt would keep running no matter what and that he’d even be back on the campaign trail once the nastiness from his bout with COVID wore off. Senile Joe had heard the whispers and the rumors – that he was losing support from most of the members of his own party – but thus far had reiterated that he was the best pol to finish their “mission”, which was to defeat the dastardly Donald Trump and retain power for all Democrats.
Almost as soon as Biden’s “I’m packing it in” social media post hit the electronic airwaves, the nation was aflutter with pondering … what now? Would Biden’s absence open the floodgates to choose a new nominee, one who would stand a much better chance against Trump at the ballot box? Or would the discouraged president throw all of his weight and political influence behind his constitutional sidekick, vice president cackling Kamala Harris?
Or merely say ‘to heck with it all’ and decide to quit, wiggle his piggy toes in the sand at the shore and just engorge on a few gallons of ice cream?
The consequence is still in limbo, and will be for the next several weeks until Democrats officially nominate Biden’s successor at their convention. In the meantime, Republicans aren’t waiting to improvise a new “flight plan” of their own. In an article titled “The Emerging GOP Plan To Beat Kamala Harris”, Philip Wegmann wrote at Real Clear Politics yesterday:
“There is reason for optimism among Republicans. According to the Trump campaign’s internal numbers, he was leading Biden by two points in June. Against Harris, he is leading by five. Harris did not make it past Iowa in 2020 when she ran against Biden, they reason. Certainly, they believe, she won’t be that much more of a challenge against Trump.
“There is no guarantee that Harris will be the Democratic nominee. … For her part, the vice president said that she intends to ‘earn and win’ a spot at the top of the ticket.
“This starts with a speech, likely after Biden addresses the nation. … Terry Szuplat, who served as a speech writer for all eight years of the Obama presidency, said that when the moment comes, Harris ought to lean into ‘one of the most effective issues for Democrats,’ namely abortion access. ‘She has tremendous opportunities now to bring the party together, to point to a way forward with energy and vigor,’ Szuplat told RCP, and ‘to change the fundamentals.’”
Fundamentals of what, exactly? One thing that was widely overlooked in the frenzied panic/jubilation in the post Biden announcement a couple days ago was the fact that Kamala Harris isn’t very good at what she does. A politician who can’t win votes isn’t much more useful to a political party than a baseball pitcher who can’t get outs is to his manager, or a quarterback who is built like a short yardage back but can’t complete a pass to his wide receivers.
While there's still time for Democrats to wise-up and reconsider what they're doing -- bringing in relief pitcher Kamala Harris with an oh-and-a-hundred record and a 99.9 ERA -- they shouldn't be overly sold that Harris is not electoral kryptonite. But for now, it doesn’t matter. With Democrats staring at each other attempting to “improvise” a new plan, Harris is the one person who would seem to offer a direction.
But then again, if the Democrats’ new “flight plan” involves trusting Kamala Harris to lead them back to electoral viability, they’d better be wearing protective life preserving equipment. And be very, very good at praying.
Nevertheless, Wegmann outlined Trump’s and the Republicans’ new blueprint for success. It is:
Step One: Tie Harris to Biden, then argue she is more radical.
Step Two: Argue that Harris was dishonest with the American public about Biden’s health.
Step Three: Reprocess Democrats’ arguments about ‘saving democracy’ against Harris.
While Harris appears to represent a new start for Democrats, a look just below her minority/woman surface reveals there’s still plenty for conservatives to pinpoint, highlight, and pound in all of the areas Republicans wish to concentrate on. The Democrats' soul-selling deal with the identity politics devil is finally coming due. Having intentionally elevated an air-brained cackling imbecile like Kamala Harris four years ago because of her genitalia and skin tone, they're stuck with her now.
Democrats don't care -- at all -- about candidate merit. All that's valuable to 2024’s Democrats is that he or she -- or it, or they, or however they prefer to describe human sex differences -- fits the proverbial suit, the politician who best allows them to win. In the rush to fill the void left by never-lost-an-election senile Joe Biden, Democrats passed over not only Kamala’s atrocious approval ratings, but also her well-earned reputation as an inarticulate lightweight and intellectual moron. Sure, Democrats will put Harris out on stages and fill rally rooms with approving rubberstamp cheerleaders and dutifully hoot after her every applause line, but they won't be able to control the soundbites that make the evening news.
People who aren't regular watchers of "The View" actually care about substance.
Will it matter to average people? I've personally witnessed the absolute joy from liberal acquaintances (I wouldn’t count them as friends) who couldn't wait to take to Facebook to post photos of a (presumably) woman wearing heels (nothing is visible above the knee) and portray senile Joe Biden's action to clear the way as electoral deliverance for them from fascist, Hitler-like Donald Trump. It's as though the politically unenlightened and reactionary assume that cackling Kamala represents the emergence of the "White Knight" candidate they've sought for a long time. Or at least since June 27th.
Most conservatives would see it as obvious what needs to be done, namely to let Kamala be herself long enough to remind everyone just who she is, and that she can’t hide behind silence and senile Joe’s protection any longer. Don’t forget that Harris herself hasn’t had to speak very much about her own issue positions for over four years now. As Biden’s veep, it was good enough for the ex-California Attorney General and junior senator to regurgitate Biden’s/Obama’s issue platform, flash that winning smile and act goofy for the cameras.
Not anymore. What do you really think, Kamala? Will the newly powerful “From the River to the Sea” agitators adopt her? Harris’s husband (kissin’ bandit Doug Emhoff) is Jewish. If she selects Pennsylvania's Josh Shapiro to be her running mate, Kamala will be surrounded by Jews, none of which would look desirable to the Rashida Tlaibs, AOC's and the rest of the Jew-hating radical left that is the Democrats’ main constituency these days.
Of course, Kamala herself has never demonstrated an ability to attract support outside of her northern California (think Nancy Pelosi and San Francisco) base. She’s more or less inherited every political tidbit she’s ever been tied to, having launched her political career under the shield of the powerful Willie Brown and then fell into her job as A.G. because of, again, gender and skin color.
My ancestral home of California may be the land of “fruits and nuts”, but it’s arguably also the birthplace of political correctness and identity politics. I went to school at U.C.L.A. in the eighties but there were already signs of the powerful influence of the Hispanic illegal alien lobby (“We want in-state tuition!”) and leftist campus groups outlawing any conservative speaker.
Kamala cut her political teeth in that environment, the big changeover at about that time. The Golden State went from being at least somewhat reliably a Republican stronghold (Ronald Reagan, George Deukmejian, Pete Wilson, etc.) to a one-party Democrat state with no Republican elected statewide officeholders and a legislature with veto-proof D majorities in both chambers today.
But at the same time, it might not be such a good idea for Republicans to go hard at Kamala Harris right away -- at least before she's anointed as the official Democrat nominee. If this is done, Trump and the Republicans risk taking out another highly beatable Democrat. Senile Joe Biden's policies and record alone were sufficient to convince enough Americans that he had to go; now Kamala Harris will have practically free rein to set her own issue agenda and distance herself from the aspects of the Biden record that aren't popular. To falsely tack to the center to make herself look "moderate" and sway the people who hate Trump that she's a real alternative.
Like with senile Joe, allow Kamala sufficient latitude to destroy her candidacy. It can and will be done.
With senile Joe Biden bowing out of the 2024 presidential race, there’s little doubt that both parties have thrown out their proverbial “flight plans” and are now improvising a new “mission.” Democrats look to put their faith in Kamala Harris to help them retain power, an unenviable position by most people’s estimations. Time is running short for both parties to get it right.
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