The pressure is mounting on Harris to be replaced … voluntarily or otherwise
Recently, I suggested that President Biden should dump Vice President Harris. I went so far as to say that she is such a drag on the ticket that he may very well pick a new running mate.
Of course, mine is just one conservative’s opinion. Why should Biden take any advice from me? But it seems that those with more connection to Biden – and more influence on him – are agreeing with me.
From one of the major Oracles of leftwing ideology, the Washington Post, comes this.
Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker – admittedly one of the Post’s more moderate political writers — has said out loud what has only been whispered in the closed-door rooms of the progressive political class. In her recent column, Parker called on Vice President Harris to voluntarily walk the political plank. She should “step aside.”
While I had called on Biden to boot her off the ticket, Parker does not think that is a good idea. She writes, “Biden can’t fire her. He can’t risk alienating his base. Full stop.”
Of course, Parker is correct. Playing to identity politics has its downside and can backfire. Harris is a case in point. Although I do not believe the response to canning Harris would be as severe as Parker suggests. Truth be known, Harris is not an overwhelmingly popular figure in the Black community.
Whether Biden boots Harris or she takes off (allegedly) on her own, Parker and I do agree that she is a serious threat to Biden’s reelection.
Parker states that “The seriousness of this situation can’t be overstated.” That comes very close to saying that Harris is an existential threat to a Biden second term.”
In fact, Parker sees Harris as the second of two potential knock-out punches. She writes that “Biden’s diminishing faculties, notwithstanding his relatively successful State of the Union address, and his increasing physical frailty are concerning.”
Parker suggests that Harris’ relatively limited and behind-the-scenes role these past several years has been to prevent her weakness from being more widely seen.
According to Parker, “It has seemed that Harris’s role was to be quiet, lest she embarrass her boss with her sometimes inane, rambling remarks and a laugh that erupts from nowhere about nothing obvious to others.”
Seeing Harris as the proverbial albatross around Biden’s neck is not just a matter of conjecture. It is seared into the polling numbers. In a recent NBC poll, Harris’ numbers were Very Positive at 10 percent, Somewhat Positive at 18 percent, Neutral at 16 percent, Somewhat Negative at 11 percent and Very Negative at 42 percent.
According to a March 2024 USA Today poll, Harris had a 36 percent unfavorable rating to Biden’s 41 percent. Clearly, Harris makes a bad situation for Biden a LOT worse.
And it is not just Harris’ general unpopularity and ineffectiveness in an office that has a low threshold for effectiveness. It is that fear that she could very well take over the presidency during a second Biden term. That is a terrifying thought for most voters.
Parker suggests that “There’s no reason to think her ranking would spike were she suddenly promoted to the Oval Office. Instead, most signs point to disaster.” This despite Harris’ own claim to the Wall Street Journal that she is “ready to serve” as president if necessary – and amazingly claims that anyone who knows of her work as Vice President “walks away fully aware of my capacity to lead.” Yeah, right!
In calling on Harris to withdraw for the good of the country, it is obvious that Parker wants to see Biden win in November. I guess that is where she and I differ. My recommendation to dump Harris is based on the possibility of a Biden win. That is not my view. I see Biden replacing Harris with someone better in the event that he does win a second term.
Be that as it may, the pressure to have Harris replaced on the Democratic ticket is mounting. The decision does not have to be made today, but sometime before the Democratic National Convention.
So, there ‘tis.