AMAC Exclusive – By Aaron Flanigan
As reports of the Biden family’s corruption continue to permeate the news cycle and hang over the heads of Washington liberals, there are some signs that Democrat operatives are preparing a “plan B” in the event Biden’s re-election next year becomes politically unviable.
As the New York Times reported earlier this month, Vice President Kamala Harris has ventured off on a summer swing state blitz, visiting key battleground states like Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Florida in what looks to be an attempt to expand her political profile and “reclaim the momentum” that supposedly propelled her to the vice presidency in 2020.
During her late July stop in Iowa, which fell on same day as the Iowa GOP’s Lincoln Day Dinner in Des Moines, Kamala railed against the Hawkeye State’s recent pro-life legislation, which bans abortions when a fetal heartbeat can be detected. Kamala lamented the legislation as “immoral,” slamming Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and other pro-life Republicans as “extremist” and anti-woman.
Similarly, in Florida, Kamala took aim at Governor Ron DeSantis and the Republican-led state legislature for what she falsely characterized as attempts to “ban books” and “erase and even rewrite the ugly parts of our history.”
Last week, Kamala visited Philadelphia, where she promised to boost pay for union construction workers in a bid to win over another historic Democrat constituency that has inched toward the GOP in recent cycles.
But in many ways, even with Biden’s growing rap sheet of political liabilities, Kamala’s return to the spotlight is perplexing—and is likely to come with significant political risks.
It’s no coincidence that Kamala has thus far remained on the political sidelines for most of Biden’s term. She is the least popular sitting vice president on record and is prone to cringeworthy gaffes on the campaign trail that put even some of Biden’s humiliating errors and misstatements to shame.
Kamala Harris is such a liability that political pundits have openly speculated that her presence on a 2024 ticket could significantly hamper Biden’s chances at retaining power. Last November, far-left outlet Slate ran the headline “If Biden runs again, he should pick a new VP.”
But even so, the Times has reported that Kamala “has been freed up to travel more”—a sign that she could remain front-and-center as the left ramps up its efforts to retain the White House next fall.
Meanwhile, EMILY’s List, a pro-abortion advocacy group, is reportedly shoveling tens of millions of dollars to “defend and prop up” Kamala as Election Day draws closer—a move that Politico described as “politically unprecedented.”
But why, given Kamala’s historic levels of unpopularity, are Democrats getting behind her publicity tour—and doing so at the expense of other Democrat presidential hopefuls like Gavin Newsom, who would almost certainly be more competitive in a general election?
One possible explanation is that many leftists have insisted that any criticism directed towards Kamala is nothing more than veiled racism and sexism against someone who they view as a historically accomplished leader. As one Democrat strategist put it, “[It] shouldn’t surprise anyone that there is going to be a different filter and a different focus put on the first woman to ever be vice president of the United States, particularly a woman of color.”
A Newsweek column this summer similarly stated that Kamala’s unpopularity is merely a symptom of “our inability to hold men, and especially white men, accountable for their job performance.”
Democrat Party leadership might feel as though they have no choice but to elevate Kamala as the primary Biden alternative, despite the clear electoral risks she poses to the party.
Another potential explanation for Kamala’s swing state tour is that Democrats attribute her low polling numbers to a lack of political exposure—and feel that the best way to improve her image is to reintroduce her to voters as Biden deals with his mountain of scandals.
Either way, whether Biden ultimately ends up as the Democrat nominee next November or not, it appears that the left is growing more determined to ensure that Kamala plays a central role in the 2024 presidential campaign.
Given that most polls consistently show Kamala losing to any potential GOP challenger by double-digit margins, this might be one Democrat campaign strategy that Republicans should fully embrace.
Aaron Flanigan is the pen name of a writer in Washington, D.C.
