Vice President Kamala Harris finds herself in a whirlwind, as she scrambles to take over the reins after former President Donald Trump and attempts to shroud her past policy positions. In a game of wait-and-see, the Vice President now walks a tightrope to roll out her policy vision, an endeavor filled with trepidation on her part after years of merely echoing President Biden’s stances.
Her sudden escalation to the top tier after Biden decided not to run for re-election injected an instantaneous element of hurry into the formation of her own policy doctrine. Embarking on her journey without a clear course had always been a recipe for disaster for any political figure.
In Harris’ case, after assuming Biden’s political undertakings in late July, her campaign’s website was expeditiously sanitized of the six distinct ‘issues’ that identified the race against Trump, from bolstering voting safeguards to ensuring universal access to abortion. The immediate pivot left many with a taste of dwindled transparency and hushed-up agenda.
Subsequently, Harris, keeping specific details at bay, started peppering her speeches more with vague objectives like ‘improving the middle class,’ than concrete proposals. Her dipping toe into hot issues like nationwide abortion access or banning assault-style weapons failed to provide how she would navigate the rugged terrains of the highly polarizing and gridlocked Congress.
Despite her blatant lack of specifics, Harris then took an unexpected turn, quite literally taking a page from Trump’s policy playbook. Raising eyebrows, she announced that she, like Trump, wishes to abolish the federal taxation of tip earnings for those with lower and middle incomes.
The strategy, aimed at gaining bipartisan support, uncannily mimics Trump’s standpoint, kindling interest particularly in those engaged in Nevada’s service industry. It only highlights Harris’ desperation for a score after the embarrassing ordeal of dropping out of a competitive race even before a single vote was cast.
Harris’ ties with Biden are also turning into a can of worms. The rapid endorsement and the ‘keys’ to his political workings that Biden bestowed on her post his dropout hasn’t been paired with outlining clear policy ideas. The whole situation begs the question – was Harris simply the beneficiary of a hasty transition, causing her moves to look rigid, ill-prepared and overly reliant on her predecessors’ playbook?
Biden began laying the groundwork for elaborate policy gear for his second stint only in the face of terminal risk to his candidature following a catastrophic debate with Trump. With goals of reestablishing abortion rights, hiking the federal minimum wage and enforcing a new surtax on billionaires, the courses seem to have been followed by Harris, including the demanding call for Supreme Court revisions.
However, implementing these grandeur schemes would necessitate gaining the nod of the Congress – a feat that has remained elusive even under the Democratic stronghold during the Biden-Harris era. This inherently points out the futility of the highly ambitious agenda that hardly stands a chance of being put into practice.
In the face of mounting complexities, Harris’ campaign hopelessly insists that her swings towards the middle ground are an indication of her willingness to bring unity in governance. This rhetoric hardly veils the rigid tactics employed throughout, leaving many to question the real intentions behind.
Despite cloaking it in an image of consensus-building, their spokesperson, Kevin Munoz’s statement that Harris adopts this approach to successfully achieve bipartisan breakthroughs, seems largely hypocritical given the relics of partisan leanings from the Biden-Harris administration era.
Meanwhile, the Trump camp has utilized this timing to sharpen their offense, painting Harris as a radical liberal, often referencing her past policy standpoints in the 2020 Democratic primary. The attempt aims to stress on Harris’ regular shifts in policy commitments throughout her career – painting her as an inconsistent political figure.
Trump’s Sunday post openly accused Harris of flip-flopping on almost every known policy during her career from border securities to tip issues. As Trump accusatorily pointed out, ‘She sounds more like Trump than Trump, copying almost everything. She is conning the American public, and will flip right back.’
From all these maneuvers on both sides, one thing seems as clear as daylight – politics is not just about having rigid policy standpoints. It’s not just the promises that are being made but also the conviction and consistency with which these promises are carried forward.
Wrapped up in the frenzy of coming to power, Harris risks losing sight of the essential tenets of political success – transparency, consistency and conviction, cornerstones of triumphant leadership. If she’s not careful, her political journey might just turn into yet another example of missed opportunities and careless politics.
Harris’ Shaky Transition from Trump: Desperate Imitation or Lacking Innovation? appeared first on Real News Now.
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