William Henry Harrison, the ninth United States president and the last one to be born a British subject, holds two unique records. His presidency was notably short-lived, a mere 31 days, marking him as the first president to pass away while in office. Additionally, as a member of the Whig Party, he gave the lengthiest inaugural speech on record, which ran for close to two hours. Interestingly, Harrison could claim a rare political victory by bouncing back from his first unsuccessful run for president to win the subsequent round, a feat only previously achieved by U.S presidents Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson.
Between then and now, only two other individuals, Grover Cleveland and Donald Trump, have managed a similar turnaround, winning the presidency, suffering a defeat, but again securing a victory down the line. Meanwhile, the remaining politicians who, like Harrison, tried to redeem their initial failure at presidential bids in the immediate next elections ended up losing again. Notable figures such as Democrats Adlai Stevenson and Republicans Thomas Dewey all fell short twice, while others like Henry Clay and William Jennings Bryan even faced defeat three times in a row. The takeaway seems clear: voters have a distinct distaste for political failures.
This historical pattern of voting and its implications seem to be causing a shiver down the spine of Kamala Harris. Recently, the decision of Harris to forgo the race for the governor’s seat in California set the rumor mill abuzz with speculation about her potential future aspirations for the White House. Unfortunately for her, the party she represents, the Democratic Party, isn’t currently a crowd favorite.
As things stand, the Democratic Party’s popularity has hit rock bottom, worse even than any point within the last three decades. With a net favorability registering at a staggering negative thirty points, this nearly triples the rather modest negative eleven points of the GOP. A key reason behind this is the increasing discontent among Democrats due to their failure to counteract Trump effectively, both during and following his term.
Irrespective of the fact that all the blame can’t be placed on Harris, she has become an emblem of this dissatisfaction that plagues the Democratic Party. However, the dissatisfaction isn’t a one-dimensional issue either. More progressive party members gripe about the lack of grit within the party in standing up against the opposition. Meanwhile, the more moderate factions take umbrage with the party’s choices to fight, arguing a strong shift to the left on matters of cultural war and identity politics.
Interestingly, despite the apparent division in the party, both factions are driven by a shared, intense yearning for victory. Among the few reasons for Harris’s positioning for the nomination in 2024 is that her selection was a nod to diversity. Candidate Joe Biden had made it unmistakably clear that his Vice President would be a woman, who would ideally also be African American.
Following this, Harris doesn’t face hurdles due to her gender or racial background, but a much more profound issue, her inability to attract voters. If the Democrats have any hope of winning the election, they need to field a candidate who can attract and convert Trump’s voters. Kamala Harris, unfortunately, lost not because of a lack of Democratic turnout but because her appeal isn’t compelling enough for the transitioning electorate.
Harris’s public image doesn’t exactly help this case either. Her speeches and statements often make her sound more like the head of a lesser-known liberal arts college, rather than a candidate for the highest office in the land. Even outside the topic of reproductive rights, her ideals often appear to be carefully crafted by focus groups rather than being born out of personal conviction just when voters are yearning for authenticity.
Adding insult to injury, Harris bowed down to Joe Biden’s demands and chose not to create any semblance of a healthy distance between her and the current President. Hand picking ‘The Late Show’ with Stephen Colbert for her first interview after leaving the office, paints a telling picture.
While her choice of platform may have been a delight for Colbert’s dedicated viewer base, it does not serve the Democratic Party’s purpose. The party needs to reach out to an audience far removed from the committed viewers of the ‘Late Show’. Correspondingly, the choice of platform showcases Harris’s lack of understanding of this necessary political chess game.
Should the Democrats decide to back her for a future run, there’s a high likelihood that Kamala Harris will be reduced to a mere footnote as a trivia question in the annals of history. Undoubtedly, the question she will answer won’t be, ‘Who was the 48th president of the United States?’.
The post Kamala Harris: Emblem of Democratic Unpopularity appeared first on Real News Now.
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