Why doesn’t DONALD TRUMP ever have to fix anything? He just rolls forward like a panzer and gets a PASS. Camps? Misogyny? Lies? Slurred words? Convictions? Being all rapey? Flushing docs down the toilet? Stealing docs and likely giving them to Vlad and MBS? Killing Americans with COVID? Running a shadow presidency? Killing the border bill? ALLLLLLLL GOOD.
Kamala fucks it on The View with one statement and now she is pilloried and COULD LOSE THE ELECTION over it.
I agree she needs to take it to Trump on the daily.
I also agree that if we get this fucking guy again, we will deserve the entirety of the grisly forever aftermath.
Steve, for once I disagree! Traitor Trump and his lapdog Just Dumb (JD) Vance have lied about the hurricane response for a week now! THAT IS THE WHOLE ELECTION IN A NUTSHELL. Harris and Walz need to compare these LIES to the pathetic pandemic response that killed 1,250,000 Americans and ask the American people do you want to trust the LIARS when the next hurricane shows up next week???
I also disagree. I find no validity in this quote from Steve's message, "Trump, the most prolific liar in the history of American politics, was made the obvious truth teller about three things: the economy, the border and Biden."
To any informed and thinking person, Trump has LIED about the economy, the border, and Biden.
Anthony, I think what Steve was saying is that by not countering his lies about the economy, the border, and Biden then he became the defacto "truth teller". Every time that fucker opens his mouth, Harris and Walz NEED!! to be there with the true truth telling.
Mary and Steve, it would be impossible "to be there" to counter every lie told by Trump and Vance. You and Steve are imposing a Sisyphean task on Harris and Walz and making them look weak and ineffective when they are not.
Here is something to think about. There are few thinking/informed people on the fence, it is up to KH to persuede them. I dont think KH has made her case on the border issue. I think she has done better on clearing up the economy issue. She needs to make her case for both those issues to persuede the fence walkers to go Dem. Until she does, they are apt to fall on the Repub side of the fence. She needs to knock them in the head proverbially on these two issues to get them in the Dem column. Regarding Biden, they don't like how Biden orchestrated. She has presented as Biden lite by saying she wouldn't change a thing. That was not a persuasive statement.
She has clearly pointed out that Trump ordered Speaker Johnson to not bring the bipartisan border bill up for a vote because he wants the problems at the border to continue as a campaign issue. How can his professed concern be taken seriously? This also shows America how selfish he is. She also responded with an indredulous look and laughed when Trump said, "They're eating the dogs!"
That is true Anthony, I agree. But both those events point to just how bad Trvmp is. On the economy, I wish she would elaborate on the reduction in inflation that we have had. And even though prices are still high much of the high inflation was caused by the supply chain interruption and covid. Additionally she can point out the high inflation has been global, not directly as a result of WH actions. I wish she woul also elaborate on what went on on the first 3 years if the Biden admin regarding immigration and birder issues.
Just an aside, I'm voting a str8 Dem ticket, but my views on how she can sway fence walkers are just my opinion, I could be wrong.
She has also rightly declared that she will stop price gauging by food giants who exploited COVID's inflation and are now seeing record profits. Many still don't understand that greed is the REAL reason grocery bills are so high.
The recent NY Times poll showed 9% of all Republicans are not voting for Trump. These are former Haley supporters who still showed up after Traitor Trump won the nomination to vote against him! These voters have now been given “permission” to vote for Harris. This madness in the form of LIES about FEMA not responding to the two hurricanes and the Democrats are somehow controlling hurricanes will drive some sane Republicans to vote for Democrats to stop this INSANITY!!!
To be fair it was a tough question to ask a sitting VP about the current administration and therefore her boss the current president. I agree she could have answered this much differently but I do not believe that she ought to have singled out certain things. A overarching answer that since she is a different person then of course many things will be different moving forward.
To Chris's point, maybe Steve has addressed this previously but I have felt all along that Kamala had a thin wire to cross of moving her campaign forward while continuing to be Robin to Biden's Batman. For example, if Kamala felt that the situation in Israel should have been handled differently, how precisely would she express that without potentially blowing up an already tense situation. I do think she and Biden should have come up with a few answers to that. Maybe treat it like the "what are your weaknesses" job interview question where you give a minor weakness that has nothing to do with the key requirements of the job. Another thought is to answer in a way that allows you to highlight what a shitty mess Trump left them.
You're right Chris....she's tired and a candidate still has to think on her feet. Hasn't her staff anticipated a question like this?? What else have they been negligent on?
Steve, did you not listen to Kamala's interview with Howard Stern? In my opinion, Stern is the best meat and potatoes interviewer that exists today. In that interview, Kamala prosecuted the case against trump while sounding affable and one of us to an audience of mostly white males. I do think you are being a bit too harsh my good man.
No matter what Harris does, the Republican half of the government will fight her everyday, just for fun, and because they are nasty. Now, and if elected president. That we have such gullible citizens, Fascism and the followers would be unbearable - they would ruin everything. I don't expect a miracle with Kamala, but her openness is my only hope.
I read Steve's harsh and rather overwrought criitique as a reflection, at least in part, of his fear, born of experience, that innocent mistakes -- stupid mistakes -- can be fatal to a campaign, and if Harris loses, the consequences for America will be unlike anything anyone is even considering. However, I don't know that Harris's choosing not to launch into dumping on Biden in the context of The View, or letting herself be "someone you'd like to have a beer with" on Colbert, are going to be read negatively by the audiences for either of those programs or represent a serious misstep in the scope of the overall campaign.
The mainstream media had led with the same story for weeks -- when is she going to do interviews? But what they are actually whining about is wanting to be taken seriously themselves, even when their "sane washing" of Trump and repetitive, superficial coverage across the board hasn't earned them the opportunity of conducting a "serious" interview on any topic. They will criticize anything Harris does that isn't in keeping with their own traditional views of campaigning. They see no point in entertaining interviews that show a less serious side of the candidate, even though her campaign gurus surely are paying attention to whether she is losing momentum with the audiences they are trying to reach with this varied media approach.
I do agree that the "take down of Trump" closing argument needs to be made forcefully and consistently in various ways that aren't going to include a lot more soft media. Perhaps it is only coincidental that on this same day Steve has turned negative and very worried, Alex Shephard in the New Republic published an article accusing Harris of revealing that she is still the candidate she was in 2019, unable to move past a certain level of glossy speech into something more hard-hitting or explain away her inconsistencies to the satisfaction of media-savvy people who love "gotcha moments" or who are chronically skeptical. Again, however, I would say that most voters aren't watching her speeches comparatively or being left wanting something different.
To me the main question is whether she can close successfully by delivering the messages certain voters need to hear to be motivated to vote for Harris, which may mean she leaves the more astute campaign watchers wishing that her "meteoric rise" would take her to more lofty or expansive places. Her job isn't to dump on Biden or delve deeply into her specific policy differences. The voters who say they "don't know enough about her" aren't sincerely asking her spend more time educating them on nuts and bolts details about anything. Her campaign has wagered that If likely voters are sincere about "wanting more," they are saying they want to be persuaded by a promising view of the future they can grab onto. Maybe the positive vision Harris has been describing isn't substantive enough for serious doubters and astute campaign followers, but maybe it is as far as she needs to go down that line.
Her primary job now is to make sure voters understand what the future holds if voters reject her as the available alternative to Trump. They may not have asked for more from Harris in this vein, but they need to hear it and she is the necessary messenger. Anyone who hasn't been persuaded by Harris's positive messaging about lifting up middle class America now needs to wake up to the alternative and understand that Trump is anything but a self-absorbed doddering fool who can't possibly win this election. They need to stop their hand-wringing about Harris's imperfections and absorb the seriousness of Trump's fascism full stop.
I’m so impressed by your thoughtful comments - the New Republic reference was insightful. I had to go look it up!
I really think that a great deal of the criticism of Harris is rooted in the traditional media & the populace’s discomfort with the shift away from conventional campaign platforms. For my part, I desperately hope her campaign is taking the right approach. We need her & the world needs a US President that won’t send secret documents & vital disaster supplies to our adversaries.
I agree that Steve's post today was born out of hard -won experience. (I love your comment!) I didn't find it overwrought, tho, but rather quite brave in telling us a truth that clearly no one wants to hear.
The comments here lamenting about the unfairness of one Harris misfire in a tidal wave of Trump insanity are missing the point of Steve's stern warning.
Because of social media, any mistakes she makes will be amplified by MAGA to make it appear that she's making far more errors than she really is. It doesn't MATTER that this isn't fair. What matters is the reality of the situation, and the situation is an unprecedented whopper.
Look, every day isn't going to be the news we want to hear. In fact, overall this has been a huge downfall of the Dems. When a consultant who was hired by the Dem party in 2020 to present various dangerous scenarios the magaverse could present if Biden won, he said that in every instance, the Dems said, "Oh that would never happen." This was an interview with Bill Maher, and it was as shocking as it was typical of the Dems consistent failure of imagination.
Steve's post was painful to read, but again, he is right. I hope the Harris campaign reads this, Steve, as it's sound advice going forward. It's worth it to make the effort to get it to her people.
Trump has had a disastrous few months since Harris became the candidate for President. Every single appearance that he makes , every utterance, is vile and full of lies. Many people are already voting, as I have done. Harris could not make a thousand misstatements that would surpass the hundreds of thousands frightening, anti-democratic, lies that we have heard in both written and spoken formats in the last nine years, to last us a lifetime, uttered by the Hitler wannabe, trump. The other elections of the past did not have two widely different candidates. This election should not and cannot be contrasted with any other election.
Steve, I agree that her answer on The View was not what I had expected. Although I don’t watch the program, I did see her response replayed on major networks. I suspect that finding herself amongst women gave her a sense of relief and knowledge that she likely could relax and enjoy the repartee. It appears she did just that - she let her guard down. However, p*sting on your former boss whose job you’re running for is maybe a reflex more attuned to the male species than the female one. A better response would have been : “ President Biden always consulted me and I provided considerable input into the discussion. In the end, he was the boss and I respected the hierarchy of our positions and decisions. Did I always agree? At this point it no longer has an impact, but what does, are the issues that I am running on and that’s what I would like us to focus on.”
Your proposed response would have been more effective for KH. And while I hate to admit it, Vance’s similar response (I’m focusing on the future) enabled him to avoid several pointed questions and survive the VP debate.
Thank you for your response. Yes, I agree that focusing on the future in Vance’s case (and Mike Johnson who’s on the same train) would likely have been appropriate. And I did think of it, but discarded it because of the context of her appearance on The View. She was not invited to a debate, but rather a talk show, similar to the one she did with Colbert, beer and all. I think politicians do tend to let their guard down under similar circumstances and best not to dwell on their faux pas, especially when one is running against the world’s worst liar and his acolyte who himself is making himself known as a super duper liar.
If telling the truth counted in modern elections, Harris-Walz would be leading in the polls 65-35. Tragically, we seem to be at a stage where candidates for the highest offices can tell outrageous lies then complain about fact-checking and get away with it.
This one looks like a nail biter but I hope I’m wrong and Harris wins by 100+ electoral votes.
Still seething….37% of Americans who consume alcohol drink beer. Drinking a Miller High Life(I preferred the tall neck version years ago) with Harris drinking ONE sip of an iconic American beer, sounds like another way to reach a large swath of people.
If going on different programs(I watched THE VIEW, 60 Minutes and Colbert) somehow offends your preferred method of campaigning you should read Scott Dworkins’ latest article on changing platforms for candidates to reach their audiences. He is on Substack.
Staying loyal to her current boss(and person who gave up running then chose her)may be a negative in your view but I see it as a positive. Loyalty should stand for conviction. I am certain Harris had the last word with Biden on a vast majority of decisions so for her to slam him now would mean slamming herself.
I can’t believe the time on Harris one liners when we are up against a titanic of lies you are right Mr.D crap a sip of beer with Colbert,the View lines the thought that she could lose the election over it is the new disease only found in America “ Electionitis “and it’s deadly!
Well, when I look at the people in western North Carolina who voted for and made Mark Robinson our Lieutenant Governor, they are finding out they made a huge mistake.
When critical emergency response was needed, the man could offer no help. All he had was bankruptcies, rants, and bad checks.
The saddest part is the MAGA voters took down with them everyone else. We may witness this on a larger scale soon.
Steve, I agree with much of what you say/write but today I disagree on this one in some respects. I agree that she could have responded with a statement saying "....Perhaps we could have done some things differently regarding the border crisis such as..."
We need to stop "nickel and diming" Kamala's every step. She's not perfect and a slight misstep shouldn't tank her campaign. The double standard is so blatant. She's run an excellent, well planned campaign in just these short months... Why does she have to explain in detail EVERYTHING when Trump gets away with a slap on the wrist when he LIES about EVERYTHING, rambles on about nothing ...no policies, just retribution and all we do is "shudder in our boots" instead of making him accountable. HE gets away with it over and over! If "we the People" foolishly allow the 'grifter-in-chief' back into the White House again after ALL of what he stands for, this country deserves what we get.
PS. Listen to Harris’s interview on the podcast CALL HER DADDY. Alex Cooper has like 10 million followers of both Republicans and Democrats. Kamala did a fantastic interview.
I agree somewhat but not wholeheartedly. I think she has to differentiate insofar as the the war in Israel. I am certain she should use questions like the one you noted, to not directly answer bur offer political speak and discuss her own plans of taking Biden's best initiatives, and taking them in a direction that will really move the needle- such as her plan getting compensation thru medicare for home health aides. Also, talk about all that is in place in helping Florida and North Carolina now!
Why…WHY does Donald Trump get a pass on every single INTENTIONAL lie he has ever told? Every one of them is so easy to completely refute. PROVE it, Donny. Haitian immigrants are eating pets? PROVE it. Those same Haitian immigrants are living in this country illegally? PROVE it! FEMA funding is being diverted to illegal immigrants? PROVE it! Democrats are controlling the weather? PROVE it! Do not let this vile, amoral narcissist off the hook until he PROVES what he’s claiming! Complaining about him is not enough. Cut him off at the knees. Nail him to his own wall. People are suffering and dying because of his lies.
Trump doesn't do debates now, and no genuine press conferences, so there's no way to challenge him personally. I totally hear your frustration, but the deeply frustrating thing about cults is that facts don't matter even if we did pin him to the wall.
Did you by chance watch The Vow on HBO? The leader of New age thought company Nxium, Keith Raniere, groomed an inner core of followers for literally decades, until one by one they got out and launched a criminal case against him. (He's in prison now for life.) Like Trump, he viciously went after defectors with the hundreds of millions provided by the Seagram's heiresssed, who fell under his spell. They inner sanctum were all vicious, just like Trump, or Scientology.
In this story, those who joined Nxium were often the brightest and best in their fields, and even THEY were conned. They weren't the uneducated masses.
In other words, I've NO idea how the Trump cult will ultimately devolve. It definitely will, as they all do, but how? I do believe that his ultimate death will be a start, as that's what history proves. But until his passing, a whole lot of misery will continue, I'm sad to say. All we can do is get out the blue vote, work against the maga election cheating, and be prepared to enforce the law against any violence should Harris win. That's it.
Oh, and implement Steve's ideas here, as he's won and lost a few. His losses don't make his ideas less valid, but actually the opposite.
Thanks, Mary Ann. All very good points. I have seen The Vow. The similarities to the Trump cult are unmistakeable, which really does have the characteristics of so many cults. I’m so looking forward to the devolution of it.
Why doesn’t DONALD TRUMP ever have to fix anything? He just rolls forward like a panzer and gets a PASS. Camps? Misogyny? Lies? Slurred words? Convictions? Being all rapey? Flushing docs down the toilet? Stealing docs and likely giving them to Vlad and MBS? Killing Americans with COVID? Running a shadow presidency? Killing the border bill? ALLLLLLLL GOOD.
Kamala fucks it on The View with one statement and now she is pilloried and COULD LOSE THE ELECTION over it.
I agree she needs to take it to Trump on the daily.
I also agree that if we get this fucking guy again, we will deserve the entirety of the grisly forever aftermath.
Steve, for once I disagree! Traitor Trump and his lapdog Just Dumb (JD) Vance have lied about the hurricane response for a week now! THAT IS THE WHOLE ELECTION IN A NUTSHELL. Harris and Walz need to compare these LIES to the pathetic pandemic response that killed 1,250,000 Americans and ask the American people do you want to trust the LIARS when the next hurricane shows up next week???
I also disagree. I find no validity in this quote from Steve's message, "Trump, the most prolific liar in the history of American politics, was made the obvious truth teller about three things: the economy, the border and Biden."
To any informed and thinking person, Trump has LIED about the economy, the border, and Biden.
Anthony, I think what Steve was saying is that by not countering his lies about the economy, the border, and Biden then he became the defacto "truth teller". Every time that fucker opens his mouth, Harris and Walz NEED!! to be there with the true truth telling.
Mary and Steve, it would be impossible "to be there" to counter every lie told by Trump and Vance. You and Steve are imposing a Sisyphean task on Harris and Walz and making them look weak and ineffective when they are not.
Anthony, then you need to add James Carvell to mine and Steve's names because he has said the same thing. It is not impossible.
done...
Springfield asked for immigrants they,got them and they have jobs. Don’t you think it plays out like that in many locations?
Here is something to think about. There are few thinking/informed people on the fence, it is up to KH to persuede them. I dont think KH has made her case on the border issue. I think she has done better on clearing up the economy issue. She needs to make her case for both those issues to persuede the fence walkers to go Dem. Until she does, they are apt to fall on the Repub side of the fence. She needs to knock them in the head proverbially on these two issues to get them in the Dem column. Regarding Biden, they don't like how Biden orchestrated. She has presented as Biden lite by saying she wouldn't change a thing. That was not a persuasive statement.
She has clearly pointed out that Trump ordered Speaker Johnson to not bring the bipartisan border bill up for a vote because he wants the problems at the border to continue as a campaign issue. How can his professed concern be taken seriously? This also shows America how selfish he is. She also responded with an indredulous look and laughed when Trump said, "They're eating the dogs!"
That is true Anthony, I agree. But both those events point to just how bad Trvmp is. On the economy, I wish she would elaborate on the reduction in inflation that we have had. And even though prices are still high much of the high inflation was caused by the supply chain interruption and covid. Additionally she can point out the high inflation has been global, not directly as a result of WH actions. I wish she woul also elaborate on what went on on the first 3 years if the Biden admin regarding immigration and birder issues.
Just an aside, I'm voting a str8 Dem ticket, but my views on how she can sway fence walkers are just my opinion, I could be wrong.
She has also rightly declared that she will stop price gauging by food giants who exploited COVID's inflation and are now seeing record profits. Many still don't understand that greed is the REAL reason grocery bills are so high.
Sandra, we agree on the fundamentals. I just think she is doing a better job of making her case than you do.
The recent NY Times poll showed 9% of all Republicans are not voting for Trump. These are former Haley supporters who still showed up after Traitor Trump won the nomination to vote against him! These voters have now been given “permission” to vote for Harris. This madness in the form of LIES about FEMA not responding to the two hurricanes and the Democrats are somehow controlling hurricanes will drive some sane Republicans to vote for Democrats to stop this INSANITY!!!
And remember people don't remember this shit for two minutes, tops. Where's that hurricane? Next, next, next.
Agree. The Biden administration has had a winning message, it’s just that the messenger couldn’t deliver.
To be fair it was a tough question to ask a sitting VP about the current administration and therefore her boss the current president. I agree she could have answered this much differently but I do not believe that she ought to have singled out certain things. A overarching answer that since she is a different person then of course many things will be different moving forward.
That’s fair. No need to throw shade at Joe.
And now can we stop discussing Kamala's not great answer and get back to working to defeat trump?
To Chris's point, maybe Steve has addressed this previously but I have felt all along that Kamala had a thin wire to cross of moving her campaign forward while continuing to be Robin to Biden's Batman. For example, if Kamala felt that the situation in Israel should have been handled differently, how precisely would she express that without potentially blowing up an already tense situation. I do think she and Biden should have come up with a few answers to that. Maybe treat it like the "what are your weaknesses" job interview question where you give a minor weakness that has nothing to do with the key requirements of the job. Another thought is to answer in a way that allows you to highlight what a shitty mess Trump left them.
You're right Chris....she's tired and a candidate still has to think on her feet. Hasn't her staff anticipated a question like this?? What else have they been negligent on?
She actually should have anticipated that one.
I think your being a little toooo harsh schmidt
Steve, did you not listen to Kamala's interview with Howard Stern? In my opinion, Stern is the best meat and potatoes interviewer that exists today. In that interview, Kamala prosecuted the case against trump while sounding affable and one of us to an audience of mostly white males. I do think you are being a bit too harsh my good man.
Yes. Agree. What was up with your harsh criticism of Harris? Was that really necessary? Why help trump?
Succinctly said!
No matter what Harris does, the Republican half of the government will fight her everyday, just for fun, and because they are nasty. Now, and if elected president. That we have such gullible citizens, Fascism and the followers would be unbearable - they would ruin everything. I don't expect a miracle with Kamala, but her openness is my only hope.
I read Steve's harsh and rather overwrought criitique as a reflection, at least in part, of his fear, born of experience, that innocent mistakes -- stupid mistakes -- can be fatal to a campaign, and if Harris loses, the consequences for America will be unlike anything anyone is even considering. However, I don't know that Harris's choosing not to launch into dumping on Biden in the context of The View, or letting herself be "someone you'd like to have a beer with" on Colbert, are going to be read negatively by the audiences for either of those programs or represent a serious misstep in the scope of the overall campaign.
The mainstream media had led with the same story for weeks -- when is she going to do interviews? But what they are actually whining about is wanting to be taken seriously themselves, even when their "sane washing" of Trump and repetitive, superficial coverage across the board hasn't earned them the opportunity of conducting a "serious" interview on any topic. They will criticize anything Harris does that isn't in keeping with their own traditional views of campaigning. They see no point in entertaining interviews that show a less serious side of the candidate, even though her campaign gurus surely are paying attention to whether she is losing momentum with the audiences they are trying to reach with this varied media approach.
I do agree that the "take down of Trump" closing argument needs to be made forcefully and consistently in various ways that aren't going to include a lot more soft media. Perhaps it is only coincidental that on this same day Steve has turned negative and very worried, Alex Shephard in the New Republic published an article accusing Harris of revealing that she is still the candidate she was in 2019, unable to move past a certain level of glossy speech into something more hard-hitting or explain away her inconsistencies to the satisfaction of media-savvy people who love "gotcha moments" or who are chronically skeptical. Again, however, I would say that most voters aren't watching her speeches comparatively or being left wanting something different.
To me the main question is whether she can close successfully by delivering the messages certain voters need to hear to be motivated to vote for Harris, which may mean she leaves the more astute campaign watchers wishing that her "meteoric rise" would take her to more lofty or expansive places. Her job isn't to dump on Biden or delve deeply into her specific policy differences. The voters who say they "don't know enough about her" aren't sincerely asking her spend more time educating them on nuts and bolts details about anything. Her campaign has wagered that If likely voters are sincere about "wanting more," they are saying they want to be persuaded by a promising view of the future they can grab onto. Maybe the positive vision Harris has been describing isn't substantive enough for serious doubters and astute campaign followers, but maybe it is as far as she needs to go down that line.
Her primary job now is to make sure voters understand what the future holds if voters reject her as the available alternative to Trump. They may not have asked for more from Harris in this vein, but they need to hear it and she is the necessary messenger. Anyone who hasn't been persuaded by Harris's positive messaging about lifting up middle class America now needs to wake up to the alternative and understand that Trump is anything but a self-absorbed doddering fool who can't possibly win this election. They need to stop their hand-wringing about Harris's imperfections and absorb the seriousness of Trump's fascism full stop.
I’m so impressed by your thoughtful comments - the New Republic reference was insightful. I had to go look it up!
I really think that a great deal of the criticism of Harris is rooted in the traditional media & the populace’s discomfort with the shift away from conventional campaign platforms. For my part, I desperately hope her campaign is taking the right approach. We need her & the world needs a US President that won’t send secret documents & vital disaster supplies to our adversaries.
I agree that Steve's post today was born out of hard -won experience. (I love your comment!) I didn't find it overwrought, tho, but rather quite brave in telling us a truth that clearly no one wants to hear.
The comments here lamenting about the unfairness of one Harris misfire in a tidal wave of Trump insanity are missing the point of Steve's stern warning.
Because of social media, any mistakes she makes will be amplified by MAGA to make it appear that she's making far more errors than she really is. It doesn't MATTER that this isn't fair. What matters is the reality of the situation, and the situation is an unprecedented whopper.
Look, every day isn't going to be the news we want to hear. In fact, overall this has been a huge downfall of the Dems. When a consultant who was hired by the Dem party in 2020 to present various dangerous scenarios the magaverse could present if Biden won, he said that in every instance, the Dems said, "Oh that would never happen." This was an interview with Bill Maher, and it was as shocking as it was typical of the Dems consistent failure of imagination.
Steve's post was painful to read, but again, he is right. I hope the Harris campaign reads this, Steve, as it's sound advice going forward. It's worth it to make the effort to get it to her people.
Trump has had a disastrous few months since Harris became the candidate for President. Every single appearance that he makes , every utterance, is vile and full of lies. Many people are already voting, as I have done. Harris could not make a thousand misstatements that would surpass the hundreds of thousands frightening, anti-democratic, lies that we have heard in both written and spoken formats in the last nine years, to last us a lifetime, uttered by the Hitler wannabe, trump. The other elections of the past did not have two widely different candidates. This election should not and cannot be contrasted with any other election.
Steve, I agree that her answer on The View was not what I had expected. Although I don’t watch the program, I did see her response replayed on major networks. I suspect that finding herself amongst women gave her a sense of relief and knowledge that she likely could relax and enjoy the repartee. It appears she did just that - she let her guard down. However, p*sting on your former boss whose job you’re running for is maybe a reflex more attuned to the male species than the female one. A better response would have been : “ President Biden always consulted me and I provided considerable input into the discussion. In the end, he was the boss and I respected the hierarchy of our positions and decisions. Did I always agree? At this point it no longer has an impact, but what does, are the issues that I am running on and that’s what I would like us to focus on.”
Your proposed response would have been more effective for KH. And while I hate to admit it, Vance’s similar response (I’m focusing on the future) enabled him to avoid several pointed questions and survive the VP debate.
Thank you for your response. Yes, I agree that focusing on the future in Vance’s case (and Mike Johnson who’s on the same train) would likely have been appropriate. And I did think of it, but discarded it because of the context of her appearance on The View. She was not invited to a debate, but rather a talk show, similar to the one she did with Colbert, beer and all. I think politicians do tend to let their guard down under similar circumstances and best not to dwell on their faux pas, especially when one is running against the world’s worst liar and his acolyte who himself is making himself known as a super duper liar.
If telling the truth counted in modern elections, Harris-Walz would be leading in the polls 65-35. Tragically, we seem to be at a stage where candidates for the highest offices can tell outrageous lies then complain about fact-checking and get away with it.
This one looks like a nail biter but I hope I’m wrong and Harris wins by 100+ electoral votes.
ALWAYS the, “Nattering nanob of negativism” eh, Steve?
If there ever was a perfect campaign it was one of yours eh, Steve?
Easy to be hard(sorry, Three Dog Night) eh, Steve?
I am so ready to cancel this subscription on my anniversary date…
Still seething….37% of Americans who consume alcohol drink beer. Drinking a Miller High Life(I preferred the tall neck version years ago) with Harris drinking ONE sip of an iconic American beer, sounds like another way to reach a large swath of people.
If going on different programs(I watched THE VIEW, 60 Minutes and Colbert) somehow offends your preferred method of campaigning you should read Scott Dworkins’ latest article on changing platforms for candidates to reach their audiences. He is on Substack.
Staying loyal to her current boss(and person who gave up running then chose her)may be a negative in your view but I see it as a positive. Loyalty should stand for conviction. I am certain Harris had the last word with Biden on a vast majority of decisions so for her to slam him now would mean slamming herself.
I can’t believe the time on Harris one liners when we are up against a titanic of lies you are right Mr.D crap a sip of beer with Colbert,the View lines the thought that she could lose the election over it is the new disease only found in America “ Electionitis “and it’s deadly!
RUDE
Thank you, Karen. Perfect name….
I think your being a little tooooo harsh schmidt
Well, when I look at the people in western North Carolina who voted for and made Mark Robinson our Lieutenant Governor, they are finding out they made a huge mistake.
When critical emergency response was needed, the man could offer no help. All he had was bankruptcies, rants, and bad checks.
The saddest part is the MAGA voters took down with them everyone else. We may witness this on a larger scale soon.
Steve, I agree with much of what you say/write but today I disagree on this one in some respects. I agree that she could have responded with a statement saying "....Perhaps we could have done some things differently regarding the border crisis such as..."
We need to stop "nickel and diming" Kamala's every step. She's not perfect and a slight misstep shouldn't tank her campaign. The double standard is so blatant. She's run an excellent, well planned campaign in just these short months... Why does she have to explain in detail EVERYTHING when Trump gets away with a slap on the wrist when he LIES about EVERYTHING, rambles on about nothing ...no policies, just retribution and all we do is "shudder in our boots" instead of making him accountable. HE gets away with it over and over! If "we the People" foolishly allow the 'grifter-in-chief' back into the White House again after ALL of what he stands for, this country deserves what we get.
PS. Listen to Harris’s interview on the podcast CALL HER DADDY. Alex Cooper has like 10 million followers of both Republicans and Democrats. Kamala did a fantastic interview.
I agree somewhat but not wholeheartedly. I think she has to differentiate insofar as the the war in Israel. I am certain she should use questions like the one you noted, to not directly answer bur offer political speak and discuss her own plans of taking Biden's best initiatives, and taking them in a direction that will really move the needle- such as her plan getting compensation thru medicare for home health aides. Also, talk about all that is in place in helping Florida and North Carolina now!
excellent response...you'd have thought her staff would anticipate questions like this
Why…WHY does Donald Trump get a pass on every single INTENTIONAL lie he has ever told? Every one of them is so easy to completely refute. PROVE it, Donny. Haitian immigrants are eating pets? PROVE it. Those same Haitian immigrants are living in this country illegally? PROVE it! FEMA funding is being diverted to illegal immigrants? PROVE it! Democrats are controlling the weather? PROVE it! Do not let this vile, amoral narcissist off the hook until he PROVES what he’s claiming! Complaining about him is not enough. Cut him off at the knees. Nail him to his own wall. People are suffering and dying because of his lies.
And by the way…Vote Blue 💙
Trump doesn't do debates now, and no genuine press conferences, so there's no way to challenge him personally. I totally hear your frustration, but the deeply frustrating thing about cults is that facts don't matter even if we did pin him to the wall.
Did you by chance watch The Vow on HBO? The leader of New age thought company Nxium, Keith Raniere, groomed an inner core of followers for literally decades, until one by one they got out and launched a criminal case against him. (He's in prison now for life.) Like Trump, he viciously went after defectors with the hundreds of millions provided by the Seagram's heiresssed, who fell under his spell. They inner sanctum were all vicious, just like Trump, or Scientology.
In this story, those who joined Nxium were often the brightest and best in their fields, and even THEY were conned. They weren't the uneducated masses.
In other words, I've NO idea how the Trump cult will ultimately devolve. It definitely will, as they all do, but how? I do believe that his ultimate death will be a start, as that's what history proves. But until his passing, a whole lot of misery will continue, I'm sad to say. All we can do is get out the blue vote, work against the maga election cheating, and be prepared to enforce the law against any violence should Harris win. That's it.
Oh, and implement Steve's ideas here, as he's won and lost a few. His losses don't make his ideas less valid, but actually the opposite.
Thanks, Mary Ann. All very good points. I have seen The Vow. The similarities to the Trump cult are unmistakeable, which really does have the characteristics of so many cults. I’m so looking forward to the devolution of it.
I’m sure you can’t fight trump by being trump can you?
Good point.