Things can change quickly. Heading into the weekend, Republicans, euphoric after their convention success, held a $44 million lead. Then President Joe Biden left office, freeing tens of millions of dollars held hostage by big donors and simultaneously easing the fears of disheartened Democrats and small donors. By Monday evening, the Republican lead had evaporated, and Republicans were down by $37 million.
If you add in “soft money” — money given to PACs and parties rather than to individual candidates — Democrats raised nearly $350 million in two days, a surreal figure even when you include money from big donors — and a strong sign that Democrats have been reinvigorated by changes in their party dynamics this summer.
This is not to say that Vice President Kamala Harris herself has any real personal appeal, no matter how many cringey shows CNN produces to make her look cool (or how well TikTok manipulates its algorithms), but it is to say that Democrats aren’t going to give up on fighting former President Donald Trump; they’re just tired of fighting while Biden is in charge.
The reality is that Democrats in Washington are quietly excited about the upcoming news cycle and how it might protect their voters from just how incredibly unpleasant Kamala Harris is.
Republicans who want to rest easy on how poorly Harris performed among a crowded field of Democratic primary voters might want to rethink their preconceptions: This is a different race.
The Summer Olympics open in Paris on Friday and will help divert Americans’ attention from political turmoil for the first two weeks of August, before there’s a week’s recess before the Democratic National Convention, which will bring with it another week of extravagance.
But that’s only going to get you through most of August. There’s still plenty of time for everyone to remember just how annoying 2020’s least popular Democratic candidate really is. Republicans who want to rest easy on how poorly Harris performed among a crowded field of Democratic primary voters might want to rethink those preconceptions. This is a different race.
Of course, landmines for Democrats are everywhere.. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Washington on Wednesday to deliver a joint address to Congress at the invitation of both parties, but Harris will attend a campaign event instead of chairing the speech, and Senate President-elect Patty Murray (D-Wash.) will boycott the address.
Biden, meanwhile, has made just one public appearance since the withdrawal (he did not take questions) and canceled a meeting with Netanyahu, though the prime minister and Harris are scheduled to meet later this week. Biden will again tread carefully, likely reaffirming support for the beleaguered ally while also chastising the country’s leader for appeasing radical anti-Israel supporters.
The fact that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech took place is itself a coup by Israel and its friends in Washington, and a victory for Republicans who take delight in stoking the Democratic Party’s foreign policy civil war.
That civil unrest is almost certain to come to Chicago, where Democrats are gathering for the first time since 1968. The ghosts of that violent and bitter convention past are eerily present, with a deeply unpopular president declining reelection, a new candidate nominated for whom voters never actually voted, and Democratic activists battling police in the streets over the party’s own foreign policy.
And finally, there is the president himself, who has been completely out of the picture since he told his campaign staff and the world he is not going to run again with a post about X. He is scheduled to address the nation from the Oval Office on Wednesday night. What will he say, how will he look and sound? It is not all smooth sailing for the party in power.
The Republican Party has not made a sudden shift toward Democratic unity either. sit. Rumor has it that billionaire Elon Musk recently pledged $45 million per month to the Republican Party’s modest campaign fund. Political consultants typically advise donors to put their money into TV ads. Super PACs have terrible TV ad buying rates, yet those same consultants make hefty commissions from the buys. It’s an ugly ecosystem.
Democrats, on the other hand, routinely dominate low-key campaigns, relying on an army of federal employees, labor unions, and questionable nonprofits like ACORN. If confirmed, Elon’s donation strategy would be unorthodox and a very welcome change of direction for the great old party.
Last week, Republicans couldn’t have been more confident about their prospects in November. This week, Democrats are riding high, having successfully replaced a turbulent president without triggering a fierce primary or convention fight. Neither side should become complacent. There’s still a lot more to come.
Ben Boychuk: Don’t be arrogant about Kamala
Daniel Horowitz: Voting tricks could turn red states into blue states
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Fires rising: Punch bowl: Schumer to promote online safety for kids
The Senate has proven completely unchecked: In a surprise move, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has introduced a series of major bills aimed at curbing the power and predatory behavior of big tech companies.
The bill is unusual: It is supported by conservative populists and liberal Democrats, while opposed by a bipartisan coalition of big-money corporatists and libertarians. Andrew Desiderio reports:
The package of bills, which includes the Child Online Safety Act and the Child and Youth Online Privacy Protection Act, would be the federal government’s most significant crackdown on major tech companies and social media platforms in the digital age.
The bills, which would impose new privacy rules and require platforms to give parents and guardians more control over their children’s account settings, have broad bipartisan support.
Schumer tried to secure a timely agreement to pass the bill. The rush is not enough to get unanimous consent, and if there is no agreement, final passage will have to wait until next week.
