A new article in the far-left media outlet The New Republic has slammed Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign for playing it “safe” by not talking about policy as the November election approaches.
The outlet's senior editor, Alex Shepherd, wrote that the strategy of keeping a low profile and relying on the media to promote her campaign with a good “vibe” is no longer working: “The honeymoon is over,” he declared, arguing that Harris' strategy has made her look like an empty bureaucrat.
“But there's also a danger in having too few policies, because it makes it seem like Harris doesn't support any policies,” Shepherd argued. Tuesday's WorksThe article was headlined, “Kamala Harris Can't Continue Campaigning Like This.”
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Progressive media criticized Harris' team for squandering post-convention momentum by playing it too safe with her policy proposals. (Emily Elconin/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Shepherd began his article by stating that the positive mood that erupted when Harris replaced Biden as the top Democratic presidential candidate has dissipated. “After seven weeks of euphoria following Kamala Harris's ascension to the top of the Democratic presidential field, panic finally returned to the party on Sunday,” Shepherd wrote.
He cited a New York Times poll showing that Trump has a “slight lead over Harris nationally” but the two are “close” in battleground states as evidence that “the momentum that carried Harris since President Biden dropped out of the race has clearly evaporated.”
Multiple media outlets have written about how close the race is between Harris and former President Trump, with CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten saying last week that this is the closest election in “a generation,” and that Trump only needed to beat the polls by just one point to win.
Shepherd also criticized Harris' strategy, saying increasingly close polls speak to a “failure” by her team.
“Even after Harris replaced Biden, the election was always expected to be very close. But the narrowing of the polling gap over the past week indicates a failure of Harris' campaign. She had nearly two months to show voters who she is and what she stands for. Instead, she played it safe and sought to maintain the positive atmosphere and momentum of the summer by purposefully not taking positions on controversial policies.”
“It's clear that approach is no longer working,” he added, but added that Harris “has plenty of time to course-correct” if she begins to “abandon the cautious approach that she has taken since becoming the nominee and since publicly breaking with Joe Biden.”
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Alex Shepherd, a senior editor at The New Republic, asserted that Vice President Kamala Harris' “honeymoon” is over because she has been too cautious about her policy proposals. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Shepard also harshly criticized Harris for abandoning her progressive positions so far in this election and failing to replace them with substantive policies.
“She was quick to abandon the progressive positions she took during the 2020 presidential campaign, including gun buybacks, a fracking ban and Medicare for All, and has not said much about where she stands now,” he wrote, adding that her strategy is to “avoid the risk of an aggressive policy agenda that would expose her to criticism.”
But the author argued that it didn't work because people didn't know where she stood and her policy points were “exhaustively criticised.”
“Her price-gouging tactics have been roundly criticized by economists across the political spectrum, but her tipping policy has come under fire because it was first adopted by Trump.”
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Near the end of the piece, the editors advised Harris to “step out of Biden's shadow” and present “positive policies” during Tuesday night's debate.
“The polls are clear: the summer honeymoon is over. The debate will be Harris's perfect opportunity to swing the polls back in her favor and to clearly articulate where she stands to millions of voters who are undecided. But it will also require her to take uncomfortable and controversial positions,” he concluded. “Harris can no longer expect to continue reaping political rewards without taking risks.”
