A new article from far-left outlet The New Republic criticized Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign for playing it too safe by not discussing her policies so close to the November election.
The outlet's senior editor, Alex Shephard, wrote that the strategy of keeping a low profile and letting the media push her campaign with good “vibes” is no longer working. He declared the “honeymoon is over” and argued that Harris' strategy resulted in making her look like an empty suit.
“But having too few policies is also risky, especially since it makes Harris look like she's not standing for anything,” Shephard said in her Tuesday article, titled “Kamala Harris Can't Keep Running Like This.”
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A progressive outlet criticized Harris' campaign for squandering her post-convention momentum by playing it too safe with her policy proposals. (Emily Elconin/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The author begins the article with his observation that the good vibes that accompanied Harris' replacement of Biden at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket have worn off. “After seven weeks of euphoria over Kamala Harris's ascension to the top of the Democratic presidential ticket, panic finally returned to the party on Sunday,” Shephard wrote.
She cited a New York Times poll showing Trump's “narrow lead over Harris nationally” and their “dead heat” in key states, offering it as evidence that “the momentum that had sustained Harris since President Biden dropped out of the race has clearly dissipated.”
Several outlets have reported on how close the race is between Harris and former President Trump. CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten claimed last week that it is the closest election in a “generation” and noted that if Trump were to lead the polls by just one point, he would win.
Shephard went on to criticize Harris' strategy, saying the increasingly tight polls reveal a “failure” on the part of her team.
“This election was going to be very close, even after Harris replaced Biden. But the tightening of the polls over the past week points to a failure for Harris's campaign. She had nearly two months to show voters who she is and what she stands for. Instead, she's played it safe, hoping to maintain the positive vibes and momentum of the summer by deliberately not taking positions on controversial policies.”
“It's now clear that that approach is no longer working,” he added, though he said Harris has “plenty of time” to right her ship, provided she begins to “abandon the cautious approach she's been taking since she became the nominee and publicly break with Joe Biden.”
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New Republic senior editor Alex Shephard said Vice President Kamala Harris's “honeymoon” ended because she was too cautious with her policy proposals. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Shephard also criticized Harris for abandoning her previous progressive stances on issues for this election and not replacing them with anything substantial.
“She was quick to dismiss the progressive positions she espoused during the 2020 presidential race — such as gun buybacks, banning fracking and Medicare for All — without saying much about where she stands now,” he wrote, adding that her strategy was to “avoid the risk of an aggressive political agenda that would expose her to criticism.”
However, the author argued that this did not work because people do not know what she stands for and that her minimal policy points “are then criticized ad nauseum.”
“His price-gouging solution was heavily criticized by economists across the political spectrum, while his tipping policy has come under fire because it was first adopted by Trump.”
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Toward the end of his article, the editor advised Harris to “step out of Biden’s shadow” during Tuesday night’s debate and demonstrate “a positive agenda.”
“The polls are clear: the summer honeymoon is over. This debate will likely be Harris' best chance to tilt the polls in her favor and define herself for the millions of voters who have doubts about her. But it will also require her to take uncomfortable, even controversial positions,” he concluded. “She can no longer expect to continue reaping political rewards without taking any risks.”
