A desperate memo has begun circulating among Democrats begging the party to nominate Kamala Harris after booting Joe Biden from the ticket.
Saying, “we are currently losing. We need to do something different to win,” the memo, writes the secret author, was “written with the premise that the number one most important priority above all others is defeating Donald Trump. There is nothing—nothing—more important. And we need to be very real that we are currently losing.
The discourse about potential alternate candidates in the event Biden steps down is increasingly detached from reality. Donors, pundits, and Democratic elites are freely slinging around wild ideas about dream tickets. This chaos is used as a shield by “stay the course” advocates who frame the choice as Biden or chaos. The swirl over different possible candidates is obscuring the fact that there is a single, clear path forward.
Kamala Harris has the strongest claim to democratic legitimacy. She is the only candidate who can take the reins right now, instead of in late August with less than three months left to go. She has significant and widely underplayed electoral advantages. She can win.”
The memo states that the president’s debate performance was so putrid that he “validated years of rightwing attacks on Biden and made clear he is incapable of prosecuting the case” against Trump and that “failure will have devastating results for our democracy.”
The author contends that Democrats have “three possible options: President Biden can take the necessary steps to demonstrate that he’s up to the job, he can step aside for another candidate, or Trump will win.”
The memo then goes on to argue that “Kamala’s deficits are real but addressable,” saying, “Let’s not kid ourselves—the Vice President has real political weaknesses. Her approval rating is underwater, and has been since 2021. She’s been closely associated with some of the biggest political headaches of the administration, namely immigration. She’s had her fair share of gaffes. And after years of a relatively low public profile, voters don’t see her as a strong leader for the country. These are vulnerabilities that should not be taken lightly, but they also present clear opportunities for growth with the electorate.
It’s not unusual for Vice Presidents to be perceived as lacking in leadership – in fact, it’s almost inherent to the job, which requires operating in a subordinate role and taking care not to diverge from the administration line. Running as a Presidential candidate will allow Harris to present herself in a more commanding light. She’ll be a prosecutor going up against a convicted felon; a woman fighting against the man who ended Roe v. Wade. The headlines write themselves. Picking high-profile, strategic fights with the Trump campaign will both help define Trump and help define Harris as a leader and fighter.“
The author further writes that Harris has strengths that outweigh her weaknesses and that she can grow her support. The memo noted
- “An extensive Morning Consult-Politico poll on the vice president from June reflects a number of advantages she would have over Trump in a head-to-head match up based on his greatest vulnerabilities:
- A majority of voters see Kamala as mentally fit, level-headed, and prepared (a stark contrast to Trump and even President Biden)
- A majority of voters trust Kamala on jobs, abortion, climate change, and LGBTQ+ rights
- She performs well among Black voters and exceeds Biden’s favorability among both Latino voters (a shift from 2020)
The swirl over Kamala’s approval ratings has largely ignored the fact that public opinion is already moving towards Harris over Biden. In a recent post-debate poll from Data for Progress, 43% of voters indicated Harris was fit to run the country compared to Biden’s 35%. Harris also outpolled Biden on “strength”—although both the president and vice president fall short of Trump’s numbers.”
The desperate mystery Democrat clearly missed Kamala Harris’s run for president in 2020 where she did not even make it to Iowa after calling her eventual running mate a racist during a debate. Only a few months ago, a new book revealed that Biden did not want to choose her as vice president and had someone else in mind.
They also might want to recheck the polling: A poll released by The Daily Mail found that Trump would defeat Harris by 11 percentage points in a head-to-head race (49 percent to 38).
