I would hate to be President Joe Biden right now. Not only is he presiding over higher inflation, a recession (depending on how the Left is defining it this microsecond), and a job approval rating going further into the basement than he was during the 2020 election, but he has a new problem. A recent New York Times/Siena College poll shows 64% of Democrats polled would rather see someone else run for President in 2024. Granted, media polls are usually as reliable as a Bill Clinton marriage vow, but this still caught my eye.
If the polling data is accurate (and, I must reiterate that’s a pretty big if), it signals a problem not just for the President, but for the Vice President. Since being named as Biden’s running mate, Kamala Harris has been basking in a pretty bright spotlight and expected to do great things. And she has failed spectacularly on all fronts, with the Vice President’s approval ratings being slightly higher than the President’s. Granted, that’s a pretty low bar these days, but it’s still telling.
Even with Harris being more popular, she doesn’t seem to be as prominent as she was during the campaign and early in the Administration. A large part of this stems from her seeming awkwardness in situations that require a bit more attention to reading the room. Whether it’s laughing at inappropriate times while discussion serious topics or turning a speech into a word smoothie (since it’s long since ceased being a word salad), the Vice President still doesn’t seem to have her executive sea legs under her.
Nothing shows this better than her relative invisibility within her own party over Senate matters. Leftists will say this is because of Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema being disloyal Democrats, but there’s a lot more at work here. For one, Senate Democrats (and Democrats in general, to be honest) have taken a hard line on pending legislation and various issues that have arisen since 2021. Instead of trying to keep the aforementioned Senators on board or getting RINOs like Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, or Lisa Murkowski to join them, there’s been some real antagonism going on, so much so it reminds me a lot of high school.
Now, if you remember your civics classes, the Vice President is President of the Senate and can break ties. And right now, the Senate is split right down the middle, with two Independents caucusing with the Democrats. This should be a layup for a party looking to set up Harris for future political success.
Yet, it’s not happening. Some of this can be attributed to the Senate being more contentious than a hostage situation where neither side wants the hostage, but I think there’s an undercurrent of distrust of Harris at play as well. And it goes back to being set up to succeed, only to fail.
Democrats caught lightning in a bottle when they found Barack Obama. Say what you will about the former President (and, trust me, I have), but he was able to cobble together a pretty solid voting bloc that helped him win 2 terms as President. It didn’t hurt that he ran against two Republicans who made Michael Dukakis look like William the Conqueror, but his coalition was still pretty tight.
The problems with catching lightning in a bottle are a) it tends to hurt, and b) it’s hard to do. With Kamala Harris, the initial feeling was she was going to be the female Obama and even managed to get the former President’s seal of approval (or kiss of death, as the case may be).
Then, she ran for President and got crushed. A lot of it came down to the fact she didn’t really connect with voters the way Obama did. From my perspective, she came off as someone who could recite carefully-crafted lines, but couldn’t make them sound genuine or like they were her words in the first place. A crowded Democrat field didn’t help matters any, either, and she failed to stand out as a candidate.
Let me put it this way. I got the same number of delegates in 2020 that she did, and I wasn’t even running.
Fast forward to 2022, and very little has changed with Harris. She still doesn’t seem comfortable in her role and her big policy initiative of dealing with immigration issues has been pretty dismal. It’s almost like she goes through life perpetually unprepared for the big test, but expecting she can fake her way through it because…reasons.
The fact Senate Democrats haven’t relied on Harris as their ace in the hole tells me they may not think she’s as much of an asset as she was in 2020, and it doesn’t bode well if Joe Biden doesn’t run again in 2024 or gets pushed out in favor of someone else. Usually, the Vice President is expected to be capable of picking up the mantle and winds up on the short list of possible Presidential candidates, but I’m not getting that feeling from the Left right now. Some of that is disappointment at not being able to get some of the Left’s current pet projects (forgiving student loan debt, a living wage, figuring out how many bathrooms they need to put in government buildings to accommodate the growing number of genders), but I can’t lay all of that at Harris’ feet. Instead, I think the reason the Vice President isn’t being seriously considered right now to take the big step into the Oval Office is because Leftists have come to the realization she’s not up to the task.
Imagine that. A person elevated to high office because she checked off a certain number of boxes that have nothing to do with competence isn’t working out that well! Who could have seen that coming, right? I mean, aside from anyone who’s followed the rise and fall within Leftist circles of Kyrsten Sinema, but I’m sure that’s just a coincidence. Surely, it can’t happen again…oh, wait…
I have to admit I feel a little sorry for Kamala Harris right now. She’s been thrust into a position she’s not ready for and knows she’s not ready for, but is still expected to perform at a high level. Even with a sympathetic press and a party that outwardly supports her, there is that seed of doubt that keeps growing exponentially with each new blunder, policy failure, and attempt to string together sentences that don’t sound like they came from an AI programmed by Paris Hilton. Even for someone with the ego of a politician, that has to wear on you over time.
Unless you’re an idiot. Then, you seem to have the super power of ignoring your shortcomings. You know, like Eric Swalwell?
Either way, I don’t think the Vice President will be gaining a vote of confidence from the people who voted her into office in the first place.
Tag: senate democrats
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week
As I’ve noted a few times in these missives, the Left doesn’t do long-term thinking, or thinking in general to be fair. Since Democrats took control of the Senate back in 2020, the Left has been drooling over the potential policy gains they could make. But there was a problem, or more accurately, two problems named Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. Both identify as Democrats, but aren’t necessarily on the Leftist bandwagon. Which means, Leftists hate them.
Manchin and Sinema have been on the lips of many Leftist vipers, including our favorite Socialist Socialite most recently decrying how things would be so much better if they would just put party above country and vote the way they’re supposed to. (I’m paraphrasing, but that’s the general gist of the Socialist Socialite’s tweets.)
Normally, internal struggles within the Democrats brings a smile to my face, except when it makes the Left mad. Then, I laugh a lot. Either way, it’s time we look at the two Senators responsible for so many Leftist breakdowns.
Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema
What the Left thinks it means – Two Democrat Senators who prevent any and all progress from being made
What it really means – Two Democrat Senators who understand the role of the Senate better than the Leftists
Back in the day, the Founding Fathers envisioned a two-body legislative branch: the House, which would be responsible for listening to the people and proposing legislation, and the Senate, which would be responsible for thinking through the logistics of what the House sent them. Today, neither body is particularly interested in listening to the people and the hardest thing most Senators deliberate about is their belly button lint. Just be glad Jerrold Nadler isn’t a Senator, kids.
When it comes to Manchin, he’s garnered the ire of the Left for years because he’s an exception to the rule. I may not always agree with his decisions, but it’s clear he doesn’t just think about what his party wants. He actually thinks about what the voters in his state want. That bastard!
Then, there’s Sinema. On paper, she’s a Leftist’s wet dream. She’s attractive, bisexual, and was able to beat a Republican to win her seat. She’s practically Katie Hill, but without a thing for staffers. I think you see where this is going, but I love to say it. Eventually her star in Leftist circles dropped when she decided to vote the way her constituents wanted instead of how the Left wanted her to vote.
The reason for the Left’s dismay is the same in both cases: they feel entitled to Manchin and Sinema’s votes because of their party affiliation. Granted, the Right has the same problem, but they aren’t as butthurt as the Left are. To wit, there aren’t any Republicans trying to force Lisa Murkowski to vote a certain way through insults, invectives, and appeals to popularity, but there are a lot of Leftists who keep bringing up how Senate Democrats need to either pressure Manchin and Sinema to vote “the right way” or strip them of their committee assignments.
Yeah, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say the Left’s approach isn’t going to work because…how can I put this delicately…pissing off the people you’re trying to persuade doesn’t end well.
Of the two, I think Manchin has an easier road because he’s established himself in his home state of West Virginia, which means better name recognition. Combine that with the fact West Virginian Democrats tend to be more purple than blue (which Manchin understands far better than the Leftists suggesting he should be primaried), and he could fall into a coma and still win reelection. (Not that I want that to happen, mind you.)
Sinema, on the other hand, hasn’t been in office that long, so she will see far more pressure from constituents in a bluer Arizona. If current polling is accurate (and even that has to be taken with a lake of salt), Democrats see her unfavorably, lagging behind fellow Senator Mark Kelly and President Joe Biden. That may have been before Biden’s recent Afghanistan debacle, though. Either way, she does have an ace up her sleeve: non-Democrat voters. There is a segment of the population who think the Left go too far and look for people who buck the party or try to put the brakes on their agenda. Sinema checks those boxes and looks sympathetic, especially when she’s being attacked constantly by Leftists. Whether that will be enough to overcome the Leftist exodus from her corner will be seen soon enough.
The impact of Manchin and Sinema’s reluctance to join the Left on matters ranging from eliminating the filibuster to statehood for the District of Columbia cannot be overstated. With the Senate so close to the political tipping point, Democrats need every vote they can get, including those from more Left-leaning Republicans, to advance their agenda. The more Democrats break away from the leadership, the harder it gets for Democrats to get anything done. Even with Kamala Harris as the appropriately-yet-ironically-worded trump card in a 50-50 tie, Senate Democrats need to be able to get to 50 votes to force the issue. Let’s just say it gets harder to get to 50 when you keep lambasting two of the Senators necessary to pass what you want.
The Left also overlooks two other Senators who tend to vote with the Democrats, Independents Bernie “Five House Socialist” Sanders and Angus “Burger” King. These two could be under the microscope next, provided they decide to actually be independent. Fortunately for the Left, Sanders and King tend to roll over like a dog wanting belly scritchies, so the Left doesn’t attack them much. If Manchin and Sinema would do the same, the Left wouldn’t have a reason to attack them.
But I don’t think that’s in their character. They have strong beliefs and, dare I say it, character, which make the Leftists attacking them look petty by comparison. (Of course, they are petty, but that’s beside the point.) For the self-professed party of inclusion to be so exclusionary when it comes to ideological matters draws the curtain back so we can see what’s motivating the Left to attack Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema: lust for power.
Either that or they’re just assholes.