The Democrats are stuck with Kamala Harris, like it or not
By Keith Naughton, opinion contributor — 07/11/21 11:15 AM EDT
For Vice President, Kamala Harris checked all the boxes. But just because she made perfect political sense as President Biden’s running mate, did not mean her elevation would work out for the Democrats. So far, the reviews are not good. But, barring a political Chernobyl, the Democratic Party is stuck with her as their nominee in 2024 or 2028.
Readers of this column know that I predicted Kamala Harris would be Biden’s running mate well in advance of the Democratic convention. As VP nominations are mostly about unifying the party, an old white male moderate could only fully placate the progressive leftist factions of the Democratic Party by covering as many identity politics bases as possible. Not to mention, Harris, clearly plotting her path to the ticket, played nice with Biden after she dropped out.
But now the structural and personal cracks are starting to appear.
Given Biden’s age — entering the White House as the oldest man ever to be President — Harris and her team had reason to suspect that his time in office would be a one-term transition to her own future administration. Harris would want to have serious responsibilities and an ever-increasing profile. Not factoring into that neat equation is that Biden and his loyalists did not spend the last 40 years slogging and scheming their way into power just to hand it over to a newcomer.
more
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/562427-the-democrats-are-stuck-with-kamala-harris-like-it-or-not