Not long ago, President Joe Biden asked the American people to allow his administration "to finish the job." That was the whole kit and kaboodle until the first presidential debate sealed his fate in the Democratic Party, ending his re-election hopes and installing the much younger Vice President Kamala Harris as the 2024 nominee. But she wants to put her stamp on the campaign: "Finish the job" has negative connotations. Buh-bye, Biden. Welcome Kamala Harris' and Tim Walz’s New Way Forward policies, which conveniently appeared on her website shortly before her own debate with Donald Trump.
A cadre of Harris surrogates blanketed the swing states this last week: Harris was in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Walz tackled Nevada, Michigan, and Wisconsin. A bit lower on the campaign totem pole is Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Walz's wife, Gwen. Both were out spreading the joyful and good vibey news in Arizona and Georgia, with a swing up the northern Atlantic states: New Hampshire and Maine. They debuted a new television spot, hosted rallies, and targeted specific voter demographics. What else would a candidate do with $370 million invested in media but tell people what they want to hear?
What Is This New Way Forward?
The New Way Forward is Biden's strategic plan adorned with pleasant transition words and a few promises lifted from the Trump team’s playbook. Of course, the rollout of the Harris-Walz plan is old stuff repackaged, dripping with hope and good vibrations. It is an uncanny listing similar to her boss's campaign plan. This is most likely because the Harris-Walz website geniuses accidentally copied and pasted this request next to "Join our campaign to re-elect Joe Biden today." C'mon, man, really?
So what's on Team Kamala's menu? What are industry experts saying about the fare? Well, the CEO of Job Creators Network, Alfredo Ortiz, says Harris is "lying" to voters who are struggling economically. If she becomes president, Harris promises to repeal the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that President Trump signed into law in 2017. "The absence of these tax cuts, and the addition of $5 trillion of new taxes Harris promises, will grind small business creation to a halt," Ortiz claims.
Harris also swiped the promise of a $6000 child tax credit from the Trump campaign, which, as Ortiz describes, is a "de facto universal basic income."
The Kamala Harris campaign website states her administration will "go after bad actors who exploit an emergency to rip off consumers by calling for the first-ever federal ban on corporate price gouging on food and groceries." J.D. Tuccille, a contributing editor at Reason, is concerned Harris is promising to go after "price gouging" in the grocery industry. "The fact is the profit margin for retail grocery stores is 1.18%," he said. "That's a tiny profit margin." So, not moving forward?
Tuccille added, "That's not the corporations that are gouging prices. It's the government that's reduced the purchasing power of the dollar."
And that lies at the feet of the current administration.
The New Way Forward makes several promises without any concrete plans to execute them. Harris will make America safe and affordable, care for vets and pets, grow the middle class, and keep speech free forevermore. But the promises haven't much lived up to her performance in her first term as Joe Biden's ally and deputy. Then again, some voters are still reeling from Harris' "Et tu Brute?" moment.
Nov. 5 Looming
Harris is still beaming from a surprisingly good performance on the debate stage against former President Trump. And newly added to her rhetoric, she smiles and claims she is the underdog in the race against the bad Orange Man while wearing her down-to-earth black Converse chucks. The latest polls reflect that Kamala is in the throes of a delirious honeymoon phase, post-debate, edging Trump in several swing states. As some observe, her confidence is brimming. America is faced with the daunting task of figuring out just what the Democratic nominee stands for and what her accomplishments from the past term are.
Voters know Donald Trump - and early voting has already begun. The Battleground Blitz is on and too close to call. A New Way Forward, huh?
