Eminent American author Mark Twain quipped that "it is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." While Vice President Kamala Harris has until recently favored the "remain silent" style of governance, the reality that she is expected to take action may finally be starting to sink in – seemingly to her dismay.
Harris' political future appeared preordained after November 2020, a destiny authored by the woke Democratic gods. It looked as though they sought to manufacture the perfect progressive, female, and minority politician to lead the party into 2024 and beyond. But the donkey deities might not rescue Harris from the self-sabotage unfolding before the American people's eyes. The mainstream media might fill the potholes on her path to the next presidential election, but the Harris bandwagon may veer off course and land in a ditch.
Has exposure to reality derailed the chances of a Harris presidential victory?
Yeah, But Have You Been to Europe?
The vice president has exposed her paucity of preparedness whenever she has been thrown a 91-mph fastball with a little bit of hair on it. Perhaps she anticipates an eephus pitch in each interaction with the press, a barrage of “why are you so great?” questions. When inquiries get a little tougher, she appears to choke under the slightest pressure.
Speaking in an interview with NBC's Lester Holt, Harris was asked why she has yet to visit the border since being appointed in March to grapple with the issue. "At some point, you know, we are going to the border," she explained. "We’ve been to the border. So this whole thing about the border. We’ve been to the border."
Holt interjected: "You haven’t been to the border." Harris replied: "And I haven’t been to Europe. And I mean, I don’t understand the point that you’re making. I’m not discounting the importance of the border.”
Two things: The U.S. does not share a border with Europe, and illegal immigrants from across the pond represent between 2% and 4% of the total illegal alien population (as of 2015).
As Liberty Nation recently reported, Harris might be missing in action when it comes to the border because she does not think it is her role. The administration contends that she was not tapped to stop unlawful migration. Instead, the vice president was tasked to resolve the "root causes" of illegal immigration. Based on some of her policy prescriptions, it appears that the White House is truthful about these plans: hundreds of millions of dollars to Central America, tree planting endeavors, and social welfare programs.
Following the interview, the vice president delivered a word salad to reporters that suggested she has mastered the art of speaking without saying anything at all:
"And I am committed to doing what is necessary in the time that we have to deal with the complexities of this. It will do a disservice to the issue itself, the issue at the border. It would do a disservice to the issue itself if that is the issue that that concerns some, to address the root causes as though it’s something that can be dealt with overnight.”
Assignment: Election Integrity
Despite Harris' apparent reluctance to deal directly with her border assignment, President Biden handed her a second major task. He asked his second in command to lead the nation on voting rights, purporting that Republican-led states are strangling election integrity.
It has only been a little more than a week since she was given her new assignment. According to The New York Times, the vice president intends on tackling the subject matter by giving speeches and raising awareness. She also plans to advance a voting rights bill in the U.S. Senate that could face opposition from some members of the Democratic Party, including two familiar names: Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ).
But is there anything Harris could do? Aside from orations, it appears that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is doing all the legwork when it comes to "protecting the future of our democracy."
An Imanchinary Friend?
In the 117th Congress, Sen. Manchin has transformed into the maverick, serving as the thorn in the side of the Democratic machine. As well as Sen. Sinema, he has been the outlier in advancing key progressive legislation, refusing to be an automatic “aye” for whatever extensive government program is being championed by the leadership. As a result, Manchin has been lambasted as everything from “disloyal” to the Democratic Party to a propagator of Jim Crow. Liberty Nation's James Fite recently wrote:
"He knows better than anyone that his preference for bipartisan, moderate compromise – whether genuine or façade – is the only reason he’s in office. And even if he did have reason to worry about a progressive primary challenger with any real chance of unseating him, that election won’t be until 2024."
If Harris cannot overcome even the Manchin manifesto, how will she put forward her agenda after the 2022 midterms with a potentially Republican-controlled House and/or Senate? From that perspective, it might make sense why Harris proposed during the 2020 campaign that she would give lawmakers 100 days to take action on critical issues before choosing to invoke executive action.
A Page from the Biden Playbook?
According to the Fourth Estate's reportage, President Joe Biden was always going to be a great commander-in-chief because he was not his predecessor. Biden had to stand back and stay quiet, a strategy emulated by his right-hand woman. Whether it is the border crisis or Harris' flippant responses regarding her lack of action, voters might be wondering whether her "hands off" vice presidential style is a harbinger of what to expect should she win the presidency itself. Despite the myriad of excuses most likely to be employed, it will be the fault of Harris should she fail at winning the election.
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