Vice President Kamala Harris has reached for the stars and, in doing so, has wound up making history by attaining new lows in an office that is universally known as "not worth a bucket of warm spit." That colorful observation was made by John Nance Garner, the nation's 32nd VP, who served President Franklin Roosevelt for two terms. George H.W. Bush – who also served twice as Veep, likened the post to Funeral-Director-in-Chief, asserting, "You die, I fly." In other words, it is a feat to screw up such a feckless position, but Harris has managed to rise to the occasion. She is not only wildly unpopular with the American people but also is being hammered by her own staff. She is, in short, the incredible sinking Kamala Harris.
The 21st Century Exodus
Kamala Harris (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The second canonical book of the Bible describing the mass departure of the Israelites from Egypt is rapidly becoming a metaphor for those seeking to run – not walk – from the vice president's office. Even the advocacy media has joined the amen chorus of people who claim Harris runs a toxic and dysfunctional workplace.
When a prominent Washington newspaper starts to run down the second-highest Democrat in the land, you know there is a problem. Meanwhile, the high-level communications people who sculpted the Harris image, including the vice president's chief spokesperson Symone Sanders, are heading for the hills.
Having interviewed 18 "former and current" Harris staffers, the newspaper tried its darndest to provide a modicum of balance to its report. But comments like "With Kamala, you have to put up with a constant amount of soul-destroying criticism …" are too hard to miss. She is characterized as a "bully" who "falls on the line between demanding and demeaning."
Ouch.
Polls, Personnel, and Pundits
Harris has attained the unenviable trifecta of political disaster: the polls, her personnel, and a baneful national press. With a 28% approval rating, she has the ignominious distinction of reaching a new historic low for any modern vice president by driving her favorability ratings into the ground in a relatively short time.
An NBC News tracking survey conducted in August noted a disturbing trend for the vice president with a "feeling thermometer" that shows those who don't like Harris really don't like her. The numbers for Biden's Veep culminated in a monstrous minus 17-point negativity factor. The Washington Examiner noted that this number "nearly" tripled "the next worst" vice president.
The standard gauge for an accomplished executive is one who keeps his or her employees. This is where Harris seems to be having trouble of late as her personnel retention rate rapidly disintegrates. While a few staffers have left her office with kind words, others have not. This appears to be nothing new. As a left-leaning newspaper in the nation's capital recently opined, "Critics scattered over two decades point to an inconsistent and at times degrading principal [Harris] who burns through seasoned staff members who have succeeded in other demanding, high-profile positions."
Liberty Nation's Sarah Cowgill, who has worked on many a political campaign, averred:
"Being a staffer for Harris is akin to opening the Advent Calendar of Hell every day. It's a surprise. It won't be pleasant. And one can only hope that it mercifully comes to an end. Not to mention that there is no hidden candy behind each square."
Lest there be any doubt, Harris is in a whole heap of trouble, and it would be nothing less than astonishing for her to turn around such a historic political descent.
~ Read more from Leesa K. Donner.
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