Kamala Harris allies prepare her defense
The informal plan, which is that is not approved by Harris is working on the day Biden might resign.
It’s also an acknowledgment from her allies that there is still doubt within the party, including Democratic leaders, about her ability to win the presidency against former President Donald Trump. And there will be little time to, first, stop an open convention and, second, win in November.
The group that is disjointed isn’t seeking to push Biden aside, but instead mobilizing an army to be ready to defend whom they believe is the next president.
“There is an effort quietly afoot to position an apparatus to turn on the lights” at the moment it is right, according to someone directly involved in the discussions as well as others in the story were given anonymity to talk about confidential and sensitive conversations.
People who are familiar with the campaign which is aimed at Democratic party officials claim that it targets former Harris staffers as well as people from the Congressional Black Caucus, civil rights leaders, and long-standing ally to the vice-president.
“Two and a half days back, the people were still. Now, yesterday, the people were thinking”We have to be prepared for the next election,'” the former Biden assistant told. “They are young in their infancy, but they have grown stronger by the hour.”
In a dinner with CBC participants and civil rights activists during the week Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) has vehemently defended Biden’s place in the upper echelons of the list however he also said that if he decides to walk away on his own choice his replacement has to be Harris according to the person. Clyburn said that they’d need to stand up for Harris in the event that Biden had to leave the ticket.
Clyburn’s main point is that conventions open to the public can be messy and could cost the party in the next election. Two of those who spoke with POLITICO reported that the people at the table were in agreement.
A Clyburn spokesperson would not confirm his comments, but he did point to earlier remarks where he claimed that Harris “absolutely” had his supportif she was on high on the line.
There’s a necessity for this ad hoc system: Harris has little political operation of her own. One old senior Biden Administration aide, who was uninvolved in process but was made aware of the discussions said, “There’s not a ‘Run, Kamala, Run’ group at the ready. There are plenty of people who are in her support, but she’s not surrounded by an outside support system.”
As the debate over Biden’s political future has changed over the past three weeks, the allies to Harris and Biden have expressed concern about the fact that Democrats have been too open about the possibility of ignoring her or requiring her to fight for her, a variety of sources have said.
David Plouffe, President Barack Obama’s campaign manager for 2008, stated to MSNBC it was likely that Harris is “smart to say, ‘Hey, I want to earn this.’ She is in the absolute driver’s seat.”
However, he said “in virtually every scenario she’s going to be the Democratic nomination. It could be a baton handoff or maybe it’s an open.”
A lot of this is dependent on the actions Biden does. If he decides to come out and say that there ought to be an open convention or decide not to take a position, Harris’ path becomes more challenging, since she’d have to compete with a whole slate of hopeful presidential candidates.
One person who is part of the campaign said that the plan in place is to begin by making clear that, while they believe it’s an error to not mention Harris, the very first Black woman to become vice president in the history of an establishment dominated by Black women and other women, there are a variety of factors that are policy-related and political to choose Harris.
“Step one, is to make certain that it is known she is imminently qualified on policy from a loud chorus of people making the case on TV and online,” the person explained. “Step two involves an organized effort to make the case to yes, the American people, but also to make the case to a convention, it needs to be her” because of exactly the same reason.
People involved have worked to keep their conversations confidential so that they don’t harm Harris position with Biden or his close circle and those who may be misled into thinking Harris was in any way making actions.
Harris herself is at disadvantage because of her loyalty, both publicly as well as privately as well, to Biden. Contrary to other alternative names being tossed around, Harris and her team cannot be viewed as working against Biden.
“She is a snooty duck. She isn’t able to have delegate discussions or any other conversations,” said one of those who are involved in the process. Others who could be contenders “are having free reign and are able to oust the president, while simultaneously pushing on behalf of their candidates. They’re taking advantage the president’s loyalty.”
The allies of Biden see Harris to remain silent as the right option for her. Harris has been among the most vocal supporters of Biden both in public as well as privately. Her team has been instructed to be quiet and to not get involved in any sort of plan and not to talk to the media.
Contrary to the fight to defend Biden The battle to bring Harris up the ranks of the race will need to be fought on a variety of fronts, with a variety of factions within the party who would like Harris to become their favorite candidate the most prominent.