Clinton advisor James Carville reveals the three-point plan Kamala Harris needs to beat Trump… and it includes kicking Biden further to the curb_l
Joe Biden has passed Kamala Harris the torch. Now is the time for the vice president to break away from him at least a few policy matters, former Clinton campaing guru James Carville advises.
Carville was among the political professionals urging Biden to step back after his disastrous debate performance in June – although he toyed with ideas including a mini primary to sort through a new nominee. Now, he’s come up with his own three-point plan to get Harris to the White House, and a key feature involves differentiating herself from Biden to demonstrate her independence.
‘She needs to just show she’s got her own – where she wants to go the next four years, and it’s insufficient to just say we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing,’ he told DailyMail.com.
One idea he likes is Harris’ plan to go after ‘price fixing’ amid ongoing complaints about inflation.
‘I think you would have to be a fool to not know that that doesn’t go on, and that’s also not legal,’ he said. Another would be tapping the billions available from not extending expiring Trump tax cuts for the wealthy. He called for a first-time home buyers’ refund. (Harris has called for $25,000 to support down-payments).
‘There’s a thousand things that you can do. You don’t have to come out with a 80-page plan. I’m not suggesting run away from Biden. You got to show where you’re going to lead,’ he said.
Vice President Kamala needs to come up with proposals to differentiate herself from President Joe Biden, said polical strategist James Carville, and not ‘just say we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing’
In the truncated Trump-Harris matchup, the Sept. 10 debate on ABC looms large. ‘I think the debate is potential mega event. Because the last one was so consequential, people are going to pay attention to the next one,’ said Carville.
His initial advice comes in the form of a New York Times op-ed that ran hours after Biden and Harris appeared jointly at a Labor Day rally in Pittsburgh, at where Biden spent considerable time touting his own accomplishments.
Carville called Biden one of the most consequential presidents in U.S. history. ‘But Mr. Biden’s not in the race. To be the certified fresh candidate, Ms. Harris must clearly and decisively break from Mr. Biden on a set of policy priorities she believes would define her presidency,’ the campaign guru who helped steer Clinton’s 1992 win advises.
He even tells her when and where to to it.
‘Here’s an idea: Do it one day in a swing state, just a hair after the debate. Hold a rally. Put out a broad list of ‘new way forward’ policies that detail why she is breaking from the sitting president on the given issues and what change would deliver to the American people. And after that rally, do a news conference on it, so media organizations stop cranking their clamshells about a lack of access. Don’t run from your differences with the president. Embrace them, respectfully and honestly.’
Carville sketched out a three-point plan for Harris now that she is in a tight race with Donald Trump
He called the Sept. 10 debate between Donald Trump and Harris a ‘mega event’
Such a break wouldn’t be an ‘insult’ but would signal ‘change rather than more of the same,’ wrote Carville, who himself helped position Clinton as a ‘change’ candidate in 1992.
What he doesn’t proscribe is what policy differences Harris should carve out. She is already up with campaign ads touting her plan to cut down on price ‘gouging’ in the food industry – although rival Donald Trump has countered by repeatedly trying to link her to ‘communism’ and ‘socialism.’
That offers a potential break from Biden on inflation, an issue that severely hurt Biden with voters, although price increases are finally coming down.
Read More
Democrats are desperately trying to flip Republican anti-Trumpers to Kamala… will it work?
The candidate has indicated any such split won’t come on longstanding U.S. support for Israel. ‘I’m unequivocal and unwavering in my commitment to Israel’s defense and its ability to defend itself, and that’s not going to change,’ she told CNN last week.
Carville warns that a ‘consistent plotline’ will be the left wing positions Harris staked out during the 2020 primaries. He terms them ‘exotic positions,’ and urges the candidate to state flatly that she has moved on. ‘I learned from my time governing in the White House. These are my positions. Take it or leave it,’ is how he puts it.
The other key to help ‘drive a nail into Mr. Trump’s political career’ at the crucial Sept. 10th debate. She should rely on humor, let Trump talk over her, and ‘goad him into spouting insane conspiracy theories about the previous election.’
There was an indication her camp already got this strategy, when it argued to allow for ‘hot mics’ during the contest, which would allow Trump to better attempt to talk over or interrupt his rival while she has speaking.
At his own rallies, Trump has repeatedly called Harris a ‘dummy’ and ‘not smart’ as well as ‘nasty,’ and an on-stage contest would test his ability to keep the views to himself.
The latest USA Today / Suffolk University poll, which has Harris leading Trump nationally 48 to 43, still has 58 percent of voters saying the country is on the ‘wrong track,’ with 84 percent saying it was right for Biden to withdraw from the race. That gives Harris an opportunity to carve out policy differences with the president.
If she does start distancing herself from Biden (who is campaigning for Harris in Wisconsin and Michigan this week
whose approval in the survey (49 percent) runs higher than in similar polls.
