(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Is the Harris Campaign Stalling? [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-10-12 I spoke to a friend today from Flint, Michigan. Though he supports Harris, he is scared that Trump will win Michigan. He described the Harris campaign as “sleepwalking.”. Part of me immediately rejected his description. I wanted to jump to her defense, but another voice in my head wondered if he is right. Sometimes I believe that Harris is too careful and too worried about making mistakes. I feel she should swing for the fences. I just read a piece by Maureen Dowd, whom I have loved for decades. She also has misgivings about the Harris campaign. The headline to her op/Ed piece asked,” Where Is the Fierce Urgency of Beating Trump?” www.nytimes.com/… She quoted James Carville who voiced some doubts I also share. He told Dowd, “Time is short, really short. They need to be more aggressive. They don’t strike me as having any kind of a killer instinct. They let one fat pitch after another go by. I’m scared to death. They have to hit hard — pronto.” Carville suggests that Harris begin asking voters rhetorical questions. He says, She should display pictures of right-wing judges who Trump could appoint to the Supreme Court, and ask if Americans are ready for an even more fanatical court.t. She should ask: “Do you know how destructive tariffs can be? They will kill your freaking jobs.” She should say she’s going to end the Trump tax cuts for the rich and ask voters if they would rather use those trillion-plus dollars to help young people afford their first home. Carville believes she should ask: How can JD Vance say with a straight face that Trump is the father of Obamacare when Trump tried to kill it 50 times? In other words, he said: “She should scare the crap out of voters. You know, Trump is just taunting us, having a rally at Madison Square Garden just like the Nazis did in 1939. Dowd stated that Harris needed to make the case for herself more assertively. She also added, “Harris should distance herself from Biden when she needs to; she should just admit what we all know, that the border policy was bollixed up and that Biden was not tough enough with the execrable Bibi.” I believe that a slight pivot away from some of Biden’s policies might re-energize the campaign and strengthen the belief that she represents a break from the past. Dowd concludes with another appeal for a revved up Harris campaign: “It’s disturbing that Harris can’t get over the hump and outpace Trump. As Carville says, we need less mulling and more action in a do-or-die moment. She needs to do so we don’t die.” David Brooks asks almost the same question in another piece: “Can Harris regain momentum and construct effective second and third acts?” Brooks compares great dramas with great campaigns and states,” What I’m pointing to is a common theme of great drama and great campaigning. The central character isn’t afraid to be who she is and doesn’t hold back.” Brooks concludes identifying what unites great writing and great campaigning, “If the candidate is unwilling to be vulnerable and throw himself on the audience, then he gives the audience no chance to catch him, to hold him up. It’s a rule that governs passionate writing and passionate campaigning: To get everything you want, you have to release your fears and let yourself go.” www.nytimes.com/... [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/10/12/2276459/-Is-the-Harris-Campaign-Stalling?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/