How are things going over there in the Harris camp?
According to Politico, not so spiffy.
As the days march on toward 2020, Sen. Kamala Harris is drifting away from the top of the Democratic heap. And some team members are sounding off about problems in the mix.
For starters, a lack of leadership as well as “discipline” is purportedly afoot.
After talking with “more than a dozen current and former staffers as well as others close to the campaign, including donors,” the outlet concluded that “rank and file aides are fed up with the weak leadership and uncertainty around integral communication, planning and executing of a clear vision.”
As it turns out, the group’s been failing to institute Dave Ramsey-style money management.
Previously, Politico reported that — in the third quarter of the year — the Harris campaign spent $2.8 million more than they raised.
Hey — she really is in Congress.
But actually, sources suggest Kamala wasn’t made aware of the woes.
From an aide:
“I don’t think anybody wanted to tell her. I still don’t think she knows the severity.”
There also may be administrative dysfunction between campaign manager Juan Rodriguez and Kamala’s younger sister, campaign chair Maya Harris:
While staff ire centers on Rodriguez, his defenders argue he has stood loyally by the candidate despite being relegated to a role akin to deputy campaign manager to Maya Harris. They say he’s had to get Maya Harris’ buy-in even on routine decisions, which were often slow to materialize, further undermining staff’s confidence in him as a supervisor.
A senior campaign staffer explained:
“From the outset of this race, he has had all the responsibility with none of the authority. He’s been managing this race with at least one, if not two, hands tied behind his back. He would never talk sh** about [Maya]. He would never undermine her. He’s just not that guy.”
The Politico piece goes on to describe “a bleak environment in which workers have started to openly question the judgment of managers after seeing colleagues marched out the door.”
Here’s more:
During a recent meeting, aides pressed Rodriguez and Maya Harris for answers about campaign strategy. At one point during the more than two-hour discussion, Maya Harris herself turned to Rodriguez and challenged him in front of about 20 staffers, and several more listening in by phone. Rodriguez seemed unprepared for the exchange, according to people present. They walked out with little consensus about how to prioritize upcoming events and strategy around advertising.
As per the article, Ace Smith, Sean Clegg, and Laphonza Butler — Juan’s California business partners — “are senior Harris advisers atop a flat leadership structure that includes just a few other outside voices, including ad maker Jim Margolis, pollster David Binder and Maya Harris.”
The result, noted by some critics: The campaign is operating in a bubble.
And speaking of things full of hot air that can burst, some of Kamala’s problems may just be her political positions.
The huge-government-is-good-government candidate recently unveiled one of the most ironically-named bills I’ve encountered: the Family Friendly Schools Act, which keeps children away from their families, nestled instead in the loving arms of the state (here).
She also got immigration and the Declaration of Independence a little bit wrong a while back:
A reminder this Fourth of July: it was eight immigrants who signed the Declaration of Independence. Happy Independence Day.
— Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) July 4, 2018
A reminder: Dems just can’t stop with identity politics.
It was actually 56 individuals who signed the Declaration of Independence. Eight born outside the colonies. All pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor for this new nation. https://t.co/ra2GT8eWDM
— Cam Edwards (@CamEdwards) July 4, 2018
And in February, she went full abortion-up-until-birth:
“I think it’s up to a woman to make that decision, and I will always stand by that. I think she needs to make that decision with her doctor, with her priest, with her spouse. I would leave that decision up to them.”
Lying fully against the left-wing wall may make for good numbers when running for office in California, but as the Democratic nominee, a candidate has to possess an appeal that reaches across the country — and across the partisan line. Kamala doesn’t seem poised for that, whether her campaign has it together or not.
But, if Politico is right, it’s definitely — like her likelihood to attain Nomination Supremacy — a not.
-ALEX
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