Vice President Kamala Harris gets a bad rap from Republicans and conservatives, but does she really deserve it? Like, is it fair to expect her to be perfect, when she already does so many things so well?
Washington Post columnist (and MSNBC analyst) Eugene Robinson tackles that very issue in a new opinion piece about the fine line that Kamala Harris must walk in order to be exactly what she needs to be for Joe Biden and the Biden administration:
Kamala Harris must keep walking a tightrope for Biden’s reelection bid https://t.co/L1wio93smo
— Eugene Robinson (@Eugene_Robinson) April 28, 2023
As has been the case with virtually every vice president since the nation’s founding, Harris gets a bad rap. The first duty of the job is to avoid upstaging the president, which means surrendering any political autonomy and never being out in front of the West Wing on any issue. Recall the way Mike Pence always stood like a hyperrealist statue, mute and expressionless, while President Donald Trump ranted and raved. Somehow, Pence managed to never even lift an eyebrow.
And when vice presidents are given actual tasks, they tend to be the impossible ones. Biden put Harris in charge of the border — at a time when there was absolutely no possibility of getting Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform that might reduce the flow of would-be migrants. It was a classic no-win situation: She could make a show of raising hopes, which then would be dashed; or she could hunker down and keep expectations low. Either way, she was bound to be criticized for having failed.
Poor Kamala. It’s like no matter what she does, she looks bad!
And, as Robinson notes, she really doesn’t deserve to be put in such a terrible position. Like, take all those clips of Kamala’s so-called “word salads.” Yeah, she sounds like she’s having a stroke, but the right-wing echo chamber is definitely making way too big a deal out of the fact that her train of thought goes off the rails before it even leaves the station:
https://t.co/8tK10AeaRR pic.twitter.com/SgIIZjnaXJ
— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) April 28, 2023
It’s not hard to diagram Kamala Harris’ sentences; it’s damn near impossible. Because they’re not so much sentences as they are, well, word salads. They’re effing word salads, Eugene.
It's a chef's kiss to describe her "word salad" as burdened by dependent clauses.
It's clearly better to be unburdened by what has been.
— Ryan Maue (@RyanMaue) April 28, 2023
“My syntax is hard to follow. Not because it’s easy, like eggs that are runny, like a runner running toward history. They are hard to follow, which is the opposite of lead, which is what a leader does in their destiny in the spotlight of leadership.”
— Razor (@hale_razor) April 28, 2023
This reads like a progress report for a 7th grader. https://t.co/MweoDrWKJ8
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) April 28, 2023
Well, in fairness, Kamala Harris kind of embodies the soft bigotry of low expectations.
What is the evidence she “connects powerfully?” Her approval rating is in the 30’s.
— stevemur (@stevemur) April 28, 2023
How does one “connect powerfully” exactly?
— Jay Caruso (@JayCaruso) April 28, 2023
Magnets.
— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) April 28, 2023
It’s Science!
Is there a single recorded instance of her connecting powerfully with anyone? Other than when she called Biden a racist to his face on the debate stage?
— TP (@chicago_251) April 28, 2023
Not that we’re aware of, no.
This is word salad
— Hamtardo (@hamtardicus) April 28, 2023
Serving a word salad to justify word salads. Beautiful.
— James Heilman (@jkheilman) April 28, 2023
Even the hacks of WaPo had to be laughing when hit send on that.
— KevHill (@kevhill) April 28, 2023
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Related:
WHAT!? Kamala Harris served up her most baffling word salad yet
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