Dems hope Harris will avoid specifics and ride a “wave of enthusiasm” for as long as possible

Some Democratic officials and strategists hope Vice President Kamala Harris can continue to avoid details about her policy preferences and take advantage of Democrats' renewed enthusiasm to propel her to the presidency.

Harris has endorsed very few specific political positions and has not done so committed in an extended interview since she became the de facto Democratic presidential nominee in July, but she has nonetheless increased in national i swing state voting While the Republicans have done it criticized Harris to not provide specifics to the electorate, Democratic analysts and pollsters told the Daily Caller News Foundation they expect to see Harris keep it up as he makes a flurry of enthusiasm towards election day.

“I think it's a great strategy and it's thrown Trump off his game. It's like a rope like a Muhammad Ali fight: lay on the ropes and let your opponent swing until he drops, until he's tired and start making mistakes. And we see that now, that Trump was prepared and he had a game plan against Biden, and now, he's the old man in the race, and they're watching his speeches, his interviews, etcetera”. Adolph Mongo, a Democratic strategist based in Michigan, told the DCNF.

'What are they hiding?': CNN panelists call for Kamala Harris to face media and answer voters' questionshttps://t.co/tF25D3QCQE

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 13, 2024

“Listen, Trump didn't even get to debate any of his Republican opponents in the primaries, a great strategy that has now been used on him,” Mongo continued. “Now, if he can stay on the ropes and take everything Trump throws at him, I think he'll be fine, and then you'll come out in the last month or so swinging.”

One of the few specific ideas that Harris has explicitly endorsed so far is to remove it tax on tips – a proposal made by former President Donald Trump first. Harris and his team have done just that he walked again your past support abolish private health insurance and banning frackingfor example, and a national security adviser had to do it clarify that she is not in favor of placing an arms embargo on Israel after Harris told pro-Palestinian activists she would be open to discussing restricting arms transfers to America's closest ally in the Middle East .

But so far, the campaign has not laid out a vision for how Harris would govern if elected president.

While Harris has held numerous rallies since President Joe Biden abandoned of the 2024 race and endorsed his upstart candidacy, has not participated in any extended interviews or press conferences. However, Harris' focus is better spent establishing his broader, values-based appeal to the electorate at this point in the race than establishing more specific details about his vision for government, according to Dheeraj Chand , a Democratic data strategist who has done previous election work but is not involved in election efforts this cycle.

“If you're on a date with a woman and it's your third date, you're not being deliberately ambiguous about whether you're going to get married in a cathedral or at City Hall; the problem hasn't arisen yet,” he added. Chand told the DCNF. “There are thousands of position papers that are released every day. It's not a political candidate's job to do that. Her job now is to establish to the Democratic voters and the voters of the United States who she is, why she was elected by Biden and why she's ready to run and lead a little earlier than expected, so yeah, that's great and it's working.”

Indicators that the Harris campaign's approach has been successful so far include increased requests for yard signs and volunteer shifts, well-attended rallies and, especially, increased donations, Chand added .

FLASHBACK: Kamala Harris cast the deciding vote to increase tip tax enforcement, prompting the IRS to implement a tip reporting program: pic.twitter.com/4Q7epQmn8Z

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 13, 2024

Some Democrats on Capitol Hill are reportedly thinking along similar lines, finding that enthusiasm for Harris could end up being a more powerful electoral force than political details with less than 100 days until Election Day. seconds to the politician

“Why would we start talking about politics? … In fact, it is better for us to run with this real wave of enthusiasm and energy. … It's the best [Harris] can do,” an unnamed Democratic lawmaker told Politico.

“The values ​​come together and the specific policies are divided, so I don't think there's a desire to spend the next 80 days litigating Medicare for all, for example,” a senior Democratic congressional aide told Politico.

While the Harris campaign may be well served by waiting to divulge details, the electorate is not and it's up to the legacy media, in particular, to hold the vice president and his opponent to a higher standard, said Len Foxwell , a Democratic consultant. the DCNF.

“I think we're now in the middle of an extended honeymoon phase of your campaign rollout. If you can extend that honeymoon phase as much as possible, and legacy media allows you to do that, then it absolutely works in their best interest,” Foxwell said. “I think their strategic and tactical goals are to shorten this campaign as much as possible, right?”

“You can look back at elections in past cycles, in which there was substantial analysis of the respective campaigns and where they differed on issues such as the economy, the role of the United States, and global peacekeeping, now the limits on government intervention in health care and so on,” Foxwell continued. “In general I think a better informed electorate is essential to a stronger democracy, and I honestly don't think we're getting that right now from the press corps in the 2024 campaign.”

The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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