Kamala Harris got trounced in the debate
It is alleged that a presidential debate occurred last week. The media and pollsters had a fun day or two declaring one person or the other “won” and parsing out-of-context statements and accusing one candidate or the other of “lying” or flip-flopping positions.
None of this erudite pontification means a thing. The debate was about one candidate or the other accomplishing what they needed to do to win the election. In that larger and more important framework, former President Trump clearly won and here is why.
Going into the debate, it is probably reasonable to assume that the party bases would be unmoved, regardless of what was said. At play is the very thin sliver of the voting public that is truly undecided. These people want to understand what each candidate, if elected, intends to do with some specificity. They want to be able to look at concrete plans and accomplishments.
Trump has been president. He presided over a time that was good for America and its citizens. The economy was great, inflation was low, people had money to spend, savings were growing, America was energy independent, employment was high and this nation was secure in the world. Trump does not need to prove his policies work. He simply needed to avoid making any major blunders. Trump succeeded in doing what he had to do, even if he passed on some big opportunities to squash Vice President Kamala Harris.
On the other hand, Harris has spent the past four years as part of an administration that has produced an economy that has negatively impacted Americans severly. Inflation has skyrocketed. People cannot afford food and energy, much less housing and rent. Savings rates are negative. Our southern border has been nonexistent. Many millions of migrants enter our country unchecked and uncontrolled. They are taking American jobs in many areas and they bring with them crime and diseases. Schools and housing are being overwhelmed. The ultraliberal response from the Biden-Harris administration has been to provide billions of dollars of welfare and social services, often to the exclusion of Americans.
The security of the nation has suffered badly under the Biden-Harris administration. Our military has been weakened by infusing leftist identity politics. Diversity, equity and inclusion have pushed aside core military values like discipline, morale, competence and readiness. Botched operations like the Afghanistan withdrawal have left this nation vulnerable. Terrorists who have entered this country with the illegal immigrants pose a serious threat to execute major attacks.
It was imperative for Harris to convince vewers that she had concrete and viable plans to correct what ails this nation today; basically to fix the problems she helped create over the past four years. Despite her glib posturing and childish facial expressions, she did nothing but deflect any questions about what she would do if elected. She spent 46% of her speaking time attacking Trump. She failed to deliver what was required.
What did Harris propose? A huge $6,000 child tax credit, a $50,000 tax deduction to start a small business and a $25,000 downpayment for first-time homebuyers. Does it strike anyone as oxymoronic that a person who has made abortion a foundation of their message would propose a child tax credit? It’s called pandering.
The business start-up payments are reminiscent of some of the COVID-19 incentives that led only to massive fraud with few results. The $25,000 house downpayment is pandering for votes and will only drive up the cost of housing. Who pays for all of this largesse? We, the taxpayers, of course, as with all socialist programs. The real result is higher taxes and higher inflation.
None of Harris’s proposals contained any real meat. Nothing about how they would work, what they would accomplish, how they would be implemented, how many people would be helped or how they would be financed. Instead, she deflected and attacked Trump or the moderators rescued her and went to other topics.
In focus group polling, the debate failed to win over undecided voters for Harris. They wanted to hear solid plans from Harris and were disappointed they heard nothing. They are leaning solidly toward Trump. That is winning the war.
Over the coming week or two, the spin masters will struggle to find a silver lining for their candidate. It’s all gas. The more people, mostly undecided voters, learn about what a threat Harris and her socialist policies are to this nation and realize she hasn’t put forth any really concrete plans to fix what she has broken in the past four years, the less likely they are to vote for her.
Kamala Harris got trounced and odds are she doesn’t even realize it yet.
Dave Ball is the former chairman of the Washington County Republican Party.