I finally got around to watching the HBO comedy series VEEP starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus. It’s actually really funny. Sometimes the comedy doesn’t work. But when it does, I laugh out loud in that barking way that used to terrify my dog.
And I’ll admit, several times as I’ve watched VEEP, I found myself thinking, “Man, it’s like getting a peek into the inner workings of Kamala Harris’ office.”
Kamala is like a real-life version of Selina Meyer — only without the laughs. I alluded to that a few weeks ago, actually.
Yesterday evening I read the article at Politico about the dysfunction inside the office of the unfunny version of VEEP, and I have to say, it didn’t surprise me in the least.
The article “’Not a healthy environment:’ Kamala Harris’ office rife with dissent” is based on interviews with twenty-two unnamed sources who chronicle the low morale, distrust and “porous lines of communications” within the office of the unfunny VEEP.
I don’t know why anyone would be shocked by this. Were the writers of this Politico piece in a coma in late 2019 when the New York Times chronicled the low morale, distrust and “porous lines of communications” within Kamala’s presidential campaign?
That NYT article was pretty much a post-mortem of Kamala’s floundering campaign and it was published before Kamala even dropped out of the race. Remember?
In fact, just four days after the New York Times wrote its article, Kamala dropped out. So it’s possible the NYT saw the writing on the wall, and knew the dysfunction in Kamala’s campaign was heading to an inevitable end.
Since her campaign was a hot mess, is it any wonder the VEEP is a hot mess too?
The three Politico writers do their best to try and put a positive spin on the story because of course they do. They include plenty of on-the-record quotes from people who have nothing but praise for both VEEP Harris and her chief of staff.
Oh, and of course the defenders blame the grumpy complaining on racism and sexism because what else?
Bet you all the money in my pocket that those same Politico writers would’ve written a scathing, breathless report if only one unnamed source made the same allegations about Vice President Mike Pence. But no. They wait until they get twenty-two people to recount how awful the VEEP is. And still they try to spin it in a positive way.
They fail, by the way.
Check out this quote:
“People are thrown under the bus from the very top, there are short fuses and it’s an abusive environment,” said another person with direct knowledge of how Harris’ office is run. “It’s not a healthy environment and people often feel mistreated. It’s not a place where people feel supported but a place where people feel treated like s—.”
If you’ve watched VEEP you’ll recognize the dynamic.
Except of course Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ VEEP, Selina Meyer, is a laugh riot.
Whereas in the real life version, the only one who thinks VEEP Kamala Harris is a laugh riot is the VEEP herself.