What happens when you elevate someone based almost solely on identity politics? Kamala Harris is what happens.
The vice president has continued to languish in the public eye, with more missteps and word salads than one can reasonably keep track of at this point. The media, who love her, just can’t seem to figure out why no one likes her. I’ve got some ideas, though.
The setup here is a new poll out of California that shows Harris with an approval rating of only 35 percent. That’s certainly shocking given how blue the state is, and the fact that Harris hails from there. Yet, the article cited seems to be most shocked by the fact that Asian-Americans hold an overall negative view — despite the fact that the vice president’s mother is Indian.
Tammy Duckworth’s past comments presented in this context are interesting, even if they are a year old. At the time, she was incensed there weren’t more Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in the administration. As an aside, can I just note how dumb it is to lump those groups together? What does a Hawaiian have in common with someone from Thailand–thousands of miles away–to the point where they are part of the same identity group? But I digress, Duckworth was none too happy with Harris constantly used as a stand-in for AAPI representation, especially given the vice president clearly identifies as black in her everyday life.
What’s that have to do with this latest poll? What it shows is that Harris’ schtick, pushed by the Democrat Party, has not produced the results that were expected and that even a year ago, the cracks were showing in the armor. Those who once lauded her as the “first” in a variety of areas have been smacked by the reality of how shallow that is. They no longer care that her mother was from India. They do care that she’s deeply unlikeable and highly ineffective.
In other words, identity politics can only take someone so far, and it eventually boxes them in, if they don’t rise above it. As I’ve noted before, Harris has never shown the work ethic to be a successful vice president. Rather, she’s continually found herself unprepared and unknowledgeable about even basic things, seemingly convinced she can get by on the “historic” nature of her elevation. That’s not working any longer–not just in the nation as a whole, but not even in California.
Think about that. How bad is Harris at her job that she can’t even garner a positive approval rating in California, a state that voted over 63 percent for Joe Biden? We are witnessing one of the worst politicians in modern history, a person who has failed up their entire career, crash and burn in previously unimaginable ways. How low can she go? I have no idea, but I do know Democrats cannot allow her to be the 2024 nominee. Yet, I’m not sure they have a choice. They built the monster and now have to live with it.