Althouse: "[Kamala] Harris is not, of course, alone in possessing 'baggage' that will attract criticism from within her own party and intense media scrutiny."

January 19, 2019

"[Kamala] Harris is not, of course, alone in possessing 'baggage' that will attract criticism from within her own party and intense media scrutiny."

"Joe Biden famously has enough baggage to derail a train’s luggage car. Critics of Bernie Sanders always suspected that conservatives built a massive oppo research file on the Vermont socialist that they would have pushed with hundreds of millions of dollars of negative 'stories' and ads had he won the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, matching or exceeding the damage they did to Hillary Clinton. Elizabeth Warren has struggled to overcome the stupid but pervasive 'Pocohontas' taunt, along with persistent (if probably sexist) doubts about her 'likability.' Cory Booker’s past links with Wall Street and support for private school vouchers will be a problem for him. Both Beto O’Rourke and Kirsten Gillibrand are vulnerable to the kind of 'flip-flopper' charges that tend to undermine voter trust. And Amy Klobuchar’s history of high staff turnover has spurred rumors about her personality and temperament.... [I]t’s best for Democrats to deal with the baggage now rather than later...."

Writes Ed Kilgore in "2020 Candidates Carry Heavy Baggage, and Trump Will Everything He Can to Exploit That" (which begins with the NYT op-ed about Kamala Harris that we talked about here 2 days ago).

35 comments:

rhhardin said...: Betty White on Sandra Bullock

She comes with a lot of baggage.

- The Proposal (2005); 1/19/19, 12:26 PM
gilbar said...: Cory Booker’s past links with Wall Street and support for private school vouchers will be a problem for him

so, according to this article; positives are negatives?; 1/19/19, 12:27 PM
Wince said...: Is that headline missing a "Do"?

Or an allusion to Trump's mystical powers to "will" future events?

2020 Candidates Carry Heavy Baggage, and Trump Will Everything He Can to Exploit That
By Ed Kilgore; 1/19/19, 12:27 PM
Henry said...: The Kamala Harris / Cory Booker baggage is objectionable to primary voters on the left.

That baggage is not going to hurt them in the general election.; 1/19/19, 12:32 PM
Skeptical Voter said...: Well the voters dealt with one old and unlikeable baggage in 2016. One of Obama's many errors in judgment was when he told Hillary in 2008 "You are likeable enough."

It is not stupid to call out Fauxcahontas on her effort to color herself "Native American" to advance her resume. OTOH, it was stupid for Elizabeth Warren to publicize her 1/1024th possibility that she might have Mexican or Chilean genetic markers (there being a shortage of DNA material from real Native Americans). And it wasn't very bright to have a 70 ish woman swigging beer from a bottle in her kitchen. Politically she's a naif.; 1/19/19, 12:32 PM
CJinPA said...: New York Magazine pulls off a rare *preemptive* REPUBLICANS POUNCE article.

Politico will follow with a TRUMP LIKELY TO SEIZE piece, but it won't be as impressive.; 1/19/19, 12:40 PM
rhhardin said...: Remember that baggage is guessing what counts in what will women think.

Guys are into what is he now.; 1/19/19, 12:44 PM
David Begley said...: Beto is the Zeta Candidate.; 1/19/19, 12:53 PM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: Hillary's baggage didn't matter. Funny.; 1/19/19, 12:54 PM
Tom Ault said...: The NY Magazine story boils down to "Politician to exploit opponent's political baggage in political contest for political gain." Why is NY Magazine still in print?; 1/19/19, 12:55 PM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: Is Ed Kilgore on the Clinton Foundation payroll?

... matching or exceeding the damage they did TO Hillary.

Damage done TO her. Got that? Remember, the damage she does to herself by way of corrupt secret big-money deals with Russia etc... and private servers = how dare you find out about it and even discuss it.; 1/19/19, 12:57 PM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: KKKamala compared immigration and customs officers to the KKK.

kinda bad.; 1/19/19, 1:00 PM
FIDO said...: Both sides pull out anything they can to defeat the other side. Democrats have not been adverse to baldly lying to win. See Dan Rather, Candy Crowley, Christine Blasey Ford and her THOUSANDS of Sisters in Solidarity.

So this is the press stating the obvious and trying to smear Trump. Again.

How many retractions has the 'Paper of Record' had to do about Russiagate so far? Ten? Twenty?; 1/19/19, 1:08 PM
William said...: If you don't follow politics that closely, Beto, KEG, and Cory are presentable and don't raise hackles. I don't think you can say the same for Hillary, Warren, Biden, DeBlasio and some of the others. Obama won because he was personable and could plausibly pretend to be a moderate. It helps if you don't have a record. Beto has a tremendous advantage. He's good looking and has no experience.; 1/19/19, 1:10 PM
Fernandinande said...: and Trump Will Everything He Can to Exploit That

If Trumps leaves out the word "do" he'll never get elected.; 1/19/19, 1:13 PM
John henry said...: Biden comes with baggage that is nigh impossible to overcome.

He was vp.

And not an incumbent vp like Bush and Van Buren.

He was a vp who sat ou a term before getting elected.

Like Nixon.

Nixon sat out 2 terms but the point is the same.

The vice presidency is a positive disqualification for the presidency.

Biden is an even bigger foll than he appears if he does not recognize this.

John Henry

John Henry; 1/19/19, 1:19 PM
tim in vermont said...: Biden likes to swim naked in front of his female Secret Service agents even though they object. Maybe he should be the one made to sit through the Gillette ad? “No cool!” No matter how big it is Joe, the ladies don’t like to look at old man butt.; 1/19/19, 1:45 PM
Sebastian said...: "the damage they did to Hillary Clinton"

Exactly what damage did "conservatives" do to Clinton?

Comey did some damage by describing her crime while letting her off.

Wikileaks did some damage by exposing her DNC machinations.

Trump did some damage by debating a little better.

None of it is "conservative" damage.

Mostly, Hill damaged Hill by being Hill.; 1/19/19, 1:48 PM
Kevin said...: Writes Ed Kilgore in "2020 Candidates Carry Heavy Baggage, and Trump Will Everything He Can to Exploit That"

Because if the media’s behavior over the past two years, Trump 2020 will be the most baggage-free candidate to have run in the modern era.

What won’t the voters have heard about time and again, such that it’s not “old news” and “Trump bashing” to them?

What October surprise could possibly be waiting to be dropped?; 1/19/19, 1:57 PM
tim in vermont said...: Don’t hate the playah, hate the game! <<-- should be a Trump meme, BTW.; 1/19/19, 1:58 PM
Anonymous said...: "Beto has a tremendous advantage."

Enough to overcome his 'identity' of a privledged, white male? I kinda doubt anything can overcome those three strikes this cycle.; 1/19/19, 2:17 PM
tim in vermont said...: “O’Mally endorses O’Rourke” Actual headline from Politico.; 1/19/19, 2:24 PM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: ““O’Mally endorses O’Rourke” Actual headline from Politico.”

And there’s the White Irish Catholic male vote, locked up tight!; 1/19/19, 3:10 PM
bagoh20 said...: "...intense media scrutiny"

On a Democrat? Now that is some funny shit right there.

Maybe on Fox, but the audience there isn't going to vote for her anyway. The people who need to see some scrutiny of the Democrats they intend to vote for never will.; 1/19/19, 3:37 PM
Bill Peschel said...: Trump had enough baggage for a trip around the moon and back, but he told enough truth bombs to enough voters to elect him because the Democratic Party's margin for vote fraud.

Any of these candidates could overcome their deficits if they had policies popular with the voters, or a record of accomplishments.

Instead, they'll have to rely on the media to pull the nominee across the finish line, plus the margin for vote fraud.; 1/19/19, 3:47 PM
Anonymous said...: I]t’s best for Democrats to deal with the baggage now rather than later...

That’s what the primarys are for. It’ll get sorted out naturally. The parties always think they should do the sorting. Let the people decide.; 1/19/19, 3:49 PM
BJM said...: intense media scrutiny

BUHWAHHAHAHAHA!

On what planet?; 1/19/19, 5:42 PM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Republicans did nothing to the Hbomb. Before she started stumbling around and passing out, being dragged up and down stairs and out to the van, she was waving to empty stadiums. That's when the FBI came to her rescue with insurance plans. That frozen plastic smile and the beauty queen wrist wave? I LOVED the baloon drop!; 1/19/19, 6:23 PM
Jupiter said...: How does the fact that they're all a bunch of Communists and shit-eating whores figure into this calculation?; 1/19/19, 6:39 PM
Limited blogger said...: This is a 2 year construction project. The MSM designing and building the perfect Democrat candidate.; 1/19/19, 7:46 PM
Biff said...: It's sexist to frame the discussion in such a way that it is permissible to raise "likability" questions only about male candidates.; 1/19/19, 9:52 PM
lgv said...: "Harris is not, of course, alone in possessing “baggage”" This is very true. But, then the list and adjectives go off kilter. I see this is a tactic to minimize the baggage on Harris, the chosen candidate.

"Stupid but pervasive" - The baggage is real, it is not stupid, or perhaps he was referring to the term.
"likability" - sexist? I think this means we can't oppose Harris for likability because that would be sexist. Poor Rand Paul. He should have been a women.
Sanders - no specific baggage items
Beto and Gillibrand - flip-floppers? Aren't they all to some extent?
Klobuchar - staff turnover equates to issues with personality and temperament? Wouldn't that be sexist, also? No specific rumors cited? Perhaps she's a driven taskmaster, respected but not liked, which is fine for a man, but not a woman?

This article is just a defense shield for Harris who, like Biden and Warren, have very specific baggage.; 1/20/19, 4:39 AM
Tina Trent said...: Baggage will matter only as an adjunct to the carrier's position in the identity politics hierarchy.

Even baggage is subject to affirmatve action these days.; 1/20/19, 6:09 AM
Zach said...: The "heartless prosecutor" tag is going to be tough for Harris to shake. Someone who is so palpably ambitious, defending official misconduct. It's an unpopular policy issue that slides easily into being a biographical issue -- she'll take advantage of the little people in order to get ahead. Add in the fact that Trump is actually way better than her on criminal justice reform, and that's starting to be an uncomfortable vote.; 1/20/19, 10:44 AM
Mountain Maven said...: The new green deal plus open borders are enough to sink the dem candidate in the general.; 3/27/19, 1:32 PM