This is the kind of progressive political plan even conservatives can love.
In a commentary piece published Tuesday by MSNBC Democratic strategist and commentator Max Burns, whose works appear regularly on leftist platforms, declared that President Joe Biden’s team was ignoring one of the most potent weapons in its arsenal — Vice President Kamala Harris.
It was meant to be a call to arms to bring Harris into the presidential fight — it ended by blowing up in Burns’ face and making Harris look even worse.
MSNBC promoted the piece on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, with language it probably hoped would make for an upbeat reaction:
“Joe Biden has effectively kept Vice President Kamala Harris on the bench for most of his term, but @themaxburns says she’s one of his campaign’s most valuable assets, and he needs to give her free rein to do what she does best.”
Joe Biden has effectively kept Vice President Kamala Harris on the bench for most of his term, but @themaxburns says she’s one of his campaign’s most valuable assets, and he needs to give her free rein to do what she does best. https://t.co/j1ibfycdpp
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) August 8, 2023
The post was immediately flamed in responses — even on MSNB’s own X account, where logic would dictate there would be Harris supporters waiting en masse.
There weren’t. In fact, judging by the post’s ratio of views to “likes” — more than 169,500 to a scant 663 as of Wednesday afternoon — it was exactly the opposite.
Here’s a sampling:
Please let her out, we need the comedic relief.
— Bleu Cheque (@VERBAL_CHANCLA) August 8, 2023
If you mean cackling and rambling then she is the most talented. Please put her on the campaign trail.
— Dredge (@Dredgehammer68) August 9, 2023
The only thing she’s good at is making word salads that end up as videos we all laugh at
— Mr. Reality (@MrReality_sp) August 9, 2023
One even speculated that Burns, a well-known, vocal spokesman for the American left, was actually a double agent — at least in this case.
“Max Burns must work for Trump,” the user wrote.
Max Burns must work for Trump.
— Muscles McSexington (@MusclesMcSexy) August 8, 2023
To be fair to Burns, he probably didn’t write the “do what she does best” promo in the tweet, but the criticisms were a fair response to his delusional piece, which claimed that Harris is being kept on the bench by Biden’s team when she could be out there helping him with voters.
As anyone who’s even casually followed the news knows, that’s nonsense.
Even a New York Times suck-up piece on the same theme published Sunday acknowledged Harris has an approval rating of only 40 percent while 52 percent of Americans disapprove of her, according to the polling site FiveThirtyEight. (And even 40 percent approval strains belief, frankly.)
The list of duties Harris performs with even mediocre success is vanishingly short, though she does appear to at least travel effectively. But what is it she’s supposed to do “best”?
Taking the fight to Republicans?
Her recent dust-up with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over new education standards in the Sunshine State did cause a ruckus within some Republican ranks but mainly ended up showing how hollow Harris’ criticisms were.
The fact that she chickened out of actually debating DeSantis by trying to be too clever didn’t help.
Do you think Kamala Harris will help Biden’s re-election campaign?
Yes: 4% (1 Votes)
No: 96% (25 Votes)
(Harris claimed she would not debate when there were “no redeeming qualities of slavery,” as CNN reported. That wasn’t even close to the topic on issue and any fool — including Harris — knew it.)
Her PR plugs for administration initiatives? They’re embarrassing, whether the topic is space exploration in 2021 to “space cooperation” (with Mongolia) in 2023.
Her handling of specific assignments? Please. Does anyone remember her solving the “root causes” of the massive illegal immigration invasion the Biden administration has inflicted on the United States? O.J. will run into the “real killer” first.
She is, in short, a failure even by the abominably low standards of affirmative action that got her the position in the first place. (In 2020, then-Democratic nominee Joe Biden owed Rep. James Clyburn a favor for saving his campaign by turning out black primary voters in South Carolina, and that favor, as even CNN reported, was a black, female running mate pick. Hello, Harris.)
Harris didn’t have to do much to be called a success under the circumstances. But she hasn’t even done that.
What she does best is what’s so funny.
— Evets (@Evetsisnthappy) August 9, 2023
If she is one of the most valuable assets, look out.
— Dog guy (@Catsorange1) August 8, 2023
Please do this. A 50 state barnstorming tour showcasing Kamala.
— Kayla Elizabeth (@VixenRogue) August 8, 2023
It’s impossible to read another’s mind, of course, so there’s no way to know exactly what Burns intended with the piece, but it’s a good bet there were two goals: to burnish Kamala Harris’ nonexistent accomplishments into something that approaches an asset to President Joe Biden’s re-election hopes and to make himself look like the acute political wizard who’s seeing something everyone else is missing.
Unfortunately for both, the piece did exactly the opposite, reminding Americans of how much Harris has alienated conservative Americans, and even members of her own party, while making Burns look simply misguided in the process (at best).
It just reminds those who might be on the fence of exactly what their alternative president will be in the increasingly likely event that the increasingly frail 80-year-old Biden can’t go the distance in either a presidential race or a — perish the thought — a second term in office.
If this is what Democratic strategists are coming up with for 2024, it’s going to be a race Republicans can enjoy, no matter who turns out to be the GOP nominee.
