Foremost, Harris and Walz Must Not Let Trump Define Who They Are
Because Kamala Harris is relatively unknown to most people, as is her choice for Vice President Tim Walz, her top priority must be to not let the Republicans define who they are.
She should do this by:
Making herself available to be questioned by journalists on a continual basis by having frequent press conferences
By appearing frequently on live TV shows.
By giving numerous one-on-one interviews.
By answering questions from local media after campaign stops at local rallies.
By doing Town Hall TV appearances.
I would tell her that making herself and her veep choice more available to the public and media is more necessary in this campaign than in ones where the candidates are widely known because of the short time they have to introduce themselves to Americans who are not politically knowledgeable.
In addition, I would advise her to employ the following tactics:
She should set up a “Republicans For Harris Committee,” which she already has done.
She should also set up a “Former Republican Office Holders Committee for Harris.”
She should ask Elizabeth Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, both former members of Congress, who served on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection if they would embark on a “Save Our Democracy” tour.
She should set-up a “Shadow Trump Committee.” Members would follow Mr. Trump to all his campaign rallies and immediately after his speech makes themselves available to local and national media during which they would detail the many lies he just told.
The Jan. 6 insurrection must a prominent part of the campaign. She should ask retired members of the Capitol police force who were attacked to appear on national and local TV and radio programs to tell of their experiences.
The Shadow committee members each day should send to the media a press release detailing Mr. Trump’s “lies of the day.”
Also sent to the media each day should be a derogatory quote that has been said by Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance.
Ms. Harris should primarily have her vice-presidential running mate respond to Mr. Trump’s attacks on her; she should concentrate on what she hopes to accomplish as president, but occasionally respond to Mr. Trump herself.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance are sure to attack and misrepresent Mr. Walz’s record. They already are attacking him as an extreme liberal, even though he is a gun owner and has used the National Guard against rioters. A number of prominent well-known Democrats should be drafted to defend his record and point out the GOP presidential team’s lies.
Ms. Harris should make certain that Mr. Walz is given a high visibility role in the campaign, one that would keep him in the public eye.
Ms. Harris should not agree to debate on Fox, as Mr. Trump wants. Instead, she should challenge him to a Lincoln-Douglas style series of debates in neutral venues and keep doing so throughout the campaign; Mr. Walz likewise should challenge Mr. Vance to a series of debates.
Democratic should keep repeating during media appearances that “old man Trump” is a serial liar, adulterer and a convicted felon, who has been indicted for breaking the law in several other cases and who chose “weird JD Vance” as his replacement.
The Harris-Walz team should not be fearful of including attack ads against Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance. (In this case, using the exact words of the Republican candidates would be truthful.)
By choosing Mr. Walz, Ms. Harris has selected a running mate who has been elected in a Republican Congressional district and who appeals to voters in rural districts. In addition he can be positioned as the anti-Vance candidate.
In 2016, when she lost to Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton used as her campaign slogan “Stronger Together,” which I thought was weak and boring and didn’t deliver as strong a message to voters as did Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again.” During the Democratic Convention that year, Michelle Obama delivered her famous line, “When they go low, we go high,” which given the many fabrications delivered by the Trump campaign, wasn’t strong enough to rally voters, many of whom prefer a fighting candidate rather than one who follows a political-like Marquess of Queensberry Rules.
No slogans are needed by the Harris-Walz team this year. Instead, consistently and effectively emphasizing the former president’s rap sheet of cheating and lying, and that he is a convicted felon who still is awaiting other trail dates for his unlawful actions, should be emphasized. Delivering that message daily is stronger than any slogan. But if the Democratic campaign wants a theme, nothing can be stronger than “Saving Democracy.”
Too often Democrats candidates have not wanted to get into the mud as Republican strategists do by fabricating untruthful TV ads and telling outright lies about Democratic candidates. Democrats should not abstain from doing so. Because when your opponents wallow in the mud, you have to join them in the pig pen. Losing with dignity is still losing.
As the campaign progresses, additional strategies will be added as needed. But the above tactics can be used throughout the campaign.
Given Mr. Trump’s criminal record and personal behavior, the moment President Biden dropped out, this became a race that the Democrats could win.
The winner will be decided on who runs a better campaign, not a cleaner one.
