The last two times Democrats attempted to stage a coronation instead of a contest in choosing a presidential nominee, it did not go well. Not for Hillary Clinton in 2016. Not for Joe Biden this year.
So why would anyone think it’s a good idea when it comes to Kamala Harris — the all but anointed nominee after barely a day?
But the one thing the Democratic Party is not supposed to be is anti-democratic — a party in which insiders select the nominee from the top down, not the bottom up, and which expects the rank and file to fall in line and clap enthusiastically. That’s the playbook of ruling parties in autocratic states.
It’s also a recipe for failure. The whole point of a competitive process, even a truncated one, is to discover unsuspected strengths, which is how Obama was able to best Clinton in 2008, and to test for hidden weakness, which is how Harris flamed out as a candidate the last time, before even reaching the Iowa caucus. If there’s evidence that she’s a better candidate now than she was then, she should be given the chance to prove it.
@SadRightistDemocrat9mos9MO
All the people yammering about a mini-primary or whatever don't seem to have noticed that all the dream candidates (Shapiro, Whitmer, Cooper, Beshear, et al.) have been clear they don't want to run. This was true, for different reasons, even before the Kamala momentum gained steam. Are we supposed to force them?
@UniqueGrassrootsSocialist9mos9MO
Money talks and she raised more grassroots money in 24 hours than any other candidate ever. Looks like 'the coronation' was met with rampant enthusiasm which makes this entire opinion piece look pretty silly.
@L0bbyistMayaGreen9mos9MO
100% right on all points. I saw VP Harris at a campaign event when she was running for Attorney General of California. She gave a boring speech about her background and how becoming a prosecutor supposedly made her a rebel in her family, which I did not find persuasive. Her entire career seems to have been made by promoting her identity, not her intelligence or vision.
@MerePopulistDemocrat9mos9MO
It isn’t a coronation.
None of the possible contenders opted to challenge Harris. No surprise given that all prior polling on the matter showed her as the option favored by a majority of Democrats should Biden have elected not to run, for any reason at all.
All of the state delegations voiced their support for Harris once freed from their pledged status with Biden.
What the Democrats did deserve, after weeks of fraught anxiety over Biden’s falling position in the polls, following his poor debate performance was unity, with a campaign reset.
Thankfully, that is exactly what they have now got.
Coronation? No it was more like overwhelming acclamation.
When more than 70 percent of the nation wanted a different matchup than two old white guys, one party responded. Being responsive to the people is democratic, sorry it’s not perfect but better than the alternative. In a democracy we can only succeed when we move forward in less than perfect circumstances.
@ISIDEWITH9mos9MO
@ISIDEWITH9mos9MO
@ISIDEWITH9mos9MO
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