Harris Losing? MAGA Isn't Why.

At The Hill is a piece speculating on why Kamala Harris appears to be on the way to an electoral loss. The list really boils down to three: Harris is a weak candidate, she isn't giving voters a good reason to vote for her (or at least against Trump), and that "It's virtually impossible to run against a 'cult of personality.'"

As one can glean from the piece, one could have guessed Harris was weak from her 2020 primary flame-out. But her generally low favorability ratings during her Vice Presidency were also a hint, and part of why I had hoped for not Harris when Biden was bowing out. I am an independent voter and definitely not a MAGA fan.

The second and fourth reasons given by the piece are just different aspects of my second reason: This administration has been terrible and it hasn't been hard for Trump to blame it for some of the problems he deserves some of the blame for. Inflation, to which he also contributed via money-printing and supply-depleting lockdowns, is Exhibit A. (And Trump's proposed tariffs will make us nostalgic for the boom times of Biden if he goes through with them.)

The third reason is complete bunk, because the supposedly unstoppable MAGA cult consists of fewer than the quarter of voters who view it favorably and it is strongly disliked by nearly half.

It's simple math that a candidate who worked to appeal to the solid majority of non-MAGA voters should easily be able to defeat Trump. This is even more true of a Democrat, who will have a similar-sized base of voters repulsed by MAGA, than for Trump's Republican challengers, who did not, and so either had to pander to that base or forfeit it.

The Democrats never tried to do this beyond "vibes:" Harris didn't even bother to add a moderate to her ticket!

That said, even Trump has to get votes from some non-MAGA voters -- which is part of why he isn't exactly running away with this election, either.

Biden is very unpopular: If Trump had the initiative or even self-control to stay on message, he could win in a cakewalk against Harris. Furthermore, by permitting Donald Trump to take over their party apparatus, the GOP didn't really attempt to find a stronger candidate than Trump, who is having trouble defeating Harris. The evidence for this is in early primary polls showing Nikki Haley polling better than Trump against Biden.

Blaming the alleged popularity and power of this bloc of voters is foolish, and not just because this election is winnable for the Democrats. It also practically guarantees that the Republicans will continue to be held captive to it, eliminating them as a serious alternative to the Democrats -- while also excusing the Democrats from the soul-searching they need to do to widen their appeal beyond the far left.

-- CAV