House GOP warns on Harris boomlet
Harris to roll out policy plans in North Carolina
Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for August 16, 2023:
Biden joins Harris for first campaign-type event.
Trying to figure out the GOP doomsday talk on Walz.
GOP lawmakers join the campaign fray for Vance.
ELECTION. Spread out around the country on their summer break - but clearly watching the sudden shift in election year momentum after President Joe Biden stepped aside from the 20204 race - House Republicans met last night by phone to talk strategy about November, trying to more clearly focus their attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris and her record.
SPEAKER. "The Biden-Harris Administration’s economic policies are crushing hard working American families," House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Thursday. Johnson is in Colorado today to raise money for a House GOP challenger.
SPECIFICS. Unlike Donald Trump’s scattershot attacks, House Republicans have tried to tie Harris to current White House policies. "Harris has been a driving force behind the Biden-Harris failed economic and border security policies," said Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX). "She can’t escape blame."
SUBURBS. Most House GOP lawmakers will have no problem winning reelection in November. But whether they keep the House majority will be determined by a small group of Republicans who hold suburban seats. They're the ones who could be in trouble if this Harris surge continues.
TODAY. Harris goes this afternoon to North Carolina to start what's basically the rollout of her domestic policy agenda - and the rollup to the Democratic National Convention next week in Chicago. Her speech today will include a call for a federal ban on price-gouging, focused mainly on the food and grocery industries.
MEATPACKERS. Harris will zero in on the meatpacking industry, which has long been under Congressional scrutiny - as four large companies control most of the market. Both parties have long argued that lack of competition not only jacks up prices, but also shortchanges farmers and ranchers in the process.
HOUSING. Harris will also unveil plans calling for tax breaks to help with construction of lower-priced housing units, and up to $25,000 in breaks to help first-time homeowners afford a down payment. She'll also call for the construction of up to 3 million new homes.
NEXT WEEK. On Sunday, Harris starts working her way towards Chicago, beginning a bus tour in Pittsburgh. She'll have a rally on Tuesday in Milwaukee, the site of the GOP convention. I'll join you from Chicago for full coverage of the DNC on Monday.
BIDEN. If President Biden is angry about being forced out of the race for the White House by his own party, he's not showing it. On Thursday, Biden joined with Vice President Harris to unveil the results of efforts by Medicare to negotiate lower prices for ten different prescription drugs often used by Americans.
DRUGS. "I've been waiting for this moment for a long, long time," Biden said of the Medicare drug negotiations, saying that he had first introduced a bill to do that back in 1973 - when he was a freshman in the Senate. But he quickly made sure to keep the event somewhat focused on the elections.
PARTNER. "I have an incredible partner," Biden said in a nod to Harris. "And she's going to make one hell of a President," Biden said to cheers. He later sent the same message to an overflow crowd of supporters. "Our democracy is at stake and I left you with the woman who is going to take care of it."
TRUMP. The props were all there at Donald Trump's golf retreat in Bedminster, New Jersey, ready to be used for an attack on Kamala Harris and the economic policies of the Biden Administration. There were boxes of Fruit Loops, Cheerios, Wheaties, packages of raw meat, and more - all with tags signifying their price increases in recent years. But Trump had other ideas.
NEWSER. A day after he said he wasn't sure the economy was really the biggest issue for voters, Trump's advisers watched him veer into other subjects at a lengthy news conference.
GRIEVANCES. Trump talked about windmills, electric trucks, Hillary Clinton's emails, and even how it's okay for him to say nasty things about Vice President Harris. "I think I'm entitled to personal attacks," Trump said.
COMMIE. Trump peppered his lengthy remarks with ominous warnings about Harris, often accusing her of being a socialist or a communist - like it was the 1960's or something. And that was clearly the plan.
PINKO. "I think this is a different kind of a race," Trump told reporters about his new strategy. "All we have to do is define our opponent as being a communist or a socialist or somebody that's going to destroy our country."
SIZE MATTERS. Once again this week, we saw how Donald Trump is overly focused on crowd size. But this time, he went a step further, accusing Democrats of using artificial intelligence to create 'fake crowds.' (I can't make this stuff up.) That's my column this week for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
KEYSTONE. Three Trump allies in Congress interrupted their August break to head to western Pennsylvania on Thursday - helping out Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) on the campaign trail. "My name is Mike Waltz," said the GOP lawmaker from Florida, whose name sounds much like that of Gov. Tim Walz. "If you have any trouble, remember, it's a 'T' for Trump," Waltz said with a big grin.
MILITARY. Waltz, along with Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), and Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) all served in the military, and used that background to attack Walz over his service in the National Guard. "It would be very nice if our media friends here actually asked him about his record," said Waltz.
HARRIS. The GOP trio also made sure to lob a series of broadsides at the Vice President, especially over the botched U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. "I believe it's one of the most embarrassing moments in American history, and it happened on Kamala Harris's watch," said Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN).
GOP MIA. This event was a perfect example of what I've been talking about - how Republicans are missing the boat right now by being on recess in Congress. GOP lawmakers could be doing this anti-Harris and anti-Walz stuff on an hourly basis in the halls of the Capitol - but they're on break until September 9.
RECESS. Frankly, Congressional Democrats are also missing an easy opportunity. You could have a rotating crew of lawmakers here at the Capitol holding a news conference once a day - they would be mobbed by reporters looking for a few campaign quotes.
WHITE HOUSE. Remember - when the Congress is out of town, the White House is the most logical place to make news. And in this case, even though Biden has stepped aside, the White House is still going to get most of the attention - especially with lawmakers back home.
WALZ. One of the weirdest things I saw this week was Republicans talking ominously about how Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) was going to have to drop out as the running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris. This assertion was being pushed by very big names in conservative talk radio, like it was true. But what it really showed off was the existence of a rather big conservative media bubble.
ATTACKS. Look, I fully understand that Republicans and their allies are trying as best as they can to undermine Walz and Harris. I have no problem with that. But if you’re going to start peddling the idea of Walz dropping out - which would be a huge development - you better have some evidence.
HEWITT. "The Walz fiasco gets worse and worse for the Harris campaign and of course they would choose a do-over if they had one," tweeted talk show host Hugh Hewitt. (Frankly, this type of statement is no different than saying the 2020 election was 'rigged and stollen.')
CAMPAIGN. As for Walz, he has been out on the campaign trail, drawing large crowds and consistently getting better poll ratings than either Trump or Vance. In Democratic Party circles, Walz is a rock star right now. He’ll hold a rally in his home state of Nebraska on Saturday.
SPICY. If you want a quick example of how much Walz has quickly become the funny man for Democrats - just watch this video of Walz and Harris. It's only 27 seconds. It speaks to the larger point of how Democrats are talking policy - but also having fun. I really think that’s a big part of why things have shifted so much in recent weeks.
RFK JR. A day after the Washington Post reported that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had been trying to hold talks with the Kamala Harris campaign - dangling an endorsement in exchange for a Cabinet position - RFK Jr. denounced Harris and made clear he wouldn't be backing her for President.
NOPE. "Harris’s Democratic Party would be unrecognizable to my father and uncle and I cannot reconcile it with my values," tweeted Kennedy, who has been dropping in the polls since President Biden left the race. "Kennedy Democrats were anti-war. Kamala‘s is riddled with neocon warmongers."
GATOR BAIT. A top ally of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has called for a probe of ex-Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), who recently left as the President of the University of Florida. A report this week by the Independent Florida Alligator newspaper said that Sasse had put a series of former Capitol Hill staffers on the payroll, more than tripling his office’s budget.
SASSY. There was other GOP criticism for Sasse as well. "He was a terrible University president who never should have been hired," said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL). There's a bit of irony here, as DeSantis is basically the reason that Sasse was hired in the first place.
TWITTER. I saw one wag on Twitter say that there hadn't been someone from Nebraska who had so thoroughly looted the University of Florida since QB Tommy Frazier in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl. It's an apt metaphor. (I was at that game and saw it in person.)
SWIMSUITS. If you read all the way through yesterday's newsletter, you had the chance to see the links to tweets from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and his wife which showed Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) modeling bathing suits. I guess it shouldn't surprise me that the Luna material quickly made the jump to Donald Trump's Twitter account as well.
TWEET. "Make your choice," Trump blared, showing video of a group of older women sitting and singing on a porch, compared to a video of Rep. Luna modeling a Make America Great Again swimsuit, where the video zooms in on some of her body parts. (This is not my father's campaign.)
RADIO FREE DUPREE. Monday is the start of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. 28 years after the Dick Morris toe sucking story exploded on the morning of Bill Clinton’s acceptance speech at the 1996 DNC, I’ll be back in the Windy City for full coverage.
RAP SHEET. A North Carolina man was arrested this week on charges related to Jan. 6. Andrew Starling joined other rioters in overrunning police lines outside the Capitol, and then pushed his way inside after a faceoff with officers. Starling later resisted efforts to leave. His Twitter account is filled with election denier and QAnon nonsense.
MUSE OF HISTORY. August 16, 1949. On this date, the Senate voted 60-32 to kill a plan from President Truman to reorganize a series of federal agencies, which include efforts to create a general 'Department of Welfare.' One reason for the defeat was concern among Republicans and southern Democrats that the Truman Administration would try to create a new national healthcare plan.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House is back for votes on September 9.
The Senate returns on September 9.
Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree.
Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com
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Yes, that failed economic policy with stock markets at an all time high, low unemployment, wages having outgained inflation every step of the way - and now, inflation dropping below 3%. And what's even worse is economists say all this bad news looks like it's going to continue.
That Sasse story has legs, and I look forward to seeing how far it travels.