OPINION: Harris gives Dems a needed wake-up call

What a difference a single decision can make in a presidential election. 

In a span of a couple of weeks, Democrats have gone from the sleepiest to some of the most exciting moments since Barack Obama came onto the scene. And it appears that the convention will not have the look and feel of a yawning festival, which would have been the case with President Biden heading the ticket. Poll after poll has shown that the vast majority of Americans did not want to see a Biden-Trump rematch, yet that’s what the Democrats were about to validate. 

That is, until President Biden dropped out of the race and threw his support to Vice President Kamala Harris. Her nomination isn’t official yet, but putting this into football terms, the score is 48-0 with about a minute to play. 

“There is pretty much unanimous agreement, coast to coast, that she is our standard bearer,” said Idaho House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, one of 27 Idaho delegates to the national convention. 

And, suddenly, excitement is building. As Rubel tells it, “It is supercharged.” 

Rep. Lauren Necochea, who chairs the state Democratic Party, agrees. In a released statement, she said, “Idaho Democrats are fired up and ready to get to work because the stakes in this election couldn’t be higher. This November, voters face a clear choice between MAGA authoritarianism that will keep stripping away our freedoms and future where we have a say over the decisions impacting our lives. Harris is uniquely positioned to make this argument, having been an unrelenting champion of our freedoms, especially when it comes to abortion care.” 

As “supercharged” as Democrats may be in Idaho, it probably won’t make a big difference in the outcome in Idaho. This state has not favored a Democrat since 1964, and it’s not going to change this year considering that former President Trump’s popularity is somewhere on the level of God’s. But Idaho’s Democratic delegates will find plenty of friends on the convention floor. And with Harris leading the ticket, Dems now see the White House and both houses of Congress in play in November. 

Rubel says she was worried about the party’s ability to take the fight to Trump, especially after Biden’s historically awful debate performance. Rubel sees a lot of nice talking points for Democrats — a low unemployment rate, a long stretch of job growth overall and the addition of some 800,000 manufacturing jobs. Wages have increased, and while inflation is high, it’s not so outlandish on a global scale. 

“We were just having problems getting the message out, and Vice President Harris is going to be able to get that message out,” Rubel says. 

And Harris won’t back down from Trump on the debate stage — while exposing his flaws. The “age” issue, which ultimately drove out Biden, will be turned against the 78-year-old Trump. Says Rubel, “This is a man who called the secretary of state in Georgia and told him to falsify the election results. This is a person who incited a mob to storm the Capitol. This is a person who does not have respect for American democracy.” 

Republicans counter that it is the Democrats who turned their back on democracy, discarding the 14 million people who voted for Biden in the primary races. Of course, Biden was running unopposed, but there’s no need to let facts get in the way of good campaign rhetoric. 

However, Biden deserves goat horns for waiting so long to get out. It would be understandable if he came into office with the notion of being a transitional president, one who would serve four years. But somewhere in the midst of that embarrassing withdrawal from Afghanistan and failed border policies, he decided that he was the only person in America who was qualified to do the job. His inept debate performance showed otherwise. 

So, Democrats are left with Kamala Harris — like it, or not. Fortunately for the Dems, Harris has shown herself in the early going as being up to the task as a campaigner. The 2024 election, which was on its way to being one of the worst in the nation’s history, is shaping up to be among the most interesting. 

• • •

Silver Valley native Chuck Malloy is a longtime Idaho journalist and columnist. He may be reached at ctmalloy@outlook.com.