The Democratic platform, despite its numerous references to President Joe Biden and his policy positions, allows Vice President Kamala Harris to remain ambiguous about her specific policy agenda, as per a discussion on CNN.
This strategy, as it was suggested, enables the campaign to deflect any potential blame onto Biden.
Jake Tapper, a CNN host, during the network's coverage of the Democratic National Convention's (DNC) first day, remarked, "President Biden dropped out of the race a month and a day ago. You wouldn't know that if you read the Democratic platform because it repeatedly refers to President Biden's second term." According to The Post Millennial, the platform alludes to Biden's second term approximately 19 times.
David Chalian, another CNN host, added to the conversation, explaining the Democrats' reluctance to modify the platform to accommodate Harris's yet-to-be-fully-developed policies. "The idea of reopening the platform to try to fit in not yet fully developed Kamala Harris policies, while they were quickly changing, they thought they would be opening a can of worms, right? And that there would be all of a sudden some fights about what goes in the platform and they wanted to avoid that at all costs." Chalian further noted that the Democrats were prepared to accept the repercussions of not updating the platform.
Tapper subsequently pointed out, "We should note that this also allows Vice President Harris to stay vague, stay, you know, unspecific. 'That's from the Biden platform. That's not ours.'"
Harris's ascension to the presidential nomination, despite not winning a single primary, has sparked discontent within the Democratic Party. Maureen Dowd of The New York Times even described Harris's replacement of Biden as a "coup" over the weekend. Furthermore, Harris has not been significantly pressed by the media to provide specifics on her policies.
Reports suggest that Harris has been counseled by allies to withhold her policy positions, and some Democratic lawmakers are seemingly comfortable with her not detailing her policy until after the election. This strategy, while potentially effective in the short term, raises questions about the transparency and accountability of the Democratic platform and its key players.
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