LOS ANGELES.–Unable to explain what happened to $1.5 billion in a 107-day campaign, 57-year-old chief strategist to 57-year-old David Ploufe made some wild excuses why 60-year-old Vice Persident Kamala Harris lost the Nov. 5 election. Can you imagine Plouffe put on record that it’s difficult for Democrats to win battleground states? Well, when Biden ran in 2020 he won them all. So what kind of smoke is Plouffe blowing, knowing that he predicted Nov. 5 on CNN’s Erin Burnett show that Kamala would win all the battleground states? When the pro-Kamala Burnett said, “really?” Plouffe stated with absolute certainty that Kamala would win all battleground states. So, when Plouffe tells folks that it’s difficult to for Democrats to win battleground states, he’s only making excuses. Biden won them all four years before. What’s different in 2024 was a bad campaign strategy and a bad candidate.
Plouffe and Kamala’s campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon said Kamala ran a near perfect campaign, reciting old, worn-out Democrats talking points, fashioned by Plouffe but really a rehash of all the insults aimed at Trump over his presidency and two impeachment trials. Remember 84-year-old former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) saying that Trump was “unhinged” and “unfit” for president, Pelosi looked for any way to remove Trump from office or to prevent him in the future from running for president. Kamala spent weeks preparing for the Sept. 27 ABC News debate, memorizing all the disparaging talking points to throw at Trump during the debate. Kamala said nothing at the debate about what she would do as president only slamming Trump with Plouffe’s long list of insults. When the debate ended, Democrats all claimed victory.
Only a half-hour after the debate, Jen O’Malley called the Trump campaign begging for a rematch. O’Malley Dillon insisted Kamala trounced Trump in the debate but wanted another debate for the good of the public. O’Malley Dillon knew at that time that their internal polls showed Kamala losing the election, including all the battleground states. Democrat pollsters insisted that the race was a dead heat but Plouffe and O’Malley Dillon knew otherwise, that Kamala was losing badly. Trump responded to O’Malley Dillon’s request for another debate saying losers always ask for a rematch. Trump said it was too late to consider another debate and the rest is history. But O’Malley Dillon and Plouffe are now blowing smoke to donors saying they thought the race was a dead heat going into Nov. 5. Both wanted to keep the cash flowing into the campaign, all $1.5 billion.
Plouffe doesn’t account for how Biden pulled off the feat of winning all battleground states in 2020, giving Biden the impression that he was the best possible candidate to win the 2024 race against Trump. But Pelosi and 63-year-old former President Barack Obama had other ideas, hounding Biden until he dropped out, endorsing Kamala. Pelosi and Obama knew that even without Biden’s endorsement, Kamala was the heir apparent, the right gender and race to run for president. Democrat senior strategist James Carville, 80, said that the Aug. 19 Chicago Democratic National Convention should be open and pick a new nominee. But, no, Kamala’s people would have nothing of the sort. She was endorsed by Biden and demanded the nomination without winning once primary vote. Kamala became the nominee with much enthusiasm and, turns out, false hope.
Plouffe of all people should be held accountable for Kamala’s failed campaign strategy of demonzing Trump, not explaining her plans for the next four years. Voters had no clue what Kamala would do with the border, economy or foreign policy. Kamala did say she would continue the Biden policy of waging proxy war in Ukraine with the Kremlin. Kamala ignored all the other issues facing the country, especially the runaway inflation that’s eaten consumers alive since 2022, correlated almost perfectly with the Feb. 24, 2022 start of the Ukraine War. Ukraine’s 46-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky opted for war with the Kremlin, all backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury. Zelensky waged war against the Kremlin and lost 20-25% of Ukraine’s sovereign territory, seizing nearly the entire Black Sea coast, some of Ukraine’s most desirable property.
O’Malley Dillon and Plouffe are all full of excuses after spending $1.5 billion and losing the election by a landslide. Plouffe promised CNN’s Erin Burnett that Kamala would win all battleground states, knowing the internal polls showed Kamala losing everything. Plouffe insists that the battleground states favor Republicans but Biden won all the swing states in 2020. Plouffe programmed Kamala with old, worn-out anti-Trump talking points that wound up backfiring. When Kamala told CNN’s Anderson Cooper Oct. 23 that she though Trump was a “fascist,” that was the last straw for independent voters, now moving into Trump’s camp. Kamala followed Plouffe’s script to the letter, never deviating after over a three month campaign. Plouffe said if Kamala had more time to campaign it would have made a difference. Voters were sickened listening to all the hateful talking points.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
