Sen. Kamala Harris didn't speak at length during her "Politics and Eggs" event at Saint Anselm College's New Hampshire Institute of Politics on Tuesday — about 20 minutes, not including the Q-and-A — but her remarks, which came during her first New Hampshire visit as an official candidate, offered some clues about how she’ll differentiate herself from the crowded Democratic field.
1. Harris Is A Kinder, Gentler Economic Populist
Like a lot of other Democrats in the field, Harris believes the economy isn’t working well for too many Americans. In Manchester, she told the capacity crowd that almost half of American families can’t afford an unexpected $400 expense, and that in 99 percent of U.S. counties, a minimum-wage employee working full time can’t afford a market-rate apartment.
But while Harris said more Americans need an unfettered path toward financial success, and plugged a new tax credit for families making under $100,000, she also implied that some people go too far when it comes to mixing animosity with their economic populism. “This discussion, from my perspective, is not about saying, ‘You know, people who have worked hard and gained success should be vilified.’ I don’t believe that. I applaud that. That’s pursuit of the American Dream.” In contrast to? Harris didn’t say — but it was tempting to read her comments as a dig at both Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
2. She's Going To Channel John McCain
Like the late Arizona senator and presidential candidate, Harris seems intent on casting herself as a bold purveyor of important but occasionally awkward truths. “As we proceed in this campaign, I believe it is critically important that as leaders we speak truth, with the purpose of not offending, or making people uncomfortable — but with the purpose of dealing with issues and inspiring trust among the people we serve,” Harris said. For the record, though, the hard truths Harris tackled in Manchester — including global warming, the perils of automation, and the aforementioned failure of the booming American economy to boom for everyone — weren’t especially squirm inducing. If anything, they seemed like Democratic conventional wisdom.
3. When She Talks About America, Harris Will Accentuate The Positive
Ever since Donald Trump replaced Barack Obama in the White House, there’s been a markedly pessimistic turn among many on the left. Dreams of progress are out; sober takes on the durability of racism and misogyny are in. But while Harris doesn’t ignore the fact that American realities can fall short of American ideals, she’d rather talk about the ability of those ideals to pull us in the right direction.
“We are a country that was founded on a noble ideal … that we all should be treated as equal,” Harris said. “Part of our strength as a nation is, we are aspirational; we fight to achieve those ideals. We’re also clear-eyed — we’ve never quite reached those ideals. But our strength is that we fight to reach those ideals — and this is a moment, in particular, where we must keep fighting.”
4. Her Anti-Trump Game Is Strong
Harris didn’t directly take on president until after her speech was done and an audience member asked her about the recent government shutdown during the Q-and-A. But when she did, she was more impassioned than at any other point in her appearance — and the crowd’s response was more enthusiastic. “We need a change,” Harris said at one point. “We cannot continue to have an administration and a president of the United States who puts his vanity projects ahead of the needs of the people of our country.” The crowd’s applause was vigorous — and afterward, Democratic strategist Judy Reardon told WGBH News she thought Harris would be able to make Trump cry. Given the Democratic mood right now, that’s not a bad daydream for Harris to be able to conjure up.
5. Harris Will Laugh Last
At the end of the Manchester event, emcee James Brett of the New England Council asked Harris if she watched the Super Bowl. The crowd laughed loudly, and so did Harris — but she laughed longer, for approximately 20 seconds, long enough that by the end the crowd was laughing at her laughter as opposed to the original joke.
“She’s clearly having a great time,” Ray Buckley, the chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, said afterward. “That’s important.” Maybe there’s a risk here — what if Harris laughs too hard at the wrong thing? — but ask yourself: When’s the last time you saw President Trump laugh? Have we ever? And in a hypothetical general-election match-up, who would that contrast benefit?
