Democrats Suppress Concerns About Kamala Harris's Economic Policies in Exchange for Power

Congressional Democrats are sheepishly suppressing concerns about Vice President Kamala Harris’s Soviet-style economic policies in exchange for potential election victories.

Some Democrats previously raised concerns about Harris’s economic policies, questioning if they were the right solutions to fix the administration’s economy. Harvard economist and former Biden administration official Jason Furman, Washington Post economics columnist Catherine Rampell, and liberal economist Noah Smith all slammed Harris’s price control scheme.

Democrat lawmakers, however, are hesitant to publicly praise Harris’s policies, preferring to stay quiet in exchange for power. The policies in doubt range from implementing price controls on groceries, raising the corporate tax rate, and copying the Trump campaign’s proposals of no tax on tips and a child tax credit.

“Once we get into taxes, we’re going to want to look at the whole package. I’m reluctant to seize on one particular thing,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) admitted to the Hill.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has not endorsed Harris’s price control plan for groceries but has not opposed the idea, perhaps fearing it would hurt down-ballot Democrat Senate candidates.

“You have to see how it would work,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “Grocery prices are really bothering people. You can’t just say, ‘The hell with it; they’re wrong.’ That’s a mistake.”

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who positions himself as more of a centrist, said it is a telltale sign that many embattled Democrats have not yet embraced Harris’s plans.

“Watch the enthusiasm from those on the front line, whether it be [Sen.] Jon Tester (D-MT) or [Sen.] Jacky Rosen (D-NV). That will be a telltale sign,” he told the Hill.

Some Democrats appear rattled that they could lose Senate, House, and presidential elections if Harris is too transparent about policy solutions to reverse the administration’s failures.

“She doesn’t need to negotiate against herself. We’ve got the biggest possible tent right now,” Rep. Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH) told Politico. “I don’t think there’s a real strong reason for her to try to weed out any points of view right now.”

Harris has been careful not to speak very much about policy. The media have not interviewed her on television since June 24, 2024. The last time the press reportedly questioned her at a solo news conference was eight months ago — on December 2, 2023.

One reason Harris could be running a “basement” media strategy is to navigate policy debates within her own party. Anonymous campaign aides reportedly flipped-flopped on five of her radical-left policies, such as socialized medicine and fracking.

“There’s already uncertainty with, just, what does she believe — what she would do,” Jeff Nobers, executive director of Pittsburgh Works Together, told the Washington Post about Harris’s promise to ban fracking. “And if she doesn’t support a ban on fracking, what is her energy policy plan?”