Kamala Harris “turns it up to 11.”

October 17, 2024

I admired Kamala Harris greatly before she sat for an interview with scoundrel Brett Baier on Fox News on Wednesday. But after watching her humiliate Brett Baier and Fox News during a hostile interview, my admiration for her has gone “all the way up to 11.” She knocked it out of the park! Immediately after the interview, Fox’s own analyst proclaimed that Harris was “fairly effective . . . especially when she was going after Donald Trump.”

You can say that again! So, I will. Kamala Harris was especially effective when going after Donald Trump.

CNN’s Brian Stelter noted that Harris demolished the Fox talking point that she was incapable of standing up to tough questioning. Stelter said,

This was one of the most adversarial interviews Kamala Harris has probably ever done. A lot of viewers are going to come away saying, “Wow, she's willing to do that. That's a sign of toughness and strength.”

In a must-watch segment of the interview, Harris addressed Trump's threat to go after “the enemy within”—referring to Americans Trump considers to be his political opponents. Brett Baier tried to challenge Harris’s comments by playing a video clip that Baier claimed disproved Harris’s allegation. Baier then played the clip, which contained no references to “the enemy within” and included seemingly conciliatory statements by Trump. (It turns out that Baier had selectively edited out references in Trump's answer to “the enemy within.” Baier’s deceit merits a public reprimand by his superiors.)

Kamala Harris immediately challenged the authenticity of the videotape, saying that it did not fairly represent Trump's comments. Harris also told Baier that he knew the videotape did not represent what Trump had said. She then laid waste to Trump's hateful rhetoric and ugly threats. Watch this clip through the 3:00 minute mark: CNN, Harris takes on Fox News during heated interview.

Before turning to Baier’s deception, let’s acknowledge that Kamala Harris was able to tell Fox viewers that Trump views fellow Americans as “the enemy” and has threatened to use the US military against political opponents. Point, set, and match to Harris!

To see the unedited video that Brett Baier deceptively edited, watch this video clip through the first 65 seconds—which is the portion that Baier omitted: WSJ News, Trump Doubles Down on ‘Enemy From Within’ Comments About Democrats

Except for a brief introductory period, Brett Baier treated Kamala Harris rudely and with condescension. He repeatedly interrupted her in a way that he would never have interrupted Trump. Despite Baier’s overtly argumentative approach, Kamala Harris was able to deliver substantive answers regarding policy and deliver stinging rebukes to Trump. Notable answers include those set forth below, with the video links for each answer.

[I apologize for linking to video embedded in tweets, but Fox has made it difficult to link to jump cites in the full-length interview.]

• Speaking of Trump, Kamala Harris said: “Trump’s Chief of Staff, his  Defense Secretaries, his National Security Adviser, and his Vice President are all saying that he is unfit to serve, he is unstable, and he is dangerous. People are exhausted with someone who professes to be a leader who spends full time demeaning and engaging in personal grievances.”

• Baier asks Harris if she thinks Trump supporters are “stupid” for supporting Trump. Harris responds, “I would never say that about the American people. If you listen to Donald Trump’s rallies, he's the one who demeans and belittles the American people. He's the one who talks about an ‘enemy within,’ and suggests he would turn the military on the American people.”

• On immigration addresses immigration, Harris says Within hours of taking the oath, we introduced a bill to fix our broken immigration system. It was not taken up –[Brett Baier interrupts]--May I finish responding to you? I supported a bill by some of the most conservative members of Congress to actually strengthen the border. It would have put 1,500 more border agents at the border. It would have allowed us to stem the flow of fentanyl coming into the United States. Donald Trump told them to kill it because he prefers to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem. Americans want a president who's not playing political games

There is more but the above excerpts show a strong Kamala Harris besting a hostile and dishonest interviewer intent on advancing right-wing talking points. Harris’s performance should finally put to rest the whining from journalists who dismiss every Harris interview as “not good enough” to satisfy the pundit industrial complex.

The commanding performance by Kamala Harris contrasts sharply with the made-for-tv infomercial that Fox conducted earlier in the day for Trump. The so-called “town hall” to address “women’s issues” was played out before an audience filled with political operatives for the GOP. See CNN, Fox News did not disclose its all-women town hall with Trump was packed with his supporters and was edited to remove some of their vocal advocacy of Trump.

Even with a friendly crowd selected by the Trump campaign, Trump made ludicrous statements that underscored his increasing disconnect from reality. See Talking Points Memo, No, Trump Is Not The ‘Father Of IVF’.

Per TPM,

Despite the friendly audience, Trump fumbled around as he answered their questions in weird and sexists ways — at one point painting himself as the “father of IVF” while admitting he just learned what the procedure was this year when the “fantastically attractive” Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) explained it to him.

Here’s what the former president said in response to a question about his support for the procedure:

[Britt] called me up like, “Emergency! Emergency!” Because an Alabama judge had ruled that the IVF clinics were illegal and they have to be closed down. A judge ruled. And she said, “Friends of mine came up to me, and they were — oh, they were so angry!”

I didn’t even know they were going, you know, they were — it’s fertilization. I didn’t know they were even involved in, nobody talks about — they don’t talk about it. But now that they can’t do it — she said, “I was attacked. In a certain way, I was attacked.”

And I said, “Explain IVF very quickly.” And within about two minutes, I understood it. I said, “No, no. We’re totally in favor of IVF.”

“I want to talk about IVF. I’m the father of IVF!

It is staggering that Trump claims to be “the father of IVF” when he didn’t even know what it was until a year ago.

Trump also appears to have crashed and burned in his Univision townhall, but I can’t get access to live links yet. I will address tomorrow.

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Additional protections of the Electoral Count Reform Act

I have been spending a fair amount of time over the last few newsletters discussing the Electoral Count Reform Act (ECRA). I believe it is necessary to counteract widespread reporting on “how Republicans can win by cheating.” I would prefer to discuss “how we can prevent cheating by Republicans.” It's the same material, with a different emphasis. I appear to have a lot more faith in the system than other commentators. I think I am right, but I acknowledge that Republicans will attempt to undermine or overturn the election if Kamala wins.  

There is an additional protection in the Electoral Count Reform Act that deserves attention. A frequent example of potential Republican cheating cited by commentators goes like this:

1. Local election officials refuse to certify county results, which prevents the certification of state results, resulting in the state's inability to appoint electors.

2. The absence of the electors makes it impossible for any candidate to reach the 270 electoral votes needed to win.

3. The election is then sent to the House for a contingent election, where each state delegation gets one vote. Republicans control a majority of the state delegations, so Trump wins a majority of the states’ votes in the House and becomes president.

The above scenario is misleading and more difficult to achieve than suggested by most commentators because of an often overlooked provision of the Electoral Count Reform Act (ECRA), which is codified at 3 U.S. Code § 15 - Counting electoral votes in Congress.

Here’s the short explanation, followed by more detailed explanation for those interested in spreading the truth:

If a state’s electors are excluded because of failure to appoint by the state or by objection sustained when ballots are counted, then those electors are excluded from the calculation of the majority needed to win. For example, if Georgia doesn’t certify its 16 electors, then the total electoral votes needed to win the presidency is reduced from 270 electors to 262 electors. The more electors that are excluded, the lower the number of electoral votes needed to win a majority.

It is possible that withholding certification of electors might prohibit a candidate from winning a majority of electoral votes, but we must recognize that the size of the “majority” needed to win decreases as electoral votes are excluded by failure to certify or objection sustained. The lower the majority needed to win, the more likely it is that a candidate will reach that decreased number—thereby avoiding a contingent election in the House.  

If you are comfortable with the above, you can skip the detail below. But if you are interested in the details, read on!

The ECRA provides,

If the number of electors lawfully appointed by any State . . .  is fewer than the number of electors to which the State is entitled . . . or if an objection . . . has been sustained, the total number of electors appointed for the purpose of determining a majority . . .as required by the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution shall be reduced by the number of electors whom the State has failed to appoint or as to whom the objection was sustained.

Let’s take an example. If all states have appointed all electors to which they are entitled, the total number of electors is 538 and the majority needed to win the presidency is 270. Georgia has 16 electoral votes.

Let’s suppose that a local official in Georgia manages to prevent that state from appointing electors by December 11 (as required by the ECRA).

Georgia would therefore not send electoral ballots to be counted in a joint session of Congress held on January 6, 2025.

Under those facts, the ECRA provides that “for the purposes of determining a majority,” Georgia’s votes are excluded from the calculation. E.g., 538 minus Georgia’s 16 electors, which equals 522 total electors. A majority of 522 is 262 and that is the new majority needed to be elected president in light of Georgia’s absent electors.

There are more ways to accrue 262 votes than 270 votes. So, reducing the total number of electoral votes makes it easier to reach a majority of the reduced total. Refusing to certify election results may therefore backfire on Republicans.

Do the above facts help Kamala Harris or Donald Trump? It depends on which states each candidate wins and which state(s) refuse to certify their votes. As I said, it is possible to wrongfully deny a candidate the ability to reach a majority in the electoral college. It is just more difficult and complicated than most commentators would have you believe.

If commentators fail to acknowledge the above facts when explaining how Republicans might cheat, they are more interested in frightening you than educating you. Shame on them!

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Opportunities for Reader Engagement.

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A guide to highly impactful canvassing opportunities nationally. You may live closer than you think to a toss-up race!

Canvassing for toss-up races is the most impactful way to make a difference in these final weeks, with phone banking being a close second. Why? Because research shows that INTERACTIVE conversations with voters are the most effective way to increase turnout. And this is a turnout election!

IF you live in, or within driving distance of, a toss-up House race or a Senate battleground state, please consider canvassing this weekend, and as many days as possible up through November 5th! Training will be provided.

Since locating canvassing opportunities can be a bit of a maze, Indivisible Marin has developed this spreadsheet which lists canvasses for all House toss-up races, Senate battlegrounds (both coordinated with Harris/Walz and solo Senate races) plus Harris/Walz campaigns in GA and NC.

Thanks for considering canvassing in the final stretch if it is realistic for you geographically. These elections, and the fight for a trifecta, will be won by the margin of effort. Thanks to ALL!

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Concluding Thoughts

I am receiving lots of emails from grassroots groups that are planning “final push” events over the next three weeks. I am also receiving requests from readers who are looking to volunteer over the final three weeks. So, here is an idea: The Comment section to this newsletter will be open and I encourage groups looking for volunteers to include a link to your events in the Comment section.

Hint re effective communications: Start with who, what, when, where, and how. We know the stakes--no need to include an impassioned preface. Be specific about the help you need and how people can volunteer!

I spoke to a group of about 100 women today who created an organization to promote reproductive rights by supporting candidates up and down the ballot and across the nation. In my remarks, I noted that the right to reproductive liberty was at the forefront of the long-overdue expansion of personal liberties guaranteed by the Constitution. It took a century of effort to gain recognition for those rights—a victory that set the stage for the recognition of other freedoms rooted in personal autonomy and privacy.

We will regain those rights. It is only a question of when. With hard work and good fortune, it is possible that we can begin the process of restoration in 2025. For now, our task is to focus on generating record-breaking turnout. Once we have accomplished that goal, we can scout the terrain ahead and make plans for ultimate victory. Stay the course! We are making great progress! Keep it up!

Talk to you tomorrow!

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Daily Dose of Perspective

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