Can a Vice-Presidential Debate Move the Needle? – “The Sunday Political Brunch” September 29, 2024
Mark Curtis, MINDSETTER™
Can a Vice-Presidential Debate Move the Needle? – “The Sunday Political Brunch” September 29, 2024
“What Tim Walz Needs to Do” – Walz needs to run on his resume. He has chief executive experience from two terms as Minnesota’s governor, and he has legislative experience from 12 years in Congress, including two years as ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee. His resume also includes the titles of teacher, coach, and dad to two children. He needs to talk about those in terms of how it shapes his thinking on the key policy issues of the day. At age 60, Walz needs to share some of his history and the wisdom it gave him.
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“What J.D. Vance Needs to Do” – Vance needs to give people a feeling of hope. Voters like to be uplifted and inspired. Vance has a “rags to riches” story, which included growing up poor in Appalachia with a mom who struggled for years with substance use disorder. Yet he was able to overcome that to graduate from Ohio State University and Yale Law School. He became a successful lawyer and tech entrepreneur. He is also a father of four children. He needs to share some of his personal story and how it shapes his views on a whole list of public policy questions. At age 39, he needs to share some of his history and the wisdom it gave him. Both men need to assure voters each could step in and be president if the worst occurred.
“Walz’s Points of Attack on Vance” – The Democrat nominee needs to paint Vance as someone of youth and inexperience. The distinction of Vance being the youngest vice president at 39, will not happen because former Vice President John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky was 36 when he won the number two slot under President James Buchanan. Vance is only in his second year in the U.S. Senate and held no public office prior to that. Walz also needs to challenge Vance on supporting Trump’s claim in the last debate that immigrants in Ohio were eating people’s dogs and cats. Walz must demand evidence.
“Vance’s Points of Attack on Walz” – Vance needs to paint Walz as a long-time supporter of former President Obama, former Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton, and mostly as a strong backer of the Biden-Harris policies as they relate to inflation and immigration. He must cast Walz as a “team player” in sync with those policies and politicians. Vance can also criticize the Harris-Walz economic plan that called for price controls at the grocery stores and remind voters that a similar policy under President Richard Nixon failed in the 1970s. Vance can also criticize VP Harris’s trip to the Southern Border on Friday, as others have. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito ® West Virginia said, “In her four years as ‘Border Czar,’ Vice President Harris has been to the southern border once. Don’t let today’s ‘visit’ fool you. This political stunt by the vice president is nothing more than a quick photo op on her way to fundraise with the out-of-touch West Coast elitists.”
“What Say the Polls This Week?” – The latest Real Clear Politics composite poll of all recent polling on the popular vote, has Harris up over Trump 49.1 percent to 47.1 percent. RCP also did a composite of the Electoral College votes in the seven battleground states Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. That poll has Trump ahead by .1 percent, 47.9 to 47.8. That is as razor-thin as you can get. Trump has expanded his lead in Georgia to 2.2 percent, and a .6 percent lead in North Carolina, while Harris holds a .8 percent lead in Pennsylvania and a .7 percent lead in Wisconsin.
“So, How do Walz and Vance Poll?” -- A USA Today-Suffolk University poll released earlier in this month found 48% of likely voters found Walz favorable and 36% found him unfavorable, compared to 37% who found Vance favorable and 49% who found him unfavorable. This may be the most important VP debate in history. With Trump and Harris in a virtual tie, the impressions the running mates make in their only debate, could help swing undecided voters in each of the swing states. Fascinating!
“Dog Day Afternoon” – Back to the pet-eating claims for a moment. The Haitian Bridge Alliance, an immigration rights group in Ohio, has filed what is known as a Citizen’s Criminal Complaint against Trump and Vance. The two men are accused of disrupting public services, making false alarms, telecommunications harassment, aggravated menacing, and complicity. “Their persistence and relentlessness, even in the face of the governor and the mayor saying this is false, that shows intent,” said Subodha Chandra, the lawyer who filed the complaint in Clark County Court. Chandra added, “It’s knowing, willful flouting of criminal law.” The District Attorney would decide if formal charges were to be filed. The Trump-Vance team declined comment but previously defended its claims.
“What Have You Done for Me Lately?” – My tongue is planted firmly in my cheek as I say this. President Trump may want to send a “thank you” note to the federal prosecutor who filed charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The mayor’s legal mess has, for now, knocked Trump’s legal troubles off the front pages. Among other things, Adams is accused of accepting $10 million in illegal campaign funds.
“Flying Under the Radar” – The one political story I find very troubling this past week, is one that got scant news coverage. According to an article in “The Washington Times,” the personal information of more than 3,000 congressional staffers has been leaked across the dark web in a cyberattack on the Capitol. The Swiss-based internet security firm Proton, found over 1,800 passwords used by staffers are available on the dark web. We know Russia and Iran recently attempted hacks on U.S. political assets. This is troubling because a successful Internet breach could shut down the nation’s power grid or banking systems. This deserves more media scrutiny.