James Carville Calls for Complete Audit of Kamala Campaign After ‘Almost Unfathomable’ Damage Done to Dems
By Samuel Short November 30, 2024 at 9:56am
In the aftermath of Election Day, Democrat strategist James Carville is looking for answers as to what went wrong with Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign.
The Daily Caller reports the Harris campaign spent nearly $1.5 billion since it began on July 21.
On Wednesday, Carville gave his thoughts on the “Politics War Room” podcast where he told co-host Al Hunt that there’s a spending problem in the party that needs to be addressed.
“The resistance is going to have trouble raising money,” Carville admitted, “These fundraisers are burnt.”
“The damage that the 2024 campaign has done, the damage this decade has done to the Democratic brand is almost unfathomable,” he said.
Carville followed up with what needs to happen next now that so much money has been spent. “One word: audit.”
Although Carville shot down the idea of running for chair of the Democrat National Committee, he was vehement Democrats need to figure out where all of Harris’ funding went in just a few months’ time.
“Do you have any idea where that money went? Does anybody have any idea where that money went?” he asked Hunt.
Should the Democratic Party undergo a general audit?
To give Carville credit, Harris most definitely did have a spending problem based on the available information.
The campaign found itself $20 million in debt after the fact with purchases like $5,000 on nails from nail artist Tahvya Krok.
If Carville seems angry and disappointed now, an audit probably won’t help as more idiotic purchases would surely come to light.
Although there’s plenty of merit to Carville’s criticisms, he’s still missing the point about the Democrats’ main problem: the message.
When you spend the election cycle – and arguably the past eight years – telling half the country they are evil racists, Nazis, and a threat to democracy through their support of a man who is supposedly America’s Adolf Hitler, they probably won’t vote for you.
Granted, money is always an issue in campaigns – having enough of it, the origin of it, who it is going to – but Carville is mistaken if he thinks better spending habits are going to win Democrats the White House in 2028.
Unfathomable damage was not exclusively caused by spending problems.
It’s a problem with the message.
According to Newsweek, Harris underperformed with black voters, Hispanic voters, and young voters compared to President Joe Biden in 2020.
Democrats don’t need to lean further into identity politics in focusing on what a voter cares about because of skin color or sex, but they do need to focus on what these voters actually want. That is, what their principles are.
Democrats need to shift their principles to more closely align with that of the voters.
If Carville really wants his party to change, they need a new message.
Sam Short is an Instructor of History with Motlow State Community College in Smyrna, Tennessee. He holds a BA in History from Middle Tennessee State University and an MA in History from University College London.
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