Harris' blank slate is no problem for Hill Dems

An evening recap of the action on Capitol Hill and preview of the day ahead

Aug 02, 2024 View in browser   By Sarah Ferris With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) will headline a Progressives for Harris event on Monday night. | AP POLICY AGENDA OPTIONAL Leading liberals in Congress are all in for Vice President Kamala Harris, policy promises or no policy promises. The veep’s sudden rise to the top of the ticket means the Congressional Progressive Caucus and others on the left flank of the Democratic Party can’t exert their usual quadrennial leverage — the leftward pull of a traditional primary season. Instead, the few policy moves Harris has made have been all about recalibrating from her ill-fated 2020 presidential campaign, where she tilted far to the left on immigration, criminal justice and other issues. Since launching her presidential run, she has instead hewed closely to Biden’s more moderate agenda in her early speeches and ads, issuing few specifics. No promises, no worries: Progressives aren’t sweating Harris’ move to the center. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who leads the roughly 100-member CPC, will lead a “Progressives for Harris” call on Monday night, along with such members as Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Becca Balint (D-Vt.) and more. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will also join the call after campaigning for Harris in North Carolina this week. The early show of support, they say, is an acknowledgment that it’s all about beating Donald Trump — and that Harris has to win the White House for any intraparty policy squabbles to matter. “We have 100 days here,” one senior House progressive aide said. “Winning is what matters.” That will be true regardless of who Harris picks as her running mate, we’re told: Progressives, particular labor leaders, have been skeptical of both Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, but Hill sources tell us neither pick would cause a liberal revolt in Congress. Only Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is conspicuously not all-in for Harris. He has been stumping for the VP in New Hampshire and Maine this week while withholding a formal endorsement as he continues to seek promises on a “working class” agenda, including expanding Medicare to cover dental and vision, lifting the income cap on Social Security and limiting rent increases. But, so far, he’s given no indication he’ll abandon Harris if his demands aren’t met. Big picture, by design: Harris is unlikely to roll out a point-by-point policy agenda, a la Hillary Clinton in 2016 or Elizabeth Warren in 2020, anytime soon. Democratic veterans of tough races say that’s for the best. “Campaigns that focus on point-by-point policy rollouts are losing elections, period,” one Democratic strategist who works on congressional races said. “Tell me a real voter who wants a policy plan and not a D.C. insider who works at some think tank or advocacy group who wants to claim credit for it.” That’s especially true given who she is running against. “It’s not that kind of election,” a senior Democratic aide said. Coming soon, messaging copycats: Hill Democrats have observed, with relief, that the biggest focus of Harris’s speeches so far has been the economy. She talks up expanding paid family leave, child care and elder care — all issues that the party tried and failed to address early in the Biden administration. One Democrat called it a big — and welcome — change from the Mike Donilon messaging era, referring to the top Biden strategist who is fond of soaring messages and searing warnings about democracy. Some are especially pleased to hear Harris talk about housing. In her recent Atlanta speech, Harris vowed to go after “the high cost of living,” promising that her Day 1 priorities would be to “take on corporate landlords and cap unfair rent increases.” Expect to see this as a major focus of Hill Democrats' campaigns heading into November, too — details or no.   Live briefings, policy trackers, and procedural, industry, and people intelligence from POLITICO Pro Analysis gives you the insights you need to focus your policy strategy this election cycle. Secure your seat.      GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Friday, Aug. 2, where with Congress officially on recess, we can put our focus where it belongs: Olympic track and field. Correction: Yesterday’s edition incorrectly described Rep. Josh Gottheimer's endorsement in a June Democratic primary race. He backed Rep. Jamaal Bowman's opponent, George Latimer. JOHNSON IS OHIO-BOUND  Speaker Mike Johnson will visit northeastern Ohio later this month to appear at a $500-a-plate fundraiser for former Ohio state lawmaker Kevin Coughlin, who is looking to unseat Democratic freshman Rep. Emilia Sykes. The Akron-area seat is tough turf for Democrats; Biden only won it by less than 3 points in 2020. In another sign of the GOP’s confidence there, Coughlin was named to the House campaign arm’s “Young Gun” program earlier this week. Secret schedule? Johnson will also be in northern Maine next week to boost GOP candidate Austin Theriault against Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine). But the speaker’s team isn’t sharing more details yet about his summer travels beyond that he’ll be in “over 20 states throughout August from coast to coast,” according to a spokesperson. — Sarah Ferris    SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, our newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW.     A DEM VISION FOR ‘POSITIVE MASCULINITY’ Polls have shown Democrats continuing to lose support among white men — and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) thinks the party needs to go on offense to articulate a vision for “positive masculinity” that speaks to young boys and men. “Men and women are not identical,” Murphy said. “That shouldn’t be a scary thing for the left to say. And right now we seem to have a hard time sometimes even having that conversation.” Murphy spoke amid a news cycle where past comments from Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) about Democratic women being “childless cat ladies” have gone viral following his vice presidential nomination. He added: “Democrats need to construct a much more responsible version of masculinity than the one being propped up by Republicans — certainly we believe that masculinity should exist side by side with feminism. But we've got to acquire a language to talk to boys and men about the future of maleness and right now we don't have it.” Republicans have seized on masculinity as a signature political issue — Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) named his recent book “Manhood” — as they seek further gains among male voters. Recent polling has suggested one’s attitudes about manliness is a fairly reliable indicator of voting intention. — Anthony Adragna MURKOWSKI VEEPS OUT  Donald Trump said during his contentious interview at a Black journalists’ conference this week that the choice of vice president has virtually no impact on the campaign. For once, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) — decidedly not a fan of the former president — agrees with him. “When it comes to policies of an administration, it really is set by the president,” she told Inside Congress. “And I think that that's true whether it's a Biden-Harris administration or a Trump-Pence administration.” That’s not to say she’s pleased with Trump’s selection of Vance. A running mate should be “additive” to the ticket, she said, and with Vance hailing from a ruby-red state (to say nothing of his other demerits), “I don't see that he has done that.” Murkowski went on to recall another questionable VP pick: As Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) neared a decision on his running mate in 2008, her son suggested she might be a good choice. “I said, ‘You know what, honey, that's never going to happen because Alaska brings three electoral votes to the table, and no presidential candidate is going to select someone from Alaska,’” she said. “Weeks later — lo and behold — it was Sarah Palin.” — Anthony Adragna HUDDLE HOTDISH Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ brat content is better than all the congressional attempts we’ve seen. Color us skeptical so far of the (pricey) new Cannon vending machine.  QUICK LINKS  NRA issues rare endorsement to a Democrat in backing Peltola, by The Hill Recount confirms Bob Good’s loss after GOP rallies to oust one of their own, from Ally and Olivia Andy Ogles defeats Courtney Johnston in GOP race for Tennessee's 5th Congressional District, from Vivian Jones and Evan Mealins at the Nashville Tennessean MONDAY IN CONGRESS The House and Senate are out. MONDAY AROUND THE HILL Zzz. TRIVIA THURSDAY’S ANSWER: Brad Fitch was the first to correctly guess that 1944 was the last presidential election (excluding 2024’s potential ticket) where no candidate on a major party ticket had ever served in the House of Representatives. TODAY’S QUESTION, from Brad: As the presumptive presidential nominee, Kamala Harris is the first VP in a while from California. Who was the last major party presidential nominee from California who also was a sitting vice president? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Inside Congress. Send your answers to insidecongress@politico.com. GET INSIDE CONGRESS emailed to your phone each evening.   Follow us

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