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WASHINGTON Republican attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris are taking hold, and the White House is running out of time to reframe the narrative, Democrats say.

At a meeting two days after President Joe Biden announced his 2024 reelection bid, a group of Democratic strategists told the White House as much during a briefing for television pundits on the pairs agenda.

For more than two years, Republicans had been attempting to paint Harris as incompetent. And yet, the strategists found, the White House was still developing its strategy for how to combat the ruthless assault against the first Black and Asian American woman to hold the vice presidency.

A discussion ensued about ways to lift up Harris and improve her image, four participants in the meeting said. Democrats in the room argued that Harris would benefit from more public appearances in environments where she can be herself and in front of voting groups with whom she is already popular.

President Joe Biden carries away take-out food from Taqueria Habaneros with Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington, DC, on May 5, 2023.

Biden has since made a visible show of support for Harris, defending her in an interview and playing up an unannounced visit the pair made to a Mexican restaurant on Cinco de Mayo.

But some Harris allies fear its too late. The vice presidents poll numbers have been below 50 percent since the duos first year in office, and several Democrats, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, expressed concern that they may be beyond repair.

Views about Harris, a former state attorney general who briefly ran for president and served a partial term in the U.S. Senate, may be hardening, and some Democrats say Bidens team did not take the issue seriously fast enough.

In a CBS News poll taken late last month, Harris had a 43% approval rating and a 57% disapproval rating. Although she has wide Democratic support, Harris is viewed favorably by just 35% of swing voters.

Harris negatives rose early in the administration after she was tasked with leading an effort to stem the tide of illegal migration to the U.S. from Central American nations. The assignment led to a barrage of attacks from Republicans, who sought to make her the face of the border crisis.

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In the last year, Harris has found a niche in promoting abortion rights, railing against the Supreme Court decision that gave states the ability to ban the practice.

It has helped the vice president focus on a single issue that she talks about repeatedly, said Jamal Simmons, a former communications director to Harris who departed the White House in January. She continues to have 10 or 12 issues that she cares about and focuses on and pop up. This issue of reproductive freedom is one that is not going away.

The attacks on Harris are not a new phenomenon. But with the presidential campaign underway, Republicans focus on the vice president has intensified.

GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley suggested last month that Biden, who is 80, would not live through the end of a second term.

Last week, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador wrote in a Fox News op-ed that Harris, 58, is one of the most incompetent elected officials in the country."

Rep. Jim Clyburn, a national co-chair of Bidens reelection campaign, said the White House should not stoop that low.

That kind of low life stuff, they ought not respond to, Clyburn, D-S.C., said in an interview.

Vice President Kamala Harris shops at Home Rule Records with owner Charvis Campbell in Washington, DC, on May 3, 2023.

He tied the attacks that are meant to discredit Harris to the period after the Civil War, known as the Reconstruction era, and said discrimination against Black office holders and anti-democratic events such as the Jan 6. insurrection will continue if they are left unchecked.

Patrick Gaspard, an Obama-era official who was executive director of the Democratic National Committee, said he believes Americans are not yet paying close attention to the 2024 race. There isn't anyone in that White House from the president on down who can be shook by this at all, said Gaspard, referring to the criticism of Harris.

The White House knows that attacking the vice president as a means of undercutting the ticket is part of an old political playbook, which Biden himself is familiar with having run for reelection alongside former President Barack Obama, he said. And most voters will be concerned about near-term challenges, including the economy and their personal rights, Gaspard added.

Staunch backers of Harris say that with the right approach, the vice president can still build on her support. In a Suffolk University/USA TODAY poll from mid-December nearly 11% of voters said they were undecided about Harris.

What will help her numbers go up is when they begin conducting a paid advertising campaign that extols the work shes been doing the last two years, Simmons, the former Harris aide, said.

Harris allies say that questions about who the vice president is and what she has accomplished stem from a lack of familiarity with her background and record that was exacerbated by the constraints on holding in-person events during the pandemic.

I just think that Vice President Harris hasn't gotten the credit she deserves, Biden said in an MSNBC interview that aired this past Friday. She is really very, very good. And with everything going on, she hasn't gotten the attention she deserves.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris smile during a meeting with his "Investing in America Cabinet," in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Friday, May 5, 2023, in Washington. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona appears on a screen as he attends the meeting virtually. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) ORG XMIT: DCEV420

The recent addition of Stephanie Young, a senior adviser whos focused on communications, was viewed by Democrats with close ties to the White House as a step toward bolstering Harris' image. She came to the vice presidents shop from When We All Vote, an organization founded by former first lady Michelle Obama.

Young delivered the section of the presentation that pertained to Harris during the meeting with Democratic pundits and strategists alongside Harris press secretary Kirsten Allen.

The meeting was an opportunity to share more about the Administrations work overall. It also served as an opportunity to share the Vice Presidents work and ensure the leading voices communicating with the American people were fully aware of what the Vice President is doing on the American peoples behalf. It was a two way conversation to increase understanding and connection, a White House official who declined to be named said in a statement to USA TODAY.

The official emphasized Harris work on abortion rights, gun violence prevention and infrastructure projects and said the vice president would be out and in the fight over those issues in the weeks and months ahead.

Democrats said they expect the White House to strategically deploy Harris to rally base voters, much as it did in the 2022 midterms putting her in front of audiences with whom she's popular. The vice president has relatively high approval ratings with Black voters, registered Democrats and voters under the age of 30, in particular.

Harris recent trip to Tennessee, where she spoke to students at a historically Black university and met with three state legislators who were ejected from office, was among the recent public appearances that White House allies praised.

Harris is representative to a diverse generation of younger voters of what is possible in America, said Cristina Tzintzn Ramirez, president of the progressive, youth advocacy group NextGen America.

And having the vice president out on the campaign trail making the case for another four years to Gen Z voters would be really smart on their part, she said. There is a lot that they can talk about about what they've done, and not just pointing to the other side and how bad the other side is.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dems want to boost Harris' image. Some VP allies fear its too late.

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Democrats want to fix Kamala Harris' image problem. Some VP allies fear its too late. - Yahoo News

FILE President Joe Biden speaks from the Treaty Room in the White House on April 14, 2021/ (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool, File)

Democrats in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento love to talk about their support for the working class. Unfortunately for the working class, talk is cheap. Democrat policies? Anything but cheap.

President Joe Biden has repeatedly pledged to oppose any tax increase on households making less than $400,000 per year. Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed that we dont leave our workers behind during his State of the State Address last year.

These Democrats have a funny way of protecting working families.

California has some of the highest electricity costs of any state in the country. Last year, Gov. Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 205, requiring Californias private electric utilities to implement a new income-based fee and rate structure. Those utilities just proposed a new income-based monthly fee topping out at $85 a month for Southern California Edison customers. The fee, which is designed to pay for fixed utility costs, is in addition to the rate-based charges families are used to that are determined by their monthly energy usage.

These new income-based fees are not just for the wealthy households earning between $69,000 and $180,000 will see a fixed cost fee of $51 on their bill every month, and those earning more than $180,000 will pay $85 a month. According to Edison, half of their ratepayers will see lower overall bills under this new fee and rate structure which means the other half of the ratepayers will not be so fortunate. And if you think this income-based billing is going to stop with your electric bill, then you clearly havent been paying attention to Democrats in Sacramento.

Back in Washington, the Biden Administration has rolled out a proposal that performs mental gymnastics to get around the Presidents pro-middle class pledge. The proposal is so outrageous, it punishes Americans for having a high credit score. Thats right, under this new stupefying policy, individuals and families with high credit scores will pay a new fee on their monthly mortgage. If thats not bad enough, the revenue from these new fees will be given to people with bad credit scores to lower their mortgage payments.

Homeowners with good credit who put 20% down when purchasing their home will be paying the highest fees. This is a dangerous policy targeting responsible families. Bear in mind that we already have significant first-time, veteran, and other homebuyer assistance programs that do not include President Bidens punitive shakedown of fiscally-sound homeowners.

Your electric and mortgage bills are just the start. Next year, the IRS will begin implementing a new tax law passed by Democrats and signed into law by President Biden that will require massive amounts of new reporting requirements.

Under the Democrats law, any online transactions totaling more than $600 annually will have to be reported to the IRS. Money received through online platforms like Venmo, PayPal, Square, and CashApp totaling $600 or more will trigger the reporting requirement. If you couldnt make it to that Taylor Swift concert or Lakers game and sell your tickets via a website like StubHub or Ticketmaster, and receive payments of more than $600, it will also trigger an IRS reporting requirement.

This sure doesnt sound like a tax law designed to protect middle-class families making less than $400,000 a year, does it?

The Biden Administration will tell you that despite the new law, it doesnt actually change what income is taxable. Yet the Biden Administration also just passed a law to hire 87,000 new IRS agents who will no doubt be assigned to auditing regular Americans who are simply trying to keep ahead of devastating inflation rates impacting every sector of the economy.

Innovation has always been an American strength. Usually thats good news, but in this case Democrats in Washington and Sacramento are innovating new ways to drain working families of their hard-earned money. Make no mistake, when they realize that these tactics are not enough to implement their big spending dreams, they will continue to find ways to take more and more of middle-class Americans paychecks.

Ken Calvert serves in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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Ken Calvert: The Democratic agenda is financially punishing working families - OCRegister

May 8, 2023 by Josh Holton and filed under Abortion Rights, Florida History, Gun Control, LGBT, News and Public Affairs.

Hundreds of protesters marched in Tampa this Sunday to protest of some of the many controversial bills passed during the Florida legislative session. Many organizations are standing up against legislation that they say makes the state more dangerous and less free for Floridians.

The recently completed legislative session included bans on gender affirming care for minors, limits on diversity initiatives at universities, and attacks on Disney. Florida Democrats came out to say they are fighting back. Democratic State House Representative Dianne Hart said the new law to limit abortions after the 6th week of pregnancy might only be the beginning if DeSantis has his way.

You think six weeks is bad? Next year well be looking at zero! To ban abortions altogether. Next year youll be looking at open carry; put your gun on your hip and dont worry about it. You dont need a permit, so everybody will be armed. You all saw what happened yesterday.

Only a day earlier a shooter killed 8 and wounded 7 people in Allen, Texas, prompting President Biden to urge an assault weapons ban. But DeSantis signed a law in April eliminating the need for Floridians to acquire a permit to carry a concealed firearm. Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried was arrested in April for joining a protest against the 6-week abortion ban, saying these issues are important to all people.

These are issues that transcend partisan politics, but we are the ones, Democrats, who are going to fight back and make sure that the people are represented.

Sarah Parker is the president of Womens Voices of Southwest Florida and was one of 10 others arrested in April for protesting the abortion ban.

We did not expect Senator Book and Nikki Fried to get arrested. They didnt expect him to throw oxygen on the ember that we call the Democratic Party. They did not expect activists, Gen Z, and Millennials, to now sit at that table. And we are doing it. We are going to be Ron DeSantis worst nightmare.

According to the Florida Division of Elections fewer than half of state registered Democratic Party members voted in 2022, so Parker called on organizers to work to redefine the state Democratic Party and encourage greater turnout in the next election. For WMNF News Im Josh Holton.

Tags: abortion, Democrat, Dianne Hart, Florida Democratic Party, gun control, LGBTQ, Nikki Fried, sarah parker

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Florida Democrats fight back after end of the legislative session - WMNF

The reelection of Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird by a comfortable margin establishes Lincoln as the current Democratic hot spot in the state.

But Omaha remains highly competitive for Democrats and the anchor for a potential and highly prized 2024 Democratic presidential electoral vote from the 2nd Congressional District.

Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird speaks with supporters as she makes her rounds around an election night party for Democrats on Tuesday at the DelRay Ballroom.

The Omaha-dominated district handed an electoral vote to Barack Obama in 2008 and to Joe Biden in 2020, but Republicans continue to build on their string of victories in the 2nd District House race, thanks to Sarpy County voters, while maintaining control of the Omaha mayor's office despite a Democratic voter registration advantage within the city.

West of Lincoln and outside the two big cities, the elephant roams.

And the elephant rules.

With a sole exception in Thurston County in northeastern Nebraska, which joins Douglas County (Omaha) as the only counties in the state with a Democratic voter registration majority.

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The county tally in Nebraska dramatically displays overwhelming Republican dominance, 91 to 2.

Rural Nebraskans are strongly Republican and that can be seen even in recent figures in Lancaster County: Lincoln voter registration, 66,589 Republicans, 64,141 Democrats; rural registration in the county, 13,194 Republicans, 5,181 Democrats.

But there also are a hefty 46,965 registered non-partisans in Lancaster County.

All those Lancaster County figures contained in a recent breakdown are edging up slowly.

Out west in Grant County, it's 411 Republicans and 24 lonely Democrats.

In Blaine County in north-central Nebraska, it's 302 to 20.

Statewide: 600,389 Republicans; 337,232 Democrats.

* * *

It's never over until it's over.

Circulating among state senators at the end of the week were newspaper stories about the North Carolina Legislature's recent enactment of a 12-week abortion ban with exceptions for rape, incest and serious fetal anomalies.

Supporters of new abortion restrictions in Nebraska already have identified a bill with priority designation still sitting in a legislative committee that conceivably could be transformed into an abortion restriction bill and scooted to the floor of the Legislature for action if it can gain a spot on the agenda.

Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston, a Republican whose decision not to vote on a filibuster-ending cloture motion effectively killed a bill that would have reduced Nebraska's current abortion ban from 20 weeks to about six weeks, has made it clear that "I'm a 12-weeker, period."

When his earlier non-vote blocked the bill, it disappeared from the agenda.

With just 17 days left on the legislative calendar and a filibuster-delayed collection of priority bills backed up for this session's tedious journey through hours and hours of so-called debate and three floor votes, it's unclear whether a new abortion proposal would even be considered.

But there are indications that there might be an effort.

* * *

This has been a legislative session unlike any other at least in modern times.

It's the year of the eternal filibuster and that is going to trigger substantial changes in the legislative rules for the 2024 session.

Freshman senators who have been questioning their colleagues about what they have gotten into, with some of them raising doubts as to whether they want to stay, are being assured by some of the veterans that this will be one and done.

There's a rules battle looming over the horizon.

* * *

* Carson Vaughan, who grew up in the Sandhills and graduated from UNL, has crafted a wondrously written tribute to Mari Sandoz with a focus on Lincoln, published in The New York Times.

* Frank Daley Jr. is retiring as executive director of the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission in August. He has been director since 1999.

* How did we get here? $350 million for a new state prison coupled with hold-the-line budgeting for the University of Nebraska.

* Dramatic changes in Lincoln's skyline are in the works with what would be an even more impressive view opening up as motorists prepare to enter the city after leaving Interstate 80 west. The entry already features Memorial Stadium, Haymarket Park and Pinnacle Bank Arena, all gradually emerging into view on both sides of the highway.

* Sen. Megan Hunt's switch from registered Democrat to registered non-partisan won't change the way she votes or her advocacy on legislative issues, but it's a fit for both her independent nature and Nebraska's unique non-partisan Legislature.

* Nebraska ranked fourth among the states in a U.S. News and World Report survey of state performance on fundamental issues like health care and education, the state's economy, public safety and fiscal stability of state government.

* Baseball's new rules have rescued MLB from some of the tyranny of analytics; this fan was reluctant, but all is good.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com.

On Twitter @LJSdon

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Don Walton: Lincoln mayor's reelection a rare win for Nebraska ... - Lincoln Journal Star

For the first time in the states history, the South Carolina Democratic Party will be led by a Black woman. Christale Spain, a longtime Democratic Party leader and organizer and an ally of longtime SC Rep. Jim Clyburn, takes over leadership of the party in South Carolina just as the state becomes more prominent than ever in the presidential election cycle.

Spain was elected as Chairperson of the South Carolina Democratic Party on Saturday as part of the partys state convention, winning a commanding victory against two opponents. Spain won with the support of prominent Democrats such as Clyburn, in whose office she worked for two years. She has also worked to mobilize Black voters in the state through a variety of outreach initiatives. Spain is additionally connected to other influential figures in Washington. She served as the South Carolina state director for Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign, and played the same role for Cory Bookers presidential campaign in 2020. One of Bookers top aides recently called Spain one of the most talented political operatives in the country.

Spain is becoming the leader of the South Carolina Democrats just as the state continues to play a huge role in the partys presidential race. During the primary season for the 2020 presidential race, Joe Biden stakes his fortunes on winning South Carolina, then the fourth Democratic primary contest, after being defeated by Bernie Sanders in the New Hampshire primary as well as the Iowa and Nevada caucuses. Biden, who also fell behind candidates like progressive Senator Elizabeth Warren and Millennial Pete Buttigieg, counted on the older, largely Black Democratic electorate in South Carolina to vote for him as a more establishment candidate; Clyburn backed this move, and Biden easily won South Carolina. Spain is largely backed by this same establishment, which her opponent Brandon Upson, unsuccessfully tried to use against her by arguing that the state needed new blood leading its Democratic Party. After Spain won, however, Upson urged unity in the party and for SC Democrats to focus on defeating Republicans.

As President, Biden has supported moving up the South Carolina Democratic primary, which will now be the first Democratic presidential race beginning in 2024. This solidifies the states importance in Democratic politics. Additionally, Spains new position puts her amongst several SC politicians who have gained growing importance in recent years. SC Democrat Jaime Harrison, a former party chairperson in the state, ran a strong campaign against incumbent Senator Lindsey Graham in 2020, and Harrison was later appointed chairperson of the Democratic National Committee. On the other side of the aisle, two South Carolina Republicans will likely compete to win the GOP presidential nomination: former Governor Nikki Haley, who launched her campaign earlier this year, and Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the US Senate, who is expected to announce a presidential campaign later this year.

With South Carolinas new place as the first Democratic contest of 2024 and its role as home to several key players in the upcoming election, the state will be an extremely important part of the presidential race for both parties. Spain therefore has her work cut out for her guiding her states Democratic Party during thse important times, but her connections and support suggest she will hit the ground running in her new role.

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A Black Woman To Lead South Carolina Democratic Party For The First Time - Yahoo News