Is Kamala Still Lacking “Definition”?

One of the early knocks on Kamala Harris was that people weren’t sure where she stood on the issues — fast forward a few months and much of the electorate remains in the dark. (Puck)

A new Puck/Echelon Insights poll: 37% of voters can’t name a single, specific policy proposal from Harris.

• 70% of voters believe the vice president is in favor of Medicare for All, even though she recently walked back her support of it.

• 34% of voters wrongly think Harris still supports a fracking ban (32% think she opposes it and 34% say they aren’t sure).

Related: An August poll conducted by the right-leaning Media Research Center found that a large majority of Democrats and Independents are unaware of Harris’ past endorsement of controversial progressive policies, such as defunding the police and reparations.

• For instance, 73% of Dems and Biden-voting independents were unaware that Harris co-sponsored the Green New Deal.

• 86% were unaware that Harris once said we should consider letting death row inmates vote.

Zoom out: According to a Fox News analysis, as of Sept. 3, Donald Trump and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance had conducted a combined 60 interviews, compared to just 21 for Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Bubba’s Two Cents

Not that I’m endorsing Harris’ clearly intentional strategy of avoiding the press and giving her opponent as little to work with as possible, but I think there’s a reasonable case to be made that she’s already been “defined” in the big picture, if not specifics. She’s not Trump. She’s a vote for mainstream culture, at least as defined by media and other elite institutions. She’s a vote for the status quo and “preserving democracy.” I think, whether we want to admit or not, lots of voters make their choices based on these broad strokes, rather than the nitty gritty details of policy.