Following the Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, the Biden administration was “criticized” for…not doing enough to counter the SCOTUS decision. I didn’t really understand why people were yelling at President Biden, except that there are currently two generations of Americans who don’t understand American civics and they think a president is all-powerful. Hillary Clinton told everyone what would happen in 2016 and millions of Americans didn’t believe her. The Dobbs decision is a culmination of what happened in the 2016 election, period, the end. So what can be done now, and what will be done? Apparently, the Biden administration is making VP Kamala Harris the point person for the midterms, meaning VP Harris is going to travel around the country for the next three months, driving home the fact that y’all need to vote.

Vice President Kamala Harris and her team plan to hit the campaign and fundraising circuit in an aggressive bid to elevate Democratic state legislators and governors on the abortion rights frontlines. The events reflect the vice president’s expanding work on abortion policy since the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Roe v. Wade. And, if executed, they would mark an aggressive push by the second highest Democrat in the land to get involved in races often overlooked by the national party.

“We need to make it a goal that we’re out in America three days a week,” Harris told her staff recently as they worked to figure out how much overall travel she should take through the November elections, a source familiar with the conversations said.

Already, the vice president has started executing on the state and local strategy. Last weekend, she surprised volunteers and campaign aides for Josh Shapiro’s gubernatorial campaign in Pennsylvania with a visit. White House aides said the campaign had asked Harris to stop by and give a morale boost in what’s set to be a very close race in the state.

“Who is governor of this state will matter,” Harris told the crowd. “The General Assembly … [we’ve] got to turn it and elect a majority pro-choice General Assembly.”

The message echoed those she’s shared for national races, and the visit was part of what Harris aides and Democrats in state-focused organizations see as a necessary step to find ways to protect abortion rights. For weeks, Harris has held meetings with lawmakers in states where abortion rights have been, or will be, greatly restricted. Those meetings have been a mix of listening sessions and opportunities to relay promises the administration will assist in the push back against restrictions.

But the next chapter in her strategy will get more aggressive. White House aides said the vice president is going to specifically head to red and purple states to call out “Republican extremism” on issues like abortion.

[From Politico]

I think this is a great strategy? VP Harris should be front-and-center. It feels like she’s been restrained somewhat from taking the lead on many issues by the administration, but this is the perfect moment for her to energize the base and give a lot of face time to abortion rights and what’s still at stake not only in the midterms, but in governor’s races across the country. I also think VP Harris will help with the messaging for the Democratic Party. If there’s one criticism I have of the Dems so far it’s that the messaging hasn’t been cohesive and they are not reflecting just how horrific the abortion rights situation is on the ground.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.