Dems look for a Biden reset at debate

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Sep 10, 2024 View in browser   By Nicholas Wu, Daniella Diaz and Anthony Adragna Presented by  With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team Dozens of Democratic lawmakers watched the Biden-Trump debate with horror and later called on the president to end his reelection bid. | Susan Walsh/AP DEMS BRACE FOR A VERY DIFFERENT DEBATE Democrats have some figurative PTSD when it comes to debates right now, but they’re still cautiously optimistic about Vice President Kamala Harris’ chances as she faces former President Donald Trump tonight. Some Democrats say they’re watching not only for how she not only draws a clear contrast with Trump, but also how she distances herself from President Joe Biden. That could get tricky. “I think she's going to walk a very thin line: Loyalty matters, and yet she's also going to show what she's going to do to address issues that are on peoples’ minds,” said Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.). Dingell had been a lonely voice as she warned her party about Hillary Clinton’s struggles in Michigan in 2016 against Trump. And said she was still “worried” about Harris’ standing: “We’re a purple state,” she told us. “We’re tied. I don’t care what anybody else says.” Dozens of Democratic lawmakers watched the Biden-Trump debate with horror and later called on the president to end his reelection bid. Since then, Democrats have seen a surge of enthusiasm for Harris, and many in the party hope the energy translates down-ballot. “I have a lot of confidence in her ability to debate. I’ve seen it a lot of times in the Judiciary Committee,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer agreed: “I think she's going to do real well,” he told reporters. But there’s still some anxiety, given how much the last debate flipped the election on its head. And this Harris-Trump debate will be the first and likely last one before Election Day. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), who’d been the first House Democrat to call for Biden to step aside, said it would make a difference for Harris to show she was the “vigorous, younger candidate who can tell her story to the American people and also define clearly some of the policy positions that she's formed.” Harris has slowly rolled out elements of her policy platform as her campaign swings into gear, though she has shied away from too many details. Move those polls: Harris is in dead heat against Trump in several polls — and some Democrats say she can give herself a further edge by reminding voters of her differences with her predecessor, especially when it comes to immigration policy. It’s been a major vulnerability for Democrats and an attack line for Republicans against the vice president, who have dubbed her the “border czar” after Biden gave her limited responsibilities related to the border crisis earlier in his term. “She's not going to have time to explain that she was not the czar,” said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.). “But the president of the United States makes the decisions. … And so I think she can turn it into a positive, which is, you know, like [Vice President Mike] Pence, I was loyal to the president, and I told the president I was gonna be loyal when he selected me … who can argue with that?” Counterpoint: This debate won’t really matter, other Democrats argued. “I can't think of anything specific that I want to hear and, quite frankly, I don't think that the debate is going to move any polls,” said Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas). “This is really going to come down to Harris laying out her case for this country — and us maintaining normalcy and not going back to the terrible days of Trump.” "The Vice President will come to the debate prepared to share her vision for a new way forward for our country that turns the page on the past, and we believe it will crystallize for the American people what is at stake in this election," said a Harris spokesperson. Some lawmakers will be in the spin room for Harris: House Democrats include Reps. Ted Lieu (Calif.), Robert Garcia (Calif.), Veronica Escobar (Texas) and Jason Crow (Colo.). The Senate Democrats in the room will be Sens. Laphonza Butler (Calif.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Chris Murphy (Conn.). — Nicholas Wu, Daniella Diaz and Anthony Adragna    A message from the Electronic Payments Coalition: DON’T BUY CORPORATE MEGA-STORES’ HYPOCRISY Corporate mega-stores are pushing the ultimate hypocrisy. They want backdoor price controls to save money on credit card services they use, but have certainly increased prices on American families for essentials like eggs and milk. Don’t be fooled—learn how they flip-flop on government price controls.   GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, Sept. 10, where we saw everyone from Andrew Cuomo to Tim Tebow to Sophia Bush roaming the halls Tuesday. WHAT REPUBLICANS WANT TO HEAR Republicans tell us they are planning to tune into the debate and — stop us if you’ve heard this before — hope to hear Trump focus on policy. “What I’d like to hear from the former president is a focus on [Harris’] voting record. … And he should be focused on her positions she had when she ran for president in 2020, and it should not be character attacks,” said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who is running for reelection in a battleground district. Republican Study Committee Chair Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) urged Trump to run a “repeat” of the first debate, when the focus the next morning centered largely on renewed questions about Biden’s age. “He has a lot of policies to talk about that are 180 degrees from hers,” Hern said. But the political landscape has changed dramatically since that first debate. Democrats swapped Harris for Biden, a move they hope will inject new enthusiasm with voters come November. Trump has been criticized for personal attacks against Harris. And some House Republicans have raised concerns about holding onto the majority. It’s not just Trump’s policies they want to hear on the debate stage. They want the debate to highlight his and Harris' different views on issues like the border, which Republicans are trying to make a wedge issue for voters, and foreign policy. And they are hoping that Harris’ answers will help turn voters off who might have considered supporting her after she rose to the top of the ticket over the summer. “There's a big presidential debate tonight. I think everybody around the country is asking the question: Who is the vice president? And what does she actually stand for?" Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters Tuesday. Bacon quipped of Harris: “I’d like to hear her positions on anything.” — Jordain Carney  FIRST IN THE NATION, BUT NOT FOR HOUSE PRIMARIES  Granite Staters head to the polls Tuesday night to vote for the Democratic nominee to succeed retiring Rep. Ann McLane Kuster (D-N.H.), one of the very last primary races this cycle. The matchup between Colin Van Ostern and Maggie Goodlander has tested alliances in one of the ugliest primary contests this year, our Ally Mutnick, Sarah Ferris and Lisa Kashinsky reported in a story Tuesday morning. Kuster’s advocacy for Van Ostern has rubbed some of her allies in the state the wrong way, especially after she took part in a pro-Van Ostern ad going after Goodlander for having donated to Republicans and accusing her of not being committed enough to defending abortion rights. It was that TV ad — and the corresponding POLITICO story — that inspired Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) to endorse and donate to Goodlander on Tuesday. She also used her email list to fundraise for her. She said she was motivated by “the fact that they're attempting to somehow weaponize Maggie's personal experience” as if “somehow, even having gone through this, she can't be trusted on abortion.” (Porter was referring to Goodlander’s experience with a traumatic late miscarriage, forced to deliver her stillborn baby in a hotel bathtub because in the post-Roe era, she couldn’t receive medical care in time.) “I don't want to see qualified women discouraged from pursuing office because of the negative personal attacks that come at them,” Porter said. Kuster defended her own approach, saying that “four years ago, we were in a full blown battle for the House of Representatives, and she was contributing to far-right Republicans. I don't think that should be a secret.” And she also chafed at the surge in outside spending by VoteVets, which is supporting Goodlander and has spent more than $1 million on ads in the district, according to AdImpact. "If they're going to come in and try to buy the district, New Hampshire is not for sale," Kuster said. Regardless, the seat is likely to stay in Democratic hands. President Joe Biden won it by nine percentage points in 2020. — Ally Mutnick, Nicholas Wu and Sarah Ferris  HUDDLE HOTDISH   A message from the Electronic Payments Coalition:   Back to the new vending machine in Cannon. There are also savory offerings, which Nicholas Wu noted come with quite a mark up. A single-serve frozen Stouffer's mac and cheese at his local grocer goes for $4.29, while the same Stouffers (heated by the robot) goes for $7.49. (Hit us up with your reviews if you buy something.) The things we hear on the Senate floor, this time from Chuck Schumer: “I like milk. I look forward to drinking it a lot.” (He means it.) David Valadao delivered the real scoops (of ice cream) on Tuesday. We’ll put Greg Steube down as a ‘no’ on the CR — with this creative takedown. More food news you can use: A boba pop up has returned to Longworth. Planned Parenthood CEO and President Alexis McGill Johnson swung by the New Democrats’ lunch on Tuesday. FIRST IN IC: The Club for Growth's affiliated Win It Back PAC is going up with a multi-million-dollar ad buy in Nevada on Spanish and English-language radio, TV and streaming accusing incumbent Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen of violating the STOCK Act. QUICK LINKS    A message from the Electronic Payments Coalition: DON’T BUY CORPORATE MEGA-STORES’ HYPOCRISY Corporate mega-stores are pushing the ultimate hypocrisy. They want backdoor price controls to save money on credit card services they use, but have certainly increased prices on American families for essentials like eggs and milk. Don’t be fooled—learn how they flip-flop on government price controls.   Why Mike Lee Folded, from Tim Alberta in The Atlantic Congress honors 13 troops killed during Kabul withdrawal as politics swirl around who is to blame, from Stephen Groves and Ellen Knickmeyer in The Associated Press Tuberville jams up top Army general’s promotion over Austin hospitalization episode, from Connor O’Brien and Joe Gould Opinion: Good luck to the Congressional Research Service’s new leader, from Kevin R. Kosar in The Hill Texas Senate race is not a top priority, national Dem group says from Matthew Choi at the Texas Tribune TRANSITIONS  Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) takes over as ranking member of the Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee, replacing the late Bill Pascrell.  Madison Hardy is now comms director for Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho). She was most recently press secretary for Idaho Gov. Brad Little. Elle Walters is joining the Digital Media Association as comms manager. She previously was digital director for Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.). Diane Alexander is now an attorney-adviser at the Federal Transit Administration. She previously was legislative counsel for Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.). TOMORROW IN CONGRESS The House and Senate are both in session. WEDNESDAY AROUND THE HILL 9:00 a.m. Reps. Shri Thanedar, Troy Carter and Rashida Tlaib on community involvement in the arts. (House Triangle) 9:30 a.m. “American Confidence in Elections: Looking Ahead to the 2024 General Election." (1310 Longworth) 1:00 p.m. Reps. Nick Langworthy and Jack Bergman to announce formation of the Aviation Safety Caucus on the anniversary of 9/11 terrorist attacks. (House Triangle) 2:15 p.m. Republican senators, led by Sen. Rick Scott (Fla.), hold a press conference on the SAVE Act (Senate studio) TRIVIA TUESDAY’S ANSWER: Peter Roff was the first person to identify Bob Mathias as the former Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon turned House Republican from California. TODAY’S QUESTION: Two states have seen both sitting senators take their spots through appointment. Which ones? 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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