(PatrioticPost.com)- During the selection process for his 2020 vice-presidential candidate, Joe Biden wondered whether Kamala Harris’s aides were responsible for a barrage of bad press coverage that engulfed several of her well-placed competitors.
According to the authors of a forthcoming book, as Biden and his advisers searched for a solid No. 2 who would not harm his chances in a general election, something about this process didn’t appear quite right.
According to Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns of the New York Times, the assaults were aimed at all of the most fearsome Black women under consideration, with the conspicuously odd exception of Kamala Harris.
Martin and Burns write in This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America’s Future that Harris’s team was known for circulating blistering opposition research on other candidates during the primary contest, which led to suspicions that it was behind attempts to sabotage the California senator’s opponents.
According to reports, California Rep. Karen Bass had to explain why she remembered Fidel Castro and praised Scientology so fondly when words and videos were widely shared in the media. Ex-White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice’s aides learned of the existence of a dossier that contained critical remarks about her leadership style.
In many ways, the deluge was seen as a strategic maneuver. “Even Joe Biden questioned aloud: Was Harris’s crew pushing this?” according to Martin and Burns.
California Democrats and friends in Washington, including Chris Dodd, a former member of Joe Biden’s vice presidential search committee, had lent their support to Bass.
Moreover, when the gloves came off for Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee was frightened.
Members of California’s big congressional delegation and some of Biden’s own Democratic Party colleagues launched vicious attacks against Harris within the state.
As soon as Bass’ name circulated among prominent California Democrats and political operatives, some “explicitly” urged her as an alternative to Harris.
Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s principal adviser David Crane was one of the most effective spokesmen for the state’s congressman, chairing the Congressional Black Caucus at the time.
“In contrast to Kamala Harris, Karen cares about something higher than herself,” Crane told Biden’s aides.
The removal of Crane was a failure, though. Ron Klain, a senior aide to Vice President Joe Biden, supported Harris early on, believing she was the most exemplary candidate.
