Kamala Harris became the anointed Democrat nominee for president on July 21, when Joe Biden withdrew and endorsed her. In the 18 days since, Harris has:

• Won the DNV's virtual delegate roll call for the nomination
• Converted Biden's FEC campaign filing to her own
• Created all new graphics for the campaign's PR
• Chosen a running mate
• Updated the campaign website to incorporate all of the above changes

 Now here's what Kamala Harris hasn't done in the last 18 days:

• Taken a question from a reporter on the record 
• Held a press conference
• Put out any policy positions
• Laid out her agenda or policy positions on the campaign website

I mentioned this earlier today in an update to my analysis of Harris playing footsie with a pro-Palestinian activist group on an Israeli arms embargo. Her flack Phil Gordon insisted that Harris opposed an arms embargo, but there's no evidence of it on the record. All Gordon could offer was ambiguous language from pre-nominee Harris defending Israel's right to defend itself, which most pointedly does not include any promise to sustain the means of that self-defense. 

In fact, there's no evidence anywhere of Kamala Harris' post-nomination agenda or policy positions. Nominally, everyone assumes that Harris will incorporate the previous Biden agenda and positions, but that's only an assumption. If voters go to Harris' campaign website, they'll find plenty of ways to send cash to the Harris-Walz effort ... and no reason why they should:

Notice that the site has the bios for both candidates, an updated events section, and even a swag store for further funding of the campaign. What it doesn't have -- at all -- is an Issues or Policy section. There's literally no way for voters to find out what the Harris-Walz agenda is or will be, not even just a copy-paste from the old Biden website. 

One would think that the media, even the Protection Racket Media version in place these days, would get a little suspicious about this lack of information and engagement. Harris has stiffed them for almost three weeks since winning the nomination, refusing to publicly engage with them for their readers and viewers. Don't they even have a financial interest in getting that kind of content, let alone a moral and ethical interest in speaking truth to power and holding officials accountable, etc etc?

As it turns out, there's a reason why the media hasn't made a stink about the Silence of the Kams. At least for now, they're in on it. Politico Playbook spilled the beans on the nasty little secret among reporters assigned to Harris -- they're letting her talk off the record:

Ever since Biden passed Harris the baton, news organizations have been pushing the vice president’s team for a sit-down interview. According to two people familiar with the campaign’s thinking, there are ongoing discussions about a joint interview with Harris and Walz prior to the convention, which begins on Aug. 19 in Chicago. But on the whole, Harris’ top communications aides are deeply skeptical, as Biden’s inner circle was, that doing big interviews with major TV networks or national newspapers offer much real upside when it comes to reaching swing voters. ...

So far, Harris’ rally speeches, delivered via teleprompter, have been well received. And she has routinely interacted with the reporters that travel with her — but on her terms. She often visits with the press pool seated at the back of her plane (something Biden did just twice in more than three years), but speaking only off the record. And when she has chosen to comment on the record on something in the news, Harris has spoken to the pool on the tarmac, making statements but not taking questions.

“What is the incentive for her [to take more questions]?” said another person close to the campaign who was granted anonymity to share how Harris’ team views the matter. “She’s getting out exactly the message she wants to get out.”

And apparently, the media is getting out the message they want to get out, too. This isn't reporting or journalism; it's Stenogralism, as I called it the other day. By being complicit in this, the reporters on the Harris-Walz campaign have ceased being journalists at all. They are either activists working to get her elected and passing along the message of the day, or they are engaged in stenography for the campaign to curry favor. 

That quote alone should humiliate every "reporter" in the Harris pool. It should stick to their careers for decades, and would ... if their editors and executives weren't also on board with their Stenogralism.

Imagine if they decided to stop and demand on-the-record questions and answers. Would Harris kick them all off the plane? Of course not. She needs them more than they need her, even if the Stenogralists don't realize it. Harris can only operate this scam because they allow it. They are enabling Harris to run an utterly substance-less campaign. 

This is almost worse than "fake news." It's a complete sell-out by institutional media to sitting public officials and also candidates for higher office. We often talk about the coming crisis in media, but baby, it has arrived.. We need to gather as many allies as possible to keep important issues in the public square – in this case, any of the issues -- and to preserve the public square at all.

Join us in the fight. Become a HotAir VIP member today and use promo code FAKENEWS to receive a 50% discount on your membership.

At the same time, J.D. Vance engages his reporter pool on the record regularly. Donald Trump held a press conference today, and has been doing media interviews all along. How many of these media outlets will note the contrast and demand similar engagement from the Democrat ticket? A few reporters are starting to wonder that publicly. Trump also offered three debates to Harris, including the ABC News debate that Joe Biden negotiated. Will Harris accept? Trump expressed some skepticism about that because Harris hasn't done an interview, and as Trump said, can't do an interview.

One has to wonder what Harris is hiding. And for that matter, what the media is hiding. 

James Carville thinks he knows why she's hiding. It's short but hilarious.

James Carville (the last genuine Democrat) discussing how Kamala Harris' background is 'not all-American', and how she grew up affluent:
"Her bio is not all-American. Both of her parents were professors at Berkeley. She doesn't have a 'up by the bootstraps' story.
She grew up… pic.twitter.com/QoMOE9s2UF

— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) August 7, 2024