The optics war: Democrats renominate, Republicans recalibrate
Politics is an optics game – and Vice President Harris' likely nomination for the presidency brings that game to the forefront of an already polarizing campaign.
Politics and elections are about optics. And while Democrats may have shifted some of their optics of late by propelling Vice President Harris to the perch of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, the GOP also bolstered some of its optics of late, too.
It’s no secret that House Republicans struggle to govern. They historically wrestle in their efforts to pass their own legislative initiatives. The House had to bag plans to adopt the annual Financial Services and Agriculture appropriations bills because it lacked the votes. So House GOP leaders cut members loose a week early for the "August recess." That means no House session this week. And no votes in the House until at least September 9.
But, optics are different from governing. And that’s why Republicans were able to fortify some of their optics, just ahead of the summer break.
First off, escaping Dodge a week earlier than planned gives Republicans extra time to recalibrate their message now that Harris is their main political opponent. GOPers can now tune their message to campaign against Harris. And perhaps more importantly, attempt to link vulnerable Democrats to Harris.
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"She’s a drag too. She’s the most unpopular Vice President in American history for a reason. People reject their policies," said Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC). That’s the formal organization devoted to electing Republicans to the House.
"She’s never resonated with young voters," said Hudson. "She’s a horrible politician."
Republicans believe Harris’s body of work gives them opportunity. And since they frittered away their floor traffic, the Vice President provided them with a major opportunity.
Within hours of President Biden endorsing Harris, House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., authored a resolution to condemn Harris for her role as "border czar." The House took up Stefanik’s resolution on Thursday – deploying it as a punctuation point for the unofficial start of the campaign season. On the final vote before the recess, the House voted 220 to 196 to condemn how Harris handled the border. All Republicans voted yea. But six moderate Democrats – all from battleground districts – sided with the GOP. They were Reps. Jared Golden, D-Maine., Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., Yadira Caraveo, D-Colo., Don Davis, D-N.C., Henry Cueller, D-Tex., and Mary Peltola, D-Alaska.
Republicans wanted to document this vote to either dare Democrats to decry Harris – or put them on the record as supporting her. Republicans would then document this particular roll call vote and use it in ads against Democrats representing marginal districts this fall.
Realizing the vulnerability for both Harris and themselves, Democrats scrambled to re-characterize the vice president’s role with the border. Some advocates handed out talking points to Democrats, noting that there is no such position as "border czar" and that Harris was asked to work on causes which led to the border crisis. That includes stemming the flood of illegal migration to the southern border from the "Northern Triangle" nations of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.
But another batch of good optics fell into the GOP’s lap in recent days.
Republicans invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a Joint Meeting of Congress last week. The GOP has stood foursquare behind Netanyahu and Israel in its war against Hamas since last October. But Democrats are split. Many Democrats skipped the speech – including Vice President Harris. Usually the VP would co-preside over a Joint Meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
The presence of Netanyahu managed to exploit the divides between Democrats over the Middle East. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., signed onto the invitation for Netanyahu. But Schumer didn’t even shake Netanyahu’s hand when lawmakers welcomed the Prime Minister to the chamber for the speech. Meantime, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., sat quietly in the chamber, holding up a round, black sign. It read "War Criminal" on one side. "Guilty of Genocide" on the other.
"It was ridiculous. There's no place for that," groused Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., who challenged a witness to a fistfight at a hearing last year. "I wanted to go over there and take it away from her. I mean, I wasn't going to. But if it would have been a guy, I would have."
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Mullin added that Tlaib "shouldn’t be serving in Congress."
While Tlaib, a Palestinian-American, demonstrated quietly inside the House chamber, raucous protesters paraded around the Capitol. U.S. Capitol Police erected a massive wire fence around the building. It was reminiscent of the barricade they put up after the 2021 riot. One protester said the barriers converted the citadel of democracy into "Fort Netanyahu."
Anti-Israel activists then released mealworms and maggots at the Watergate Hotel where Netanyahu was staying.
And you thought they only needed the "plumbers" at the Watergate.
By the time Netanyahu spoke, protesters clashed with police outside Washington’s Union Station in the shadow of the Capitol. They incinerated American flags and replaced the Stars and Stripes with Palestinian flags atop poles in front of the station. They spraypainted "Hamas is Comin’" on statues.
Netanyahu blasted the demonstrators as "Iran’s useful idiots."
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The scene perturbed Democrats.
"How ironic is it that the Prime Minister was talking about them burning American flags that they're literally proving him right by burning American flags with the Capitol in the background," said Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla.
Republicans scored the exact optic they wanted: Democrats divided over the Middle East. But the confrontations with police and flag burning only amplified the images.
Things calmed down by nightfall. That’s when Republicans engineered some additional political stagecraft.
Rep. Brandon Williams, R-N.Y., was heading past Union Station, en route to late night votes in the House. That’s when he got the idea to replace the Palestinian flags with American flags.
"This place was desecrated. Our flag was burned right here. And if we don't actually do something… we're going to have a problem in this country," said Johnson.
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Williams, Johnson and a few other Republicans headed over to the train station to remove the Palestinian flags. They then re-hoisted Old Glory.
"We recognize that they flew Palestinian flags on these poles today. It was outrageous," said Johnson. "They're destroying public property and they're burning American flags and we're not going to stand for it."
You couldn’t have imagined the GOP scripting it much better. Leftist, anti-Israel demonstrators burning the American flag. Republican Congressmen raising the U.S. flag?
What did we say earlier about optics?
A combination of DC police agencies only arrested 23 persons in connection with the demonstrations. That includes six people arrested inside the Capitol for breaking decorum during Netanyahu’s speech.
Authorities then dropped charges against 11 protesters. Republicans hated to hear that. But the optics matched their narrative that Washington, D.C. is a "lawless place" with "weak prosecutors." House Republicans immediately demanded briefings on what went down in the streets of D.C. The decision to not prosecute played right into the Republican playbook, too.
Republicans didn’t need to have much legislation to crow about heading into the August recess. Not when they seemingly emerged victorious in the optics war.