Memo To Harris: Talk Labor!

It's almost Labor Day, for crying out loud. Emphatically supporting organized labor never hurt Joe Biden. It won't hurt you, either.

Norma Rae wasn’t scared of union-busters.

At last week’s Democratic convention, President Joe Biden uttered the word “union” four times. “I’m proud to have been the first president to walk a picket line,” Biden said, prompting the crowd to chant, “Union Joe!” By contrast, Vice President Kamala Harris, who’s being courted by Silicon Valley and Wall Street, said the word “union” zero times. Even Tim Walz, who’s got a great labor record as governor of Minnesota, avoided saying the u-word.

I think Harris, who’s demonstrated brilliantly that the way to beat Donald Trump is not to be afraid of him (“Donald Trump is not a serious man”), is still kind of afraid of union-hating political donors. She shouldn’t be, I argue in my latest New Republic piece. You can read it here.