One of the most entertaining political moves when a left-wing politician has secured a nomination and must appeal to an audience beyond the far-left base is the “Trust me, I’m lying” gambit. It gets employed when a candidate has a position that is toxic to the general public, yet is a foundational issue for the Democrats’ base. Thus, the candidate needs to make a statement that, if effective, will fool mainstream voters, with the intention that the activist base understands that the statement is just a politically necessary lie. It often blows up on the candidate.

In Kamala Harris’ case, she just rolled out the “Trust me, I’m lying” strategy on the issue of fracking for oil. The Democrat party in general is hostile to the petroleum industry, and its coastal left-wing base is religious about its desire to destroy the oil and gas industry, and bring a halt to all new drilling.

In Kamala’s own words at a CNN townhall meeting during the 2020 presidential primaries, “There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking.”

Unfortunately, Pennsylvania is a must-win state for Kamala, and it has an oil boom going on. Promising to kill off all those high-paying, blue collar, oilfield jobs is a winning message in San Franciso and Boston, but it doesn’t play so well in western Pennsylvania. So Kamala is trying the always difficult “Trust me, I’m lying” approach, hoping she can fool the blue-collar voters in Pennsylvania, while also hoping her radical left-wing base knows she is just lying to get elected, and that they’ll still vote for her despite Kamala now being on the record as pro-fracking.

“Harris courts swing voters with fracking reversal” [The Hill – 8/01/2024]

Vice President Harris has reversed her position on fracking, signaling a move to the center on the issue. The rightward shift comes as she tries to court swing voters in states like Pennsylvania.

A few years ago I wrote about how difficult it has become to pull off the “Trust me, I’m lying” charade, focusing especially on the 2018 Tennessee Senate race in which “moderate” Democrat Phil Bredesen and Republican Marsha Blackburn were vying for the open US Senate seat formerly held by Republican Bob Corker. Polling showed the race to be tight, and the media was ecstatic about the chances of a Democrat flipping a Senate seat in deep red Tennessee.

Then the Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination happened, and it just kept dragging on, getting uglier and ever more preposterous. Throughout it all, Bredesen kept trying to straddle the top political issue of the day. He kept refusing to say how he’d vote on the Kavanaugh nomination, indicating to both sides that he was inclined - but not yet committed - to vote their way. Meanwhile, Blackburn was quite emphatic about her support for Kav, and the polls started breaking toward Blackburn. Bredesen could no longer wait until after the vote to declare his stand.

So Bredesen rolled out the “Trust me, I’m lying” strategy, stating that if he were currently a Senator, he would vote to confirm Kavanaugh. With that, his campaign quickly imploded.

Unfortunately for him, it played out exactly the opposite of how “Trust me, I’m lying” is supposed to work. Everyone knew he was lying, except for the left-wing activists who form the base of the Democrat party. They took Bredesen at face value. And they revolted against him.

“Volunteers bolt Bredesen over Kavanaugh support” [Politico – 10/11/2018]

For Kamala to succeed in her fingers-crossed-behind-her-back “support” of fracking, she needs the anti-carbon, net-zero zealots to play along. That’s a little like asking a religiously devout person to deny his faith in service to a greater cause.

Kamala’s faux-support of fracking is also causing problems for other Democrats who cannot acknowledge that her shifting position is a transparently phony political maneuver.

Sherrod Brown, a left-wing Democrat who is hostile to the petroleum industry, is running for re-election in Ohio, and was asked by the media about Kamala’s new “support” for fracking.

“Kamala Harris’ fracking flip-flop is affecting races for other Democrats” [NY Post – 8/02/2024]

“My focus is on my state and my work,” a flustered Brown mumbled on his way toward an elevator. “I’ve endorsed Vice President Harris … I don’t know what she said on fracking.”

Let me paraphrase what Sen. Brown was trying to say, “Trust me, Kamala is lying.”

[buck.throckmorton at protonmail dot com]