Kamala Harris’ pathetic dodge on school reopenings

There were two problems with trotting out Kamala Harris to defend the Biden administration’s record on school “reopening.” First, Biden’s record is indefensible. Second, Harris isn’t very intelligent.

Katie Pavlich has a good summary of Biden’s record.

First, Biden promised. . .to open [the majority of] schools “within 100 days” of taking office.

Once in office, the White House changed the narrative to re-opening schools “safely” if the $1.9 trillion Wuhan coronavirus “relief” package passes through Congress.

Over the past three weeks, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has repeatedly undermined guidance from CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who said teachers do not need to be vaccinated for schools to safely reopen. Walensky and the CDC were then pressured to change their official guidelines.

Last week the White House confirmed it has no plan to reopen high schools.

This record provides a basis for hard questions. Somewhat surprisingly, Guthrie asked some of them. You can watch Harris’ pathetic attempt to dance around them below (from about 2:45 to 8:10).

The New York Post accurately summarizes the debacle:

Asked if it was a mistake that the guidance would keep 90 percent of schools closed for in-person learning, Harris would only say that it was the administration’s priority to get schools’ doors open.

Pressed by Guthrie if unvaccinated teachers should feel safe returning to the classroom, Harris replied, “Well, I think that we have to decide if we can put in place safe measures. This is why it’s so important we pass the American Rescue Plan. The American Rescue Plan, which the president and I have proposed, is a plan about getting our schools back open.”

When Guthrie asked Harris to simply address the issue of teachers being wary of exposure if they aren’t yet vaccinated, the vice president repeated her assertion that the administration thinks teachers “should be a priority.”

Harris tried to filibuster by riffing on how important it is for children not to miss a day of school. This enabled her to emote in the familiar manner that fell so flat during her amazingly unsuccessful run for the presidency. But it also reinforced the point of Guthrie’s questions — that Biden is letting America’s children down for no reason other than the desire to pander to teachers’ unions.

In law, we call what Harris did an admission against interest. I doubt that her admission was lost on parents who were watching.

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