Harris can exploit Republicans' 'dirty little secret' to seal deal with voters: analysis

Vice President Kamala Harris is in the home stretch of her campaign, and polls show she is neck and neck with former President Donald Trump — but not pulling away.

But there is a key thing she can do to get the rest of the way to victory, Jonathan Martin wrote for Politico.

Specifically, he argued, she is doing an admirable job trying to moderate her message — but she has to wear down Republicans' resolve to fight for Trump by making it clear that they'll have less enmity and fighting under her presidency.

"The biggest reveal from Harris’ '60 Minutes' interview this week was not Harris saying she owns a Glock ... but her new answer on why she’s changed positions from her disastrous 2020 presidential bid," wrote Martin.

Instead of her old answer from August that her "values haven't changed," she "used the question this time to send a message to moderate voters by invoking four significant words: consensus, common ground, compromise. She’s been vice president for nearly four years, Harris said, and she now knows that’s what Americans crave."

That's not all she should do, though, Martin argued: "Harris should say she’ll work with Republicans on behalf of all Americans and stand up to the extremes in both parties because, America, she knows the dirty little secret is many GOP lawmakers she served with are as exhausted with extremism and extremists like Donald Trump as she is."

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This might "irritate" the left flank of her party to some extent, but if done right, he argued, it could bring it home for her.

The fact is, he continued, "It’s not just she who wants to 'turn the page' and find 'a new way forward,' to borrow two of her slogans, but many Republicans, too. Some of them are also tired of families being torn apart over Facebook comment threads, the incessant bickering that’s overtaken Washington and being held hostage to a party leader whose lies and demagoguery they must own as long as he’s a threat to return to power and exact retribution."

At the end of the day, said Martin, "no Democratic nominee in modern history has been granted more latitude with her base to just win baby than Harris and she ought to use it." And there are many millions of voters out there who hate Trump but need a smidgen more convincing, for whom this will close the deal.