The Biden campaign knows that they can’t run on the economy. They can’t run on foreign policy. They can’t run on national security. So will the campaign have Kamala Harris do? Visit an abortion clinic, because THAT’S what they’re going to run on.

Team Biden is making the gamble that being all in on abortion access is their one winning platform. So Kamala Harris is going to Minnesota in order to really lock up that pro-abortion vote.

The appearance at a health center will be the latest leg in a nationwide tour by Ms. Harris, who has emerged as the most outspoken defender of abortion rights in the administration. While White House officials say they have largely reached the limits of their power to protect abortion rights, the issue has emerged as a linchpin of their re-election strategy.

Ms. Harris plans on Thursday to tour the center with an abortion provider and highlight what the administration has done to try to preserve access to the procedure as conservative states enact growing restrictions.

Minnesota has become a haven for abortion seekers since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ushering in restrictive laws and bans in neighboring states. The Society of Family Planning, a health research organization, found that the average number of abortions in the state increased by about 36 percent in the year after the Supreme Court decision.

Ah, Minnesota – the site of another great moment in Kamala Harris history.

If you’re able to, chip in now to the @MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota. https://t.co/t8LXowKIbw

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) June 1, 2020

That this tweet has never been deleted, considering the effect that the Minnesota Freedom Fund and other “bail charities” have had, is kind of shocking. But it is also par for the course for Kamala Harris, who has never once admitted that she was actually wrong about anything. She just flip-flops and hopes no one ever notices.

When it comes to abortion, however, Kamala Harris has never wavered. It is also the one subject that she sounds halfway coherent about when she does give a speech on it. Her delivery is still stilted and terrible, but she at least sounds like she isn’t trying to search to fill in her own blanks.

And that means that Kamala Harris has been designated as the campaign’s point person on abortion, so she gets to tour a Planned Parenthood.

Harris plans to tour the clinic and speak to healthcare providers, the sources said. The vice president may also talk to patients, though the sources stressed that Harris wants to make sure she doesn’t disrupt any services during her visit. She could also speak to reporters outside the clinic.

Talk to patients. Talk to patients??? Why not just go for the whole enchilada???

She should watch one performed.

— mallen2024 (@mallen20243) March 14, 2024

While the Tweeter/poster is being sarcastic, can you imagine how this would go? “Excuse me, yes, you’re about to have an abortion, and we know that this is your decision and should be a private matter… but could the vice president come in and watch? After all, she’s running to make sure that more women can have an abortion any time they want.” Or imagine Kamala Harris talking to a woman who had just had an abortion. YIKES.

And yet, the Biden campaign is laying a whole lot of chips on this bet. They see abortion as a surefire winning issue in swing states. And they might not be wrong about that, but Joe Biden has chickened out when it comes to using the word “abortion.”

During Thursday’s (State of the Union) speech, Biden deviated from his prepared remarks, skipping over the word “abortion” and instead using the phrases “reproductive freedom” or “freedom to choose.”

The word was used once in his prepared remarks, when he introduced Kate Cox, first lady Jill Biden’s State of the Union guest and a Texas woman who was forced to flee the state for an abortion after finding out her fetus had a fatal condition. The text had Biden saying, “Because Texas law banned abortion.” Instead, he said “Because Texas law banned her ability to act.”

It’s common for elected officials, especially Biden, to go off script or make in-the-moment tweaks for a host of reasons.

“By not saying the word ‘abortion,’ it implies that it’s taboo or something to be ashamed of,” said Kellie Copeland, executive director of Pro-Choice Ohio. “It’s stigmatizing and harmful. The president should do better.”

Amy Hagstrom Miller, president and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health, which manages abortion clinics in Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico and Virginia, said there was an “uproar” across the organization as staff members texted their reactions to each other.

“Abortion is what we provide and what people are being denied,” she said. “People don’t call us for a reproductive freedom appointment. They don’t ask for a bodily autonomy visit or a choice procedure. They call for abortion care, and abortion is a professional medical term for the health care we provide. Avoiding the word just shows the power of the historical stigma around abortion.”

The pushback over how he addressed the issue in his State of the Union speech is the latest example of Biden’s fraught history with the topic. Many in the abortion rights movement have long viewed him as an imperfect messenger.

Biden initially opposed the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, saying it went too far. He also opposed federal funding for abortions and supported restrictions on abortions later in pregnancy.

The Biden campaign’s strategy is to let the president be who he is — an 81-year-old Catholic man whose views on the issue have evolved and who still doesn’t use the word abortion much. His aides also want to highlight his evolution on the issue and how he still grapples with what can be an uncomfortable topic but believes firmly in the freedom of choice.

The reason that Kamala Harris gets to be the campaign’s messenger on abortion is because she has never waffled in the least on the issue. She is as radical as they come, actively dodging questions on what, if any, limits there should be on abortion.

Kamala Harris Dances Around Question About abortion Limits: 'No, No, No, No, No' pic.twitter.com/Gg6vr4hTK5

— Resist the Mainstream (@ResisttheMS) September 11, 2023

Compared to Joe Biden’s record, Kamala Harris is the torchbearer on abortion that the left demands. And she is more than happy to march to the left’s demands on abortion – because they match her own.

Featured image: original Victory Girls art by Darleen Click