The reaction was quick.
“Chris Dodd” was soon trending on Twitter Monday morning. A chorus of voices asked if Biden had mistakenly empowered an overwhelmingly male old man from his time in the Senate to lead his potentially historic election. They accused Dodd of singling out Harris for the kind of behavior that is rarely criticized when a man does so, aggressively chasing an opponent in a debate.
“Hello @SenChrisDodd,” wrote Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen on Twitter. “This is the kind of bad behavior that this process doesn’t need. Shut up. “Biden himself came to a press conference prepared with talking points about Harris, waiting for questions.
And on ABC’s “The View” Tuesday, Sunny Hostin raised the issue again.
“I was thinking, how many times are women told to stay in their place?” Hostin said, “Do something different from what men always do?”
Sources close to Dodd and those with knowledge of the selection process said their role is no greater than that of the other three members of the search committee.
But dozens of Democrats, including former aides to vice presidents, party leaders, past and current elected officials and donors, said their main contact with the selection team was Dodd.
Biden and Dodd were cast in the same mold. Like Biden, Dodd tried to end a long career in the Senate with a nomination for the White House. The two ran unsuccessfully in 2008. Biden’s supporters and associates said the two are very close; some even described them as brothers.
And so, when the time came to narrow his election as vice president, Biden turned to his faithful friend, whose political instincts he trusts.
“I didn’t want to do what [the late Sen.] John McCain did it, put in charge a political operative. He wanted a friend. Someone I’ve known for 30 years, ”said a longtime Biden confidant. “He wants to make sure he doesn’t end up with someone who just feels his pulse every day.”
Throughout the background investigation, Dodd has been the voice on the other end of the phone, investigating local party leaders, current and former elected officials, and major donors. It is also whom people with specific concerns about a contender have come to with criticism or investigations from the opposition.
“I couldn’t have chosen a better person to help you figure it out,” former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said in an interview. “Chris is really good, I’ve talked to him quite often.”
Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, who served as Dodd’s chief of staff in the 1980s, said the trust factor clearly led Biden to him for vice president assignment.
“This is a crazy city. She has many acquaintances, but she has few friends: the people with whom she can count on a hand in which she can trust the good and the bad, ”she said. “The two became friends so early, 30 years ago. They were good friends, they knew and knew each other’s families very well. ”
But Dodd’s critics have rallied since Monday, saying he is in no condition to play such an important role in selecting a vice president.
“At a time when the country is in the greatest crisis anyone has ever seen, from the pandemic to racial inequality and a very tumultuous Democratic primary, we must ensure that leaders reflect the candidate’s vision,” said Camille Rivera. , a Democratic strategist with a progressive company in New York. Chris, as committee chair, needs to consider how the general public will react to those comments, particularly to a woman of color. You have the responsibility to take into account the time that we are. “
Others say Harris asked these questions herself. Biden, as the Democratic favorite, was a punching bag for opponents in the primaries. But her campaign at the moment He saw Harris’s attack as different, a cheap shot because it implied he was racist. (Harris started his attack with “I don’t think you’re racist”).
Through a spokesman, Harris declined to comment on Dodd.
Rose Kapolczynski, a veteran Democratic strategist who advised former Senator Barbara Boxer of California, said she was not overly concerned with Dodd’s role in the investigation process.
“People may not like Chris Dodd for whatever reason, but I think it is wrong to say that because of his race and gender he cannot make a bold and transformative recommendation,” he said.
The bustle caused Dodd’s loyalists to leap into his defense. They included Minyon Moore, whom Dodd, as the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, had appointed as the first African-American political director of a major political party.
“He saw my skills and thought I deserved a job and there were several people vying for that job. He was definitely a boss and a friend from start to finish, ”said Moore, who later served as a close advisor to Hillary Clinton.
“In terms of opportunity, Chris Dodd opened the door for me and for women,” said DeLauro.
A source close to Dodd said Wednesday that he considers Harris a friend and that he had been one of the first supporters of his campaign in the Senate. The person said Dodd has spoken to Harris several times during the background investigation process, but would not characterize those calls.
“He has spoken to all the candidates, and to others. He has had hundreds of conversations, “the source said, adding that Dodd is not in charge of the background investigation:” There is no leader, everyone is talking to the people and giving the vice president his opinion. It is the vice president’s decision and his alone. “
The other members of the committee are White House and Senate attorney Cynthia Hogan, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-State). Others involved in the candidates’ investigation include campaign general counsel Dana Remus, former Obama White House adviser Bob Bauer and former national security adviser Lisa Monaco.
Eleni Kounalakis, the California deputy governor and Harris supporter, said Dodd has said “very supportive things” about Harris in recent days. “The fact is that strong, open and ambitious women are role models in our country,” Kounalakis, a former ambassador and the first woman to rank No. 2 in the state, told POLITICO. “A woman can be all of these things, and still be a loyal vice president who is great to work with.”
On Wednesday, Rosen blamed Dodd for allowing search details to leak.
“I trust Joe Biden to make a good VP choice because he knows the role better than anyone,” said Rosen. “I think several advisers have been talking to the candidates, but they are discreet.” Dodd, he added, “was showing off and that was a mistake.”
The Biden and Dodd campaign have taken steps to contain reaction to Monday’s report, but it took a while.
When POLITICO came to him with his reports on Sunday, Dodd declined to respond. Almost two days after the story was published, his office released a statement to Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin, noting that Dodd has had “hundreds of conversations related to the vice presidential search.”
Although I did not want to “fuel speculation” in commenting on the matter, the statement added, “the anonymous comments reported yesterday in POLITICO do not represent my view of Senator Harris or what I have shared with Vice President Biden, and they need to be addressed. . ”
Biden himself arrived at a press conference on Tuesday prepared to address the Harris issue. A bulleted list in his hand was captured by an Associated Press photographer.
“Don’t hold a grudge.” “Campaign with me and Jill”. “Talented.” “Great help for the campaign.” “Great respect for her,” the notes said.
But the journalists he called to ask questions didn’t ask about Harris.
Damage control lasted until Wednesday night, when Biden’s campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon seemed to respond to criticism that Dodd’s comments were a sign that Biden would somehow reject Harris. because he showed ambition.
“Ambitious women make history, change the world and win. Our campaign is full of ambitious women who are fighting for Joe Biden,” she tweeted. “He will make this decision, and this is clear: Anyone who chooses among the highly qualified options to help him win and unite the country, she will also be one.”
