IT'S SIMPLE, DEMOCRATS: STOP FIGHTING IN PUBLIC

This CNN story appeared yesterday. The headline seemed promising:

Democratic leaders want the party to stop its Kamala Harris pile-on ahead of 2024

Did it finally dawn on Democrats that public infighting makes the party look bad in the eyes of voters? Nahhh:

Elizabeth Warren has called twice to apologize. Over a month later, Kamala Harris hasn’t called back.

In a local Boston radio interview in late January, Warren was enthusiastic about President Joe Biden running for reelection but, asked if Biden should keep Harris as his running mate, she said, “I really want to defer to what makes Biden comfortable on his team.”

The incident and its aftermath, different details of which were described to CNN by multiple people close to the Massachusetts senator and people close to the vice president, has fed an ongoing breakdown of accusations and purported misunderstandings.

“Pretty insulting,” is how one person close to Harris described the feelings of many in the vice president’s office and in her wider orbit.

I'm not going to judge pass judgment on what Warren said -- maybe it was a deliberate slight, or maybe she didn't want to back Harris only to learn that Biden intended to replace her. Either way, I understand why Harris and her supporters would feel insulted, although I think a rapproachement ought to be possible.

But why is anyone talking about this to a CNN reporter?

Just shut up. Don't discuss this with the media. The only possible result is yet another "Democrats in disarray" story.

There's more. This:

“Right now, she seems to be an albatross,” fretted one state Democratic Party chair.

And this:

While Warren may not have meant to express doubts, the Zoom call organized by a onetime Biden Senate speechwriter and attended by Hollywood donors, executives and actors, including Helen Hunt, Ron Livingston and “Beverly Hills, 90210” star Gabrielle Carteris, was full of them.

Harris is a huge liability, they complained to former California Sen. Barbara Boxer, according to two people on the call. She would hurt Biden’s chances, because people will focus on her, given his age. How, one asked Boxer, do they get Biden to replace her?

Boxer – whom Harris succeeded in the Senate in 2016 – gave a muted response.

“If that’s how you feel, you should let Biden know,” Boxer told them, according to people on the call. Asked about the comments, Boxer told CNN, “I said it was the president’s choice.”

Nobody on the call should have said anything to a reporter. How hard is this to understand?

A version of the story is -- of course -- on the fromt page of the Fox News website, under the headline "Kamala Harris Won't Speak to Elizabeth Warren After 'Pretty Insulting' 2024 Snub: Report." This gives Fox the excuse to cite an earlier Fox story and repeat a disparaging quote from The New York Times:

Democrats have expressed concern over Harris's "basic political skills" in recent weeks ahead of a potential 2024 announcement.

Democratic fundraiser John Morgan told the New York Times in February that Harris' weakness as vice president will be "one of the most hard-hitting arguments against Biden."

"I can’t think of one thing she’s done except stay out of the way and stand beside him at certain ceremonies," he said.

Democrats, please: For the good of the party, don't contribute to stories like this. Starve them of oxygen. Keep your negative thoughts about fellow Democrats to yourself.