Nate Silver, the statistician who got 2016 just as wrong as everybody else, now has his eyes on 2020, and what he’s seeing in Kamala Harris reminds him a lot of Mitt Romney in 2008 and 2016. Of course, there are obvious differences; Romney still has an (R) after his name, meaning he can’t count on debate moderators like Candy Crowley to jump in and defend the Democratic candidate even when he’s straight-up lying. Harris, meanwhile, can flip-flop all she wants during her campaign and call it “having a conversation.”

Kamala Harris reminds me a lot of Mitt Romney in '08 and '12. Hits all her marks, positioned quite optimally toward the middle of the primary electorate and has the potential to unite different wings—but voters aren't entirely clear what she stands for. — Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) July 29, 2019

Maybe voters would have had a better idea of what Romney stood for if journalists didn’t barrage him with questions about his “magic underwear” and his wife’s dancing horse and his binders full of women and Big Bird and bayonets. Harris, though, is climbing in the polls and has a sympathetic national media behind her. Whether they give her the shiv and settle on giving us Joe Biden after all is yet to be seen, but yes, there are some similarities.

omg…this is the dumbest tweet yet today. lol — Mary Jo (@MaryjoShrout) July 29, 2019

I'm not sure she's entirely clear herself from what I've read. — Gʀᴇɢ Oʀʏᴇʟ (@Greg_Oryel) July 29, 2019

To be fair she often doesn’t seem to know what she stands for either. — The Dose of Reality (@TheDoseTweets) July 29, 2019

Harris is not entirely clear what she stands for, either, so you are on solid footing there. — Alex Lekas (@TheAlexLekas) July 29, 2019

Simple Kamala stands for Kamala — Jim Thomas (@OIB_Jim) July 29, 2019

Many of us know that they only thing she stands for is Kamala. That’s why she, like Mitt, will never be president. — verum obdurat ?⏳ (@leucinedreams) July 29, 2019

Voters aren’t entirely clear what she stands for because she stands for nothing besides wanting to be president — sam picklesimer (@thatelderone) July 29, 2019

She stands for nothing. Whatever pleases anyone. — IACU-Internation Anti Communism Union (@IACU10) July 29, 2019

Well, when you flip flopped (with months, weeks, days, or even hours) on healthcare, busing, imprisoned felon voting, etc., maybe that makes it all the more difficult for folks to understand what the hell you stand for ?‍♂️ — ❤️mygreyhound? (@JTyler36213241) July 29, 2019

Her premeditated hit-job on Biden suggests to me that @KamalaHarris stands for Kamala Harris. She's another "I" in the Democratic Party team. — Steven Podvoll (@spodvoll) July 29, 2019

Voters think she’s AstroTurf — Ashley S. (@dwellerunderash) July 29, 2019

No doubt because she isn’t sure what she stands for… — J A C (@jocarvill) July 29, 2019

Famous for “we can have that conversation“ temporising. Looking forward to Willie Brown’s comments on her campaign. — JimBobLAX (@JimBobLAX) July 29, 2019

I'm a voter who's fairly certain what @SenKamalaHarris stands for. She stands for @KamalaHarris — Ttown Dick (@Ttowndick) July 29, 2019

1. She’s not posturing in the middle, she’s gone fairly far left.

2. She only stands for herself and her own ambitions. Everything and everyone else is a distant second to those ambitions. — Bob (@Bobsquestions) July 29, 2019

She's only been a Senator for two years and doesn't stand for anything — Bernin' Down the House (@BernieDrawings) July 29, 2019

She stood for denying medical attention to survivors of botched abortions … that’s one thing.

Because….. like Mitt she doesn’t stand for anything. She stands for whatever her advisors and polls say she should. Trump won because he spoke from the heart. No matter how dumb it was. People want their politicians to be real people. — Fatman Da God (@ua_pragmatist) July 29, 2019

it's as if there is no constituency of voters that milquetoast conservatism appeals to — Discount Dog Scuba (@ScubaForDogs) July 29, 2019

Yeah but Candy Crowley won’t murder her campaign on national television — Free A$AP (@wokestwarrior) July 29, 2019

So Kamala is a Nazi? That’s what I remember the left calling Romney. @billmaher — GWW (@OfficialGWW) July 29, 2019

Yeah, but she probably hasn't strapped a dog to the roof of her car, so that helps. — Alex Barry (@AFictionalGuy) July 29, 2019

She needs a binder full of women — William Wallace ? (@Sti11matic) July 29, 2019

She reminds me of Mitt also, because he ended up losing. — Walter Beitusch ?? (@HammerEmDwn) July 29, 2019

Ordinarily, one must go to Chris Cillizza for a hot take this bad. — Devin Nunes' GRU Handler NCSteve (@TCFKA_NCSteve) July 29, 2019

Ouch.

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