Biden VP news megathread (pg 286 - been selected, announcement could be today)

[Roll Roons]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/joe-biden-vice-president-who-women-warren-klobuchar-harris-a9456731.html

WaPo's AA-Ron Balakay on the top 11 contenders:
11. Susan Rice
10. Lujan Grisham
9. Abrams
8. Duckworth
7. Demings
6. CCM
5. Baldwin
4. Warren
3. Whitmer
2. Klobuchar
1. Harris

Personally, I'd swap Duckworth and Warren for sure, and maybe also Baldwin and Klobuchar.

[MillennialModerate]

I’ll settle for Kamala Harris but I think that Whitmer would be great. From an important state. Female. Executive experience. I think she would be amazing. I also think Sinema would be good but no one is going to take that seriously so forget I even said that.

Whitmer or Harris are the only two that I think would help and not hurt the ticket.

Abrams is the worst choice of all. Demmings not much better. Duckworth is awful. Warren is 70 and would take away a senate seat for about 10 months. Baldwin (senate seat).

So yeah, Harris or Whitmer

What's wrong with Duckworth?

I think, like Klobachur she would be a dull pick that wouldn’t excite anyone. And if I’m being frank I think there’s enough ignorant people out there to question her ability to do the job. Which is a sad thing to say in 2020 but it is what it is.

Yeah, Whitmer's state needs her. I don't usually think that Governors are worth being running mates.

I'm still partial to Baldwin, Duckworth, or Harris.

That’s why she has a Lt Governor.

Considering there isn’t much campaigning going on to begin with - she could continue running her state well into the summer • She’s young, female, executive experience and I think has a personality that would endear her to voters. It would be a GREAT pick IMO

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Some clues:

1.  Biden has said he wants a running mate with whom he is "simpatico" ideologically.
2.  He wants someone who is ready to step into the presidency immediately if need be.
3.  He wants someone who has strength in areas where he is weak or inexperienced.
4.  He said a running mate who has experience being a presidential candidate is "important."

Elizabeth Warren fails badly on the "simpatico" criteria.  She and Biden have been arguing over the issues for decades.   She does well under the other three criteria.  Additionally, there is the problem of temporarily surrendering her Senate seat to the GOP due to the GOP governor there.

Tammy Duckworth does well on the first three criteria:  simpatico, ready to be president and contrasting experience (Biden has never served in the military).  However, she has never run as a presidential candidate.

Catherine Cortez Masto is similar to Duckworth.  She fits the first three criteria but has never run as a presidential candidate.

Amy Klobuchar is simpatico, ready to be president and has run a presidential campaign.  However, most would say that she fails the "contrasting strengths" test -- she and Biden are too similar.

Kamala Harris appears to fit all four criteria.

What strengths does Harris bring to the table in areas where Biden is weak or inexperienced.  I don't see what she brings to the table to begin with, much less in areas where Biden is weak.  I mean, I suppose one could point to the fact that she's an African-American woman, but Biden already has far stronger support in the African-American community than she does and everyone Biden is considering is a woman.  I don't see any upside to picking Harris, but maybe someone can explain to me what I'm missing here.

[wbrocks67]

Some clues:

1.  Biden has said he wants a running mate with whom he is "simpatico" ideologically.
2.  He wants someone who is ready to step into the presidency immediately if need be.
3.  He wants someone who has strength in areas where he is weak or inexperienced.
4.  He said a running mate who has experience being a presidential candidate is "important."

Elizabeth Warren fails badly on the "simpatico" criteria.  She and Biden have been arguing over the issues for decades.   She does well under the other three criteria.  Additionally, there is the problem of temporarily surrendering her Senate seat to the GOP due to the GOP governor there.

Tammy Duckworth does well on the first three criteria:  simpatico, ready to be president and contrasting experience (Biden has never served in the military).  However, she has never run as a presidential candidate.

Catherine Cortez Masto is similar to Duckworth.  She fits the first three criteria but has never run as a presidential candidate.

Amy Klobuchar is simpatico, ready to be president and has run a presidential campaign.  However, most would say that she fails the "contrasting strengths" test -- she and Biden are too similar.

Kamala Harris appears to fit all four criteria.

What strengths does Harris bring to the table in areas where Biden is weak or inexperienced.  I don't see what she brings to the table to begin with, much less in areas where Biden is weak.  I mean, I suppose one could point to the fact that she's an African-American woman, but Biden already has far stronger support in the African-American community than she does and everyone Biden is considering is a woman.  I don't see any upside to picking Harris, but maybe someone can explain to me what I'm missing here.

Because black turnout needs to be turbo-charged to beat Trump? Biden is already strong with blacks and suburban women/college-educated whites, but Harris is probably the one most to be able to turnout even more among those two groups, especially with the history making possibility of a black woman being VP.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Some clues:

1.  Biden has said he wants a running mate with whom he is "simpatico" ideologically.
2.  He wants someone who is ready to step into the presidency immediately if need be.
3.  He wants someone who has strength in areas where he is weak or inexperienced.
4.  He said a running mate who has experience being a presidential candidate is "important."

Elizabeth Warren fails badly on the "simpatico" criteria.  She and Biden have been arguing over the issues for decades.   She does well under the other three criteria.  Additionally, there is the problem of temporarily surrendering her Senate seat to the GOP due to the GOP governor there.

Tammy Duckworth does well on the first three criteria:  simpatico, ready to be president and contrasting experience (Biden has never served in the military).  However, she has never run as a presidential candidate.

Catherine Cortez Masto is similar to Duckworth.  She fits the first three criteria but has never run as a presidential candidate.

Amy Klobuchar is simpatico, ready to be president and has run a presidential campaign.  However, most would say that she fails the "contrasting strengths" test -- she and Biden are too similar.

Kamala Harris appears to fit all four criteria.

What strengths does Harris bring to the table in areas where Biden is weak or inexperienced.  I don't see what she brings to the table to begin with, much less in areas where Biden is weak.  I mean, I suppose one could point to the fact that she's an African-American woman, but Biden already has far stronger support in the African-American community than she does and everyone Biden is considering is a woman.  I don't see any upside to picking Harris, but maybe someone can explain to me what I'm missing here.

Because black turnout needs to be turbo-charged to beat Trump? Biden is already strong with blacks and suburban women/college-educated whites, but Harris is probably the one most to be able to turnout even more among those two groups, especially with the history making possibility of a black woman being VP.

Biden isn't strong with college-educated/suburban voters of either gender, nor is Harris for that matter.  These folks were the O'Rourke -> Harris -> Warren -> Buttigieg voters.  They just wanted someone other than Biden or Bernie, but when forced to pick between the two, they opted for Biden.  The only 2020 presidential candidate suburban Democrats really got excited about as something more than a "anti-Bernie candidate not named Joe Biden" was Buttigieg, who had this group's enthusiastic support on his own merits.  

In Harris' case, all it took was one weak debate performance for these voters to drop her like a bad habit and even before that, they never really got fully behind her the way they did with Buttigieg and Warren during their respective surges.  Granted, these folks finally came out in force for Biden, but that was about one thing: defeating Bernie.  These voters were consistently far more resistant to Biden since the first debate than any other non-Berniecrat group in the Democratic Party.

Honestly, none of the folks under consideration have much appeal to this group, but Abrams and Warren would actively hurt Biden with them at this point, plus the latter would give Republicans a free Senate seat.  Harris isn't exactly held in the highest regard by these voters, even if she wouldn't actively hurt Biden with them.  

As for African-American turnout, if they never showed the slightest interest in backing Harris over Biden in 2020 during her campaign's high point, how is she supposed to turbocharge African-American turnout in the GE?  The simple fact is that no one is going to get Obama-level African-American voter enthusiasm again, period.  That doesn't mean 2016 is the norm, but trying to recreate that is a fool's errand.

If you want an experienced "ready to go from day one" pick then Duckworth is the best pick.  If you want to boost turnout  with a key demographic group, then CCM is the way to go.  If you want to pick someone who will help Biden in a key state, then Whitmer is the best pick (same goes if you want to make Trump's Coronavirus response a major issue during the campaign).  

[Rookie Yinzer]

CC: Stacey Abrams

https://twitter.com/DaryonnJackson/status/1248374728475185152?s=20

Her VP crusade has lowered my opinion of her.

[gerritcole]

Pelosi for vp

[brucejoel99]

CC: Stacey Abrams

https://twitter.com/DaryonnJackson/status/1248374728475185152?s=20

Her VP crusade has lowered my opinion of her.

Delusions of grandeur are a hell of a drug.

Pelosi for vp

This but unironically

[Mr. Morden]

Abrams reiterates that she's up for being on the ticket:

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/492117-stacey-abrams-i-would-be-honored-to-be-bidens-running-mate

“I would be honored to be on the campaign trail as a running mate,” she said. “But that is a process that you can’t campaign for, and I’m not campaigning for. I’m just being straight-forward.”

“But no matter what, my intention is to ensure that Joseph Biden becomes the next president of the United States,” she continued.

[brucejoel99]

Abrams reiterates that she's up for being on the ticket:

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/492117-stacey-abrams-i-would-be-honored-to-be-bidens-running-mate

“I would be honored to be on the campaign trail as a running mate,” she said. “But that is a process that you can’t campaign for, and I’m not campaigning for. I’m just being straight-forward.”

“But no matter what, my intention is to ensure that Joseph Biden becomes the next president of the United States,” she continued.

Yes, Stacey, we know. For the umpteenth time, we know.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Abrams reiterates that she's up for being on the ticket:

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/492117-stacey-abrams-i-would-be-honored-to-be-bidens-running-mate

“I would be honored to be on the campaign trail as a running mate,” she said. “But that is a process that you can’t campaign for, and I’m not campaigning for. I’m just being straight-forward.”

“But no matter what, my intention is to ensure that Joseph Biden becomes the next president of the United States,” she continued.

Yes, Stacey, we know. For the umpteenth time, we know.

I came to like her during the gubernatorial race, but she's becoming irritating with this.  I wish she'd knock it off and focus on preparing for a rematch with Kemp.

[NYSforKennedy2024]

Stacey Abrams is coming along as a very Marco Rubio/Tim Pawlenty 2012-esque figure in all of this.

Young, the optics of it fit, she's been (aggressively) pursuing it on a public level; but I just have a feeling it won't be her. Not yet. She doesn't fit the other requirements (experience, leadership) that Biden has outlined.

I think signs are pointing to a close pick between Harris and Whitmer, with Cortez Masto as a dark horse 3rd place.

As for which of them, your guess is as good as mine.

[Ogre Mage]

Some clues:

1.  Biden has said he wants a running mate with whom he is "simpatico" ideologically.
2.  He wants someone who is ready to step into the presidency immediately if need be.
3.  He wants someone who has strength in areas where he is weak or inexperienced.
4.  He said a running mate who has experience being a presidential candidate is "important."

Elizabeth Warren fails badly on the "simpatico" criteria.  She and Biden have been arguing over the issues for decades.   She does well under the other three criteria.  Additionally, there is the problem of temporarily surrendering her Senate seat to the GOP due to the GOP governor there.

Tammy Duckworth does well on the first three criteria:  simpatico, ready to be president and contrasting experience (Biden has never served in the military).  However, she has never run as a presidential candidate.

Catherine Cortez Masto is similar to Duckworth.  She fits the first three criteria but has never run as a presidential candidate.

Amy Klobuchar is simpatico, ready to be president and has run a presidential campaign.  However, most would say that she fails the "contrasting strengths" test -- she and Biden are too similar.

Kamala Harris appears to fit all four criteria.

What strengths does Harris bring to the table in areas where Biden is weak or inexperienced.  I don't see what she brings to the table to begin with, much less in areas where Biden is weak.  I mean, I suppose one could point to the fact that she's an African-American woman, but Biden already has far stronger support in the African-American community than she does and everyone Biden is considering is a woman.  I don't see any upside to picking Harris, but maybe someone can explain to me what I'm missing here.

--Serving as a State Attorney General for the most populous state in the nation and as a District Attorney are professional experiences Biden has not had.  A prosecutor like Harris could be a strong attack dog on the trail.  We saw flashes of that in the Democratic Primary, but she could not go full out like she could in a general election.

--She offers a clear demographic contrast with Biden in terms of age, gender and race.  In a coalition party like the Democratic Party, that matters.  Black voters rescued Biden's campaign and black women are the drivers of the black vote.  Furthermore, Harris is the only potential black female running mate with the traditionally elite credentials associated with that position (serving as U.S. Senator or governor).  She's far less vulnerable to charges she is an under-qualified affirmative action pick.

--Harris would be the first person on a major party ticket to graduate from an HBCU (Howard).  Because of that, I think her longtime professional network is quite different from Biden's.

--Harris represents California, which is a very different place from Biden's home state of Delaware.  Almost every aspect of the Democratic Base can be found there:  feminists, Hispanics, Asians, LGBTQ, labor, environmentalists, Hollywood, etc.  She has had to court all of them to win statewide in California three times.

--Many are criticizing Harris because her presidential campaign exposed a lot of her dirty laundry.
 But it also shows she went through the fire of an examination by the national media and is still considered a valuable running mate.  Only Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren can also say they survived such an examination.  Those who are boosting Duckworth, CCM and/or Whitmer should note they have NOT been put under the national media microscope.  They may not look so good once that happens.

Biden ran for president in 2008 and flopped like a walrus off a diving board (he got less than 1% in the Iowa Caucus and then dropped out).  Obama picked him as VP anyway.  So there is reason to think Biden is looking closely at his former primary rivals.  He may see himself in them.

[Landslide Lyndon]

I should mention that if Biden picks Harris (or CCM for that matter), she will be the first person west of Texas to ever be part of a Democratic ticket.

[Lechasseur]

I think signs are pointing to a close pick between Harris and Whitmer, with Cortez Masto as a dark horse 3rd place.

As for which of them, your guess is as good as mine.

That's what I think as well

[Amanda Huggenkiss]

Stacey Abrams is coming along as a very Marco Rubio/Tim Pawlenty 2012-esque figure in all of this.

Except for the fact that Rubio and Pawlenty have won statewide elections.

[wbrocks67]

Abrams is a pipe dream and I don't know why anyone is seriously acting is if she's really in consideration.

[President Johnson]

Hopefully Abrams isn't being picked. She adds nothing to ticket another than racial and gender balance. While my first choice technically is still Nanatte Barragan, I doubt she's picked or even in the conversation. I hope it's going to be Kamala Harris, Gretchen Whitmer, CCM or Amy Klobuchar (in that order). All four of them are awesome and bring individual strengths to the Biden campaign.

[Tender Branson]

This thread needs to be sticked (or stuck ?) on top for the next few months ...

[American2020]

‘The Woman in Michigan’ Goes National

It’s a loaded question. This particular call, one of dozens Whitmer will make on Monday, April 6, comes at a moment of relative calm for the governor who has become one of America’s most visible political leaders amid the Covid-19 pandemic. But the last few weeks have been madness. Since Michigan’s first cases were identified on March 11, Whitmer, having already declared a state of emergency, shut down schools and businesses, banned large gatherings, broadened unemployment benefits and ordered citizens to shelter-in-place.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/04/09/gretchen-whitmer-governor-michigan-profile-2020-coronavirus-biden-vp-177791

[Middle-aged Europe]

Yeah, if Biden wants a female Cuomo, it's gonna be Whitmer.

[Pheurton Skeurto]

Yeah, if Biden wants a female Cuomo, it's gonna be Whitmer.

I think the worst possible thing he could do is pick off a Governor who is absolutely crushing her state's response to Covid. Not worth it, she'll definitely have a future once this is over. She may even go in the cabinet.

[Oryxslayer]

The thing about Biden's VP is that I consider there to be close to a 50% chance said VP assumes executive power during his hypothetical presidency. Biden's age is going to come in hard against him when he takes on the most stressful job in the nation. The list of potentials are numerous: death, resignation because of incapability, a figurehead govt with empowered cabinet portfolios, or he may resign to give the VP incumbency going into 2024. This makes VP selection all the more important since democrats are actually going to need to visualize said person taking the oath of office. Outside picks therefore are even more risky than ever, and selecting a governor with executive experience may not be the worst decision.

[Mr. Morden]

CCM gives a non-denial, saying she’s “focused” on her current job:

https://www.ktnv.com/news/senator-cortez-masto-addresses-vp-rumors

“I can honestly say, right now, my focus is Nevada and what is going on in the state, in addressing this pandemic.”

[BlueGrassKentuckian]

Whitmer, Harris, Klobuchar seem to be the front runners at this point. Maybe Catherine Cortez Masto would help with Mexican American turnout. I think Michigan is pretty much a guarantee for a Biden pickup so maybe someone from Wisconsin or Pennsylvania. I just can't believe, that out of so many possible candidates, it comes down to this.