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

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If Biden goes with a high-ranking Latina (a House member is not good enough in my view) are there any reasons to favor Lujan Grisham over Cortez Masto?

House members don't get no respect, no respect at all

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Boooooo

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Feels like it'll be Harris. I guess it's good? I don't know.

Ever since her first statewide race in 2010, I never got the hype or enthusiasm for her. Never got a grasp of who she was or what she stood for. And if charisma is a factor, I never saw any in her.

I guess it doesn't matter because California will go blue regardless and Biden's numbers won't be affected very much by whoever he picks. But if both are the case, it wouldn't matter who his running mate would be. If so, I'd rather it was someone like Sen. Duckworth or Mayor Bottoms. Perhaps Rep. Demings, although I don't know how her law enforcement past would fly

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Other than the lingering impact of the three-year-long "Kamala is a cop" smear campaign launched against her by the Sanders wing, Harris is the perfect candidate on paper.  And right now is a perfect opportunity for her to cover that weakness.  

Thanks Obama Sanders

And I found her overrated/overhyped before she was even a Senator, let alone primary candidate

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Other than the lingering impact of the three-year-long "Kamala is a cop" smear campaign launched against her by the Sanders wing, Harris is the perfect candidate on paper.  And right now is a perfect opportunity for her to cover that weakness.  

Thanks Obama Sanders

And I found her overrated/overhyped before she was even a Senator, let alone primary candidate

Did you vote in the Senate election in 2016? If so, did you vote for Loretta Sanchez?

I did vote in 2016 & I did vote for Harris.

I distinctly remember the debate they had where Harris sleepwalked through it while Sanchez flossed dabbed. Sanchez never seemed to take that race seriously enough

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Other than the lingering impact of the three-year-long "Kamala is a cop" smear campaign launched against her by the Sanders wing, Harris is the perfect candidate on paper.  And right now is a perfect opportunity for her to cover that weakness.  

Thanks Obama Sanders

And I found her overrated/overhyped before she was even a Senator, let alone primary candidate

Did you vote in the Senate election in 2016? If so, did you vote for Loretta Sanchez?

I did vote in 2016 & I did vote for Harris.

I distinctly remember the debate they had where Harris sleepwalked through it while Sanchez flossed. Sanchez never seemed to take that race seriously enough

My favorite part was when Sanchez did a dab during the Senate debate.  It was like what the hell, lol.

That what it was! Got my meme dances mixed up

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Thread

https://twitter.com/ccadelago/status/1270517272168345602

So Biden picks Miss Overrated!

If anything, Kamala is underrated... not in her chances at being VP, but as a politician. Most of the vitriol towards her were based on misunderstandings of her record as a prosecutor.

That doesn't help much, but there's plenty of other reasons why I'm not the most enthused with her (Of which I've already stated on a previous page)

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I wish Biden would just pick Harris already so we can put an end to all the "Kamala Harris would be the perfect running mate" comments.

I got the message the first 10 times it was said here. No use dragging it out further & I don't know if I can take another month or two of it

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Am I the only Democrat who isn't feeling the Demings or Bottoms hype? Like, I understand the strategy behind putting a black woman on the ticket. But seriously? They're way too inexperienced to be Vice President after four years of incompetence coming from the white house, some of which I would attribute to a lack of experience. I would much prefer someone who is a senator or governor to someone who's literally only been in congress for 3 years, or the mayor of only the 36th largest city in the country. If the Biden team is really insistent on choosing a black running mate, they should just get it over with and choose Harris rather than continuing to diminish their own credibility by seriously considering second-tier options.

If the Anti-Trump vote is so intense and Biden is a solid enough candidate, why does it matter who he picks for his running mate?

Experience-wise, do you know who our president is? Even the Mayor  of the 4th largest city in Indiana seemed more presidential than him.

I just feel this running mate contest is sending tons of mixed signals regarding its importance.Running mates matter very little and voters are gonna be chomping at the bits to vote against Trump. Yet at the same time, it apparently must follow a strict criteria of experience & credability points, lest they look bad in comparison to Donald f'n Trump.

I hate how it's almost a mandate that they must be a Senator. Biden seems to be playing around with that, or at least appearing to do so with Bottoms/Demings making the shortlist.

I kinda feel like the "Experience, aka a Senator" take is being used largely as a crutch by the "Must be Harris" crowd. Democrats are gonna turn out & vote for Biden no matter who his running mate is. But it can't be a big city Mayor or Congresswoman because reasons, must be a Senator. And gee, I wonder who that narrows it down to

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I hate how it's almost a mandate that they must be a Senator. Biden seems to be playing around with that, or at least appearing to do so with Bottoms/Demings making the shortlist.

I kinda feel like the "Experience, aka a Senator" take is being used largely as a crutch by the "Must be Harris" crowd. Democrats are gonna turn out & vote for Biden no matter who his running mate is. But it can't be a big city Mayor or Congresswoman because reasons, must be a Senator. And gee, I wonder who that narrows it down to.

I posted earlier in the thread that history very strongly suggests the pick will be a U.S. Senator.  From 1944 on, the Democratic running mate has almost always been a U.S. Senator.  The only exceptions were Shriver in 1972 (who replaced electroshock therapy Senator Eagleton) and Geraldine Ferraro in 1984.  Both of those tickets lost in a landslide.

I saw that post earlier. I just don't think Biden is guaranteed defeat (and certainly not a 49-state landslide defeat) if he picks a non-Senator. Anyone in politics would be more experienced than the guy currently in the White House.

And if we know he'll pick a Senator anyway, why even play the speculation game when, given the parameters & unwritten rules set forth, it seems 99.5% certain that he'll pick Harris regardless of what the articles or shortlists say

[Interlocutor is just not there yet]

Whereas Harris is charismatic, experienced, and not all that divisive.

I've followed state politics for 10 years and I still haven't gotten a whiff of this fabled charisma from her

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I'm not sure what the point of Warren being under consideration is. Even well before the protests, the intentions seemed clear that he wasn't interested in a white woman as his running mate.

And if it was to placate the progressive base, it would've made more sense to have Abrams or Duckworth this deep in the mix even if he has no intention of choosing them.

Regarding Demings, I will say this.  While she has only been in the House a short period of time, she has served on some very important committees (Homeland Security, Judiciary, and Intelligence).  I feel like the Biden camp could make the case that she's qualified enough, if they needed to. 

I know you said 'if they needed to', but "She's got more political experience than the president" seems good enough to me

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Abrams and Duckworth aren't exactly known for their progressive bonafides.

Abrams and Duckworth seem like they're strongly supported by the 'Progressive' wing. Anecdotal; but having attended a few Bernie rallies this year, the most common names I heard among attendees as running mates they'd go for were Baldwin, Duckworth & Abrams (in that order)

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I definitely see this as one scenario for how the VP search could play out:

https://twitter.com/Nate_Cohn/status/1273574062820921345

If only Duckworth was more well-known...

Then again, how well known was Pence outside Indiana? Or Biden himself outside Delaware?

Or Kaine outside of Virginia.

I think if they're a good enough running mate & pass vetting, it shouldn't matter how well-known someone is.

Although when the pros & cons are laid out like that, Duckworth seems like a no-brainer

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At the rate this is going, when Harris is announced people are going to be like "we knew that already," lol.

If there's a barrage of comments along the range of that & "Why did we spend 100+ pages discussing this when it was so obvious?", I'm gonna flip.

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I already said that Warren is gonna be Veep. We all must remember Klobuchar didnt endorse Bernie due to fact she said that a socialist cant win and Warren is a socialist, too. Now, we suppose to believe her that Warren is out of the Veepstakes and assume Harris is gonna be Veep. Neither Biden nor Warren confirmed that Warren is out of the running, Warren and Bernie have good fundraising and if Harris was so great, she ran for Prez and didnt even make it to ST, get real.

Go Warren for Veep😍😍😍😍

Even though Julian Castro is/was enabling Warren or whatever it was you were spouting for weeks?

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It's going to be Harris

Funny how everyone thought "Oh Biden/Harris makes sense"like 2 years ago and now here we are

You won't be wrong. But it feels like you've posted on every page how you want Harris or know it'll be Harris. It's practically become a drinking game for me

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LOL at the comments of this tweet who say that Harris is worse than Palin.
I'm starting to believe that Harris Derangement Syndrome is a thing.

And I'm starting to believe that Twitter is not real life

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So I have a question what are the drawbacks for Duckworth? That she isn't the right color for a person of color? Anything else?

Apparently that she is not well known or a gifted orator.

I'd imagine the "not well known" concern can be solved by becoming a running mate to the current apparent frontrunner

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Yep.  You announce right before the convention.  Don't give the extremists in the party time to find a reason to hate the VP and coalesce around a set of talking points.  Otherwise, that will be the story the media latches onto.  The convention will drown it out.

Keeping the gimmick alive

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Exactly, she will have wider appeal than a Harris, Warren and Rice who appeal mainly to urban intellectuals who are more socially liberal, winners of the meritocracy game.

Or she'll instantly be over-inflated into a Palin figure who captures everyone's attention but then fails to adequately meet expectations when she's put on TV. And if she does flounder, it would reflect poorly on Biden. He's doing so well right now that I'd hate for him to toss in a gigantic unknown like Duckworth and then end up screwed. Same story for the risk/reward that would come with choosing Warren. She automatically alienates some people and automatically inspires others, but it's not at all clear which of those effects would ultimately come out stronger.

Harris, on the other hand, adds "energy" and "youthfulness" with relatively little risk. I honestly think it has to be Kamala.

If you think it "has" to be someone, then no amount of convincing will do good for you. Everyone will look like Sarah Palin or Dan Quayle to you if it's not the running mate you want. I'd think the Biden camp has done a tenfold job of vetting running mates than the McCain camp ever did.

It's like how the litmus test for a running mate here must be a female non-white Senator (Not Governor/Mayor/Congressperson) whose a known commodity and has run a national presidential campaign. Gee, I wonder who that narrows it down to. Might as well add "Has both of their legs" to the test to disqualify Duckworth even further (Though that might as well be filled under "energy" and "youthfulness")

I also hate how this "running mates have negligible electoral effects" take is applied inconsistently. That "Anti-Trump sentiment is so strong that Trump would lose to any Democrat", but Biden must pick Harris lest he face a humiliating defeat?

And if being unknown is a problem, perhaps being the running mate to the current double-digit frontrunner is a good jumping off point for Duckworth.

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Exactly, she will have wider appeal than a Harris, Warren and Rice who appeal mainly to urban intellectuals who are more socially liberal, winners of the meritocracy game.

Or she'll instantly be over-inflated into a Palin figure who captures everyone's attention but then fails to adequately meet expectations when she's put on TV. And if she does flounder, it would reflect poorly on Biden. He's doing so well right now that I'd hate for him to toss in a gigantic unknown like Duckworth and then end up screwed. Same story for the risk/reward that would come with choosing Warren. She automatically alienates some people and automatically inspires others, but it's not at all clear which of those effects would ultimately come out stronger.

Harris, on the other hand, adds "energy" and "youthfulness" with relatively little risk. I honestly think it has to be Kamala.

Of course you're backing her.

Context?  

Somebody above said that arguing Harris “has to” be the choice means I’m not open to being convinced otherwise and that it makes it easy for me to cast everyone as a Palin figure. That’s ridiculous black-and-white thinking. The choices aren’t “goddess Kamala” and a barrel of poison. I just feel that Duckworth is particularly susceptible to being Palinized because she has all the hallmarks of a celebrity candidate with already some of the red flags that show she may not be politically agile enough to deal with the spotlight. Why would you choose someone who you know will receive more outsized attention than anybody else and who you don’t know has the political skills to keep up with the pressure? It could all work out fine, and I’d possibly take the risk if I were only up by three. Biden is up by 10. It doesn’t make sense.

Thanks for quoting me.

Again, I just can't square this take of "Running mates mean very little to a campaign" and "Anti-Trump feelings are so high that it literally doesn't matter who runs against him" with "It has to be this person because the other one is too risky". I'd imagine if Biden were up by 10 instead of 10, that actually gives him more wiggle room to pick someone who you'd consider "risky".

Then again, I get the impression that Biden has known for months who he wants and all these names coming out are just window-dressing for potential cabinet positions. I seriously doubt he's ever considered Warren a serious running mate, regardless of whatever lists or reports are out.

If only Duckworth spent even a week running for president. Maybe then she'd be considered just as viable as Harris, Klobuchar & Warren are/were.

Anyway, if it's Duckworth then I'll be happy. If it's Harris, then I'll be disappointed but have spent weeks expecting it anyway. Either way, it won't matter because I'm 99% sure it'll be Harris and this thread will soon double in size with empty quote chains of "Who else could it have been?", "As expected", "It was always going to be her" and "My Queen!" comments.

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The democratic ticket will NOT be two white septuagenarians. Not in 2020

I really like Warren, but I've never treated her as a serious choice throughout this vetting process. Pretty damn clear he was never gonna pick her, so I don't know why she keeps getting mentioned in these lists/reports other than to appease progressives that she has more than a 1% chance of being picked

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If he wants to go the Hillary route and (foolishly) bank on the support of Black Americans just because he was O's VP,  then so be it. But representation matters. Hillary learned that the hard way with reduced AfAm support after choosing milquetoast Tim Kaine of all people.

It was inevitable for Black turnout and support to decline as Obama wasn't on the ballot. I also doubt Hillary picking Kaine for the ticket significantly hurt her in this area even if he didn't help her much at all.

Perhaps, but picking Cory Booker, for example, could have made a critical difference.

Personally, I'm not sure it would've made a difference.  I think we as political junkies have a tendency to really overestimate the ultimate impact running mates have. Unless that individual proves to be a disaster in the way Sarah Palin.  Ultimately it falls on whomever the nominee is to have the skill and talent to win.

Yeah, this is another one of those contradictions we like to do here.

"It really doesn't matter who the running mate is, anti-Trump fervor is very strong. Also, Tim Kaine cost HRC the election and Biden must pick ___Insert your favorite ___ because it's simply the only way"

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Why are we still talking about this moment? She rightfully held him accountable for the glowing statements he made about white segregationists. To still be harping on this is white fragility.

But it’s crickets on the much more searing attacks Warren made against him. I see the double standards for non-white women...

You're right, it's crickets on searing attacks from women who are only on the shortlist so as to placate progressives and make them think she has any chance of being picked