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

[Ogre Mage]

Speaking about Harris's failure to attract black voters in the primary.

https://twitter.com/markos/status/1252278424682414089

I've heard that particularly in the South, black voters tend to be very pragmatic / not idealistic so this jibes with that impression.  The silver lining for Harris' VP chances is that it suggests her failure to attract black support was mainly driven by fear of losing rather than dislike of her.

The Harris Campaign saw all this data last year.  Her early dropout took many by surprise.  One factor may have been that she concluded she could not overcome the perception she was "too risky" compared to Biden.  So how could that be addressed if she ever ran again?

[Ogre Mage]

Abrams pitches herself again. She wants to make sure Joe knows she'd be a great running mate. In case the first 25 messages didn't make it through.

https://twitter.com/CBSThisMorning/status/1252593419928641536

I know some people are annoyed at her behavior, but I am starting to find it comedic.  Her nonstop attempts to get on the ticket could be an SNL skit, lol.  Maybe Whoopi Goldberg or Queen Latifah could play her.

[Ogre Mage]

Do we really need to wait 3 months? It’s not like Biden is doing anything right now except sitting at home anyway.

This is a critical decision and it is best that Biden and his team take the time to vet the candidates with a fine tooth comb and make a well-thought out pick.  The team can't meet in person which makes some aspects of this process slower than usual.  The running mate is typically announced in August so if it happens in July that is about a month earlier than usual.

[Ogre Mage]

Wasn't Fudge threatening to challenge Pelosi for the speakership in 2019? I doubt Nancy would want her to be VP... unless she thinks she poses a serious threat in the future and wants to eliminate her.

Fudge did but she ultimately endorsed Pelosi after Pelosi named her as chairwoman of a House Administration Subcommittee.  Also, Pelosi agreed to step down as speaker at the end of 2022 so she has no reason to worry about a future challenge.

To me this looks like Pelosi flattering an influential member of her caucus.  Surely she does not believe Fudge has a serious chance of being the running mate.

[Ogre Mage]

Per the Atlantic, Abrams is not being seriously considered for VP.

https://politicalwire.com/2020/04/24/stacy-abrams-not-a-likely-pick-for-biden/

No surprise.  I wonder what Biden's inner circle thinks about her nonstop campaign for VP.  lol.

[Ogre Mage]

https://twitter.com/ShaneGoldmacher/status/1253784627967336450?s=20

Stacey said f-ck what y’all have to say. She’s going to continue to lobby all she wants. Lol.

For foreign-policy experience, that’s a stretch ... Over the past week, I’ve run Abrams’s arguments for herself by a number of top Democratic politicians, aides, and other officials. I’ve gotten a lot of “huh”s and “okayyy”s, especially about what she cited to me as her foreign-policy credentials.

Oh, looks like some Democrats are throwing SHADE.

I also noticed at the start of the article the author kept saying what she was doing was "unusual."  lol.

[Ogre Mage]

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Monday she is not actively lobbying to be selected as Joe Biden’s running mate, breaking with other much-discussed Democratic vice presidential contenders who have more aggressively advocated for a spot on the party’s ticket.

“I mean, I’m not running for anything,” Whitmer said, adding: “I just know that, you know, you don’t run for that. That is a selection of the top of the ticket, and everyone else should be just busy doing their jobs.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/27/whitmer-says-she-wont-campaign-biden-vice-president-vp-211070

I'm seeing some shade from Whitmer in these remarks.  Cause someone is running for "that."

[Ogre Mage]

Duckworth says she’s honored to be in the mix:

https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20200427/duckworth-honored-to-be-in-mix-for-vice-presidential-nominee

"I have served at the pleasure of a president once before," said Duckworth, who was picked by President Barack Obama to be assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. She also served in the Illinois National Guard and lost both legs while a helicopter pilot in the Iraq War.

"I've spent my entire life in service to this country. Of course, I would take any invitation to serve at the pleasure of a president very seriously. That said, I have the job that I love in the U.S. Senate representing the great state of Illinois.

"I am honored that my name is even in the mix. I think it's a good message for working moms everywhere," and also positive for Asian Americans and people with disabilities, said Duckworth, who's included on lists from CNN to Politico.

"If it goes no further than this, I'm already very proud that I get to represent all of those interest groups who are so often underrepresented."

Classy statement by Duckworth.

[Ogre Mage]

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Monday she is not actively lobbying to be selected as Joe Biden’s running mate, breaking with other much-discussed Democratic vice presidential contenders who have more aggressively advocated for a spot on the party’s ticket.

“I mean, I’m not running for anything,” Whitmer said, adding: “I just know that, you know, you don’t run for that. That is a selection of the top of the ticket, and everyone else should be just busy doing their jobs.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/27/whitmer-says-she-wont-campaign-biden-vice-president-vp-211070

I'm seeing some shade from Whitmer in these remarks.  Cause someone is running for "that."

What do you mean by that?

The article that Mr. Morden posted right after my post notes:

Stacey Abrams, a former Georgia lawmaker and unsuccessful candidate for governor, has been privately calling Democratic power brokers, asking them to tell Biden campaign officials that she should be vice president, according to multiple labor leaders familiar with the discussions.

She's also been blatantly campaigning in the media like this is American Idol, lol.  

[Ogre Mage]

Politico had a discussion with four Republican past presidential campaign managers and hosted by Tim Alberta.  When asked who Biden should choose as VP, they all said Kamala Harris.

JEFF ROE:   He has to have a balanced ticket. I understand the need to have somebody that can be president. The Democrats have to believe that; the independents have to believe it, but I think Kamala Harris is his only choice. If you believe in base politics, it’s the only choice.

BETH HANSEN: I would say it goes a little bit beyond base. What it gets him—and you said this just a second ago, Jeff—it gets you enough of the base without freaking people out. And that’s the balance. I would argue that he can’t pick somebody that it’s just going to be so clear it’s not a good fit for who he is. I mean, he does have a reputation of [chuckles] 150 years in politics, and people know who he is, and they know that he is a pragmatic, middle of the road, blue collar, centrist, populist kind of a leader. And so, picking somebody that’s just asynchronous for that, I think will not help him. But he’s got to get enough of that intensity and that base and something different. I think you do end up with Kamala Harris.

DANNY DIAZ: I think there’s an argument for Harris, but at the same time, there’s an argument for Warren.

TERRY SULLIVAN: If you want to make sure that you don’t raise any super PAC money, there’d be an argument for Warren, because there’s not a single big donor that’s going to give any super PAC money unless they’re like some total communist, because they’re all scared sh**tless of her. But I think that’s why Harris would be—she’s just left of center enough. She checks a lot of boxes. They’ve got to be able to turn that minority vote out. But most importantly, I think she’s just vanilla enough that she doesn’t scare people. And I think their campaign—and Jeff and I will disagree on this—I think their campaign needs to be very careful to not scare middle-of-the-road voters.

TIM ALBERTA: On the eve of the Michigan primary, Biden held this rally at Renaissance High School in Detroit where he had a number of high-profile surrogates come out. You know who stole the show? It wasn’t Cory Booker. It wasn’t Gretchen Whitmer. It wasn’t Joe Biden. It was Kamala Harris. And I said to people there, “Wouldn’t it have been interesting if she had been waging her presidential campaign in high school gyms in Detroit instead of coffee shops in Des Moines?” It’s just a completely different vibe for her.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/04/28/2020-campaign-joe-biden-trump-campaign-manager-191169

[Ogre Mage]

I imagine this how the elder CBC members feel about Abrams. They want Harris. He endorsed her and she had more CBC endorsements than Biden when she dropped out.

It’s not going to be Abrams. Clyburn has kept it cordial in public but I know he’s telling Biden that’s not the direction he should go.

https://twitter.com/peterjhasson/status/1255194150829355008?s=20

Yikes!  That statement from Rep. Clay is beyond shade, it's flat out tree throwing.

It does make sense the CBC would back one of their own members.

[Ogre Mage]

https://twitter.com/NBCPolitics/status/1255532322440577037

Bad sign for Harris

This is what I thought... maybe Clyburn heard some things and is trying to downplay expectations of a black VP.

I think that's overthinking it. Maybe he just believes all the frontrunners would be great for the ticket no matter what color they are?

Besides, doesn't the CBC support Harris?

The CBC strongly supported her in 2019.  I assume that is still the case.

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/12/joe-biden-kamala-harris-dream-ticket-1317561

https://www.axios.com/kamala-harris-congressional-black-caucus-south-carolina-6f3c05fc-580f-49c6-b903-4a1223733967.html

[Ogre Mage]

With regards to Ayanna Pressley, I can't see her being picked this time around. But if she ever gets into statewide office she could definitely be a prospect for a national ticket.  She's only 46 years old and has plenty of time to grow into a major politician.  From what I've seen of her the potential is there.  Val Demings is impressive, but she is 63 and in her 2nd term in the House.

[Ogre Mage]

https://twitter.com/NBCPolitics/status/1255532322440577037

Bad sign for Harris

This is what I thought... maybe Clyburn heard some things and is trying to downplay expectations of a black VP.

I'd say it likelier that he's just trying to avoid boxing Biden in.

Yes.  And some black politicians *cough* Abrams *cough* have been pushing too hard.  This may be Clyburn's way of saying "you better relax yourself" (to quote Jill Scott).

[Ogre Mage]

Article on Hollywood power players opinion on who the running mate should be.  Unsurprisingly there is a preference for Kamala Harris but Elizabeth Warren has many fans too.

“My heart is with Elizabeth Warren,” says a longtime denizen of the big-bucks Hollywood fundraiser circuit who gave generously to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in past campaigns.

“If you are looking to light a fuse, and this isn’t about writing checks, because some may grumble but everyone will write checks, Warren is the most exciting,” says a well-heeled producer who has attended many a L.A. fundraiser for many a candidate over the primary season.

“He (Biden) needs to raise money, and if you process the chemistry of a Biden-Harris ticket, it is a pretty good album cover to attract donors on both coasts,” says an established showrunner who has seen a plethora of hopefuls come through Hollywood over the years looking for cash from the fundraising ATM.

Mathew Littman, a former Biden speechwriter who recently helped launch a pro-Biden super PAC, Win the West, said he also favors Harris. He said she has a “great breadth of experience” and, on the campaign trail, has shown she “can be very dynamic ... She would be great as the ‘lead prosecutor’ of the Trump administration.  Being the Vice Presidential nominee means you are taking it to the opponent, in a way that Joe Biden does not need to do.”

https://deadline.com/2020/04/joe-biden-vice-president-pick-michelle-obama-kamala-harris-elizabeth-warren-stacey-abrams-hollywood-donors-1202919979/

[Ogre Mage]

WaPo article speculating about the pick.  Nothing super interesting but a few notable tidbits.

Our Revolution just completed a survey of its members that it said showed 62 percent favoring Warren as Biden’s running mate and 22 percent wanting Abrams. Harris, Klobuchar and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, all more moderate, didn’t break 10 percent ... “The overwhelming majority of the board is enthusiastic about Warren,” said Larry Cohen, who leads Our Revolution.

Liberal groups were dismayed that Biden’s vice-presidential vetting panel, which he announced last week, included no names close to their movement ... Black interests, by contrast, have been incorporated into the campaign.

Abrams’s open campaigning has caused some eyerolls, but several around Biden say it has not necessarily damaged her chances.

Probably because she had no chance to start with, lol.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/elections-2020/joe-biden-is-looking-for-a-running-mate-many-democrats-have-strong-ideas-%e2%80%94-and-few-agree/ar-BB13Dttl?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=mailsignout

[Ogre Mage]

Bernie Sanders doesn't seem too keen on Elizabeth Warren as Biden's running-mate:

Sanders not urging Biden to pick Warren as running mate: report

The article I posted stated --

Our Revolution just completed a survey of its members that it said showed 62 percent favoring Warren as Biden’s running mate and 22 percent wanting Abrams. Harris, Klobuchar and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, all more moderate, didn’t break 10 percent ... “The overwhelming majority of the board is enthusiastic about Warren,” said Larry Cohen, who leads Our Revolution.

Given that Warren is the overwhelming preferred choice of Our Revolution, the fact Sanders is not advocating for her is notable.   

[Ogre Mage]

Harris has an ideology out of line with most moderates, far left on social issues but centrist on economics with a heavy dose of identity politics.

This is a $125 billion plan:

A new bill from Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) aims to help fix this disparity: The Saving Our Street Act, which was shared exclusively with Vox, would allocate grants of up to $250,000 to businesses that have fewer than 10 employees.

The specific targeting of these “micro-businesses” is intended to ensure that smaller entities aren’t excluded from much-needed stimulus: Recent Small Business Administration data shows that companies with assets of $10 billion or more still make up the majority of those receiving loans through the Paycheck Protection Program.

https://www.vox.com/2020/5/6/21249161/kamala-harris-ayanna-pressley-small-businesses-plan

[Ogre Mage]

https://twitter.com/tperry518/status/1258503633693483010

The vetting team was announced last week so it makes sense the process is moving into a new phase of the veepstakes.  I think everyone expected Harris to be vetted by Biden's team.  It will be interesting to see who else gives a shifting answer to this question.

[Ogre Mage]

I think there is little evidence Harris makes a difference, you saw how bad her campaign was. Biden should just pick whoever he thinks will help him win and then govern. If his heart is Whitmer, go there.

I think she does. Black Democrats do genuinely like her, and I think she would have established enough of a foothold had Biden not run. With a large portion of African-Americans already strongly behind Biden, she had to compete for the educated white vote in an incredibly oversaturated field. It wasn't a question of "Kamala is a cop" and more of "We like you, but we trust the safe option more".

The more I think about Harris, the more bullish I am about her value on the ticket. I still think Pressley would be a better option, but she would be a fine nominee. I agree that her campaign could have been better (she could drop her "I misheard" excuse), and I'm not even going to try to defend some of the gaffes she's made, but she definitely brings value to the ticket.

This is purely anecdotal, but my family were the quintessential Biden voters. They trusted & supported him because he was Obama’s VP, stuck with him throughout the fall and summer when he kept flopping in the debates, briefly switched to Bloomberg in the winter when Biden collapsed, and came back to him after South Carolina.

They neither trusted nor liked Kamala Harris. Her white husband (unjustly so) only added to their dislike of her. This idea that Kamala would help with black voters, who already overwhelmingly like and support Biden, is one of the dumbest ideas to come of this cycle.

You're right. What you said was purely anecdotal.

I get you want Harris on the ticket for “balance”, but all evidence so far points to her not being the best pick. She and Warren are both well-known yet Warren seems to outpoll her, among both Blacks and Democrats at-large.

Warren got more coverage than Harris and went on to compete in contests. Those polls are about name recognition and Harris is still within the margin of error. Warren is not going to move any Black votes. Y’all are looking at polls and data, I’m thinking about who has legitimacy to enter Black spaces, especially in this time of social distancing. We don’t have time for people who have been extremely white-centered trying to rally the Black vote in the 11th hour.

My point is we don’t NEED a vp to “rally the Black vote” or “enter Black spaces”. Biden is already well-liked and trusted among older and female Black voters, and Obama on the trail helps with both those groups and younger Black voters. The main arguments for Kamala and Abrams have been them shoring up a group of voters that don’t need shoring up.

He needs to focus on picking someone who’d make a competent president, an effective governing partner, and a good debater. Harris and Warren both fit this criteria, but Warren has the added benefit of *maybe* helping with the left and being old enough not to be seen as front runner in 2024 (which is a major boost in my eyes).

I know Biden probably wants to choose a successor, but I don’t think most Democrats want him to. He got the nomination this time because we faced an existential threat and needed him as a caretaker President. We’re not electing him to shape the party in his image.

I think almost all Democrats want to defeat Trump and hold the White House.  If that means picking a VP who is likely to run for president in the future, so be it. 

[Ogre Mage]

If Biden wins the next four years will also be an opportunity to evaluate the performance of whomever the Vice President is.  President Biden will unquestionably give her some important things to do.  If she is incompetent and corrupt in her duties, I trust Democratic voters will take notice of that if she tries to run for president.  If she does well then she has a legitimate case to make for herself.

[Ogre Mage]

It's a tossup between Klobuchar and Warren

Warren will not be picked...wishful thinking on your behalf.

More likely it's a Toss Up between Klobuchar, Harris and Abrams.

Abrams won't be picked either, lol.

[Ogre Mage]

Rahm Emanuel argues the running mate will be the person that Biden trusts and admires most:

To this day, choosing a running mate remains an explicitly political decision. But, more than most people realize, it is, above all, a very personal choice. A ticket’s chemistry is among the most important (if underappreciated) factors in determining electoral success. More importantly, vice presidents now wield real power in the West Wing. For that reason, my bet is that however much his choice helps him politically, Joe Biden, a former vice president himself, will select the person he admires most, trusts most deeply and gets along with best.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/09/why-joe-bidens-vp-will-be-person-he-trusts-admires-most/

If this is true, who does it help?  Probably Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar and Catherine Cortez Masto.  Biden has known them for some time and they seem to get along well.

Not sure about Elizabeth Warren.  Biden has known her a long time and respects her.  But they have a long history of conflict on the issues.

It hurts Gretchen Whitmer.  Biden doesn't know her that well.

[Ogre Mage]

Rahm Emanuel argues the running mate will be the person that Biden trusts and admires most:

To this day, choosing a running mate remains an explicitly political decision. But, more than most people realize, it is, above all, a very personal choice. A ticket’s chemistry is among the most important (if underappreciated) factors in determining electoral success. More importantly, vice presidents now wield real power in the West Wing. For that reason, my bet is that however much his choice helps him politically, Joe Biden, a former vice president himself, will select the person he admires most, trusts most deeply and gets along with best.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/09/why-joe-bidens-vp-will-be-person-he-trusts-admires-most/

If this is true, who does it help?  Probably Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar and Catherine Cortez Masto.  Biden has known them for some time and they seem to get along well.

Not sure about Elizabeth Warren.  Biden has known her a long time and respects her.  But they have a long history of conflict on the issues.

It hurts Gretchen Whitmer.  Biden doesn't know her that well.

Well, the only two Woman who can probably hold the WH for Democrats in 2024 if Biden doesn't run for Reelection (He will be 81 years old in 2024) are Whitmer and Harris.

Harris has not only good chemistry with Biden himself but also she got along well with his late son Beau. Both were AG's at the same time while they were in Office.

Based on the reading I have done, Harris does seem to be in the pole position for the nomination.  As of now, I would guess she will be the pick.  But we are at least 2 months away from a running mate announcement and the vetting process by Biden's team is still in the relatively early stages.

[Ogre Mage]

Biden goes back fairly far with Whitmer...endorsed her back in 2018.

Yeah, but he's known the others a lot longer.  Klobuchar since she was elected to the Senate in 2006. Harris and Cortez Masto from their State AG days around 2010-15 (their tenures overlapped with Beau Biden's).  Warren since their clash over the 2005 bankruptcy bill and even more after she won her Senate seat in 2012.