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

[heatcharger]

A:
Tulsi Gabbard
Amy Klobuchar
Tammy Duckworth

B:

C:
Catherine Cortez-Masto
Michelle Lujan-Grisham
Terri Sewell
Gretchen Whitmer

D:
Val Demings
Keisha Lance Bottoms

F:
Stacey Abrams
Kamala Harris
Susan Rice
Elizabeth Warren

[Warren 4 Secretary of Everything]

Has anyone thought about Tulsi Gabbard for VP? Popular among Republicans, woman of color, great biography. I know she’s not liked by a lot of the party, but isn’t that kind of the point? She would bring the other side in without alienating the base.

The base, and I mean the volunteer base of the Democratic Party who will GOTV are Black women. We need to cater to them not weak kneed Republicans. Screw Tulsi.

We actually don’t need to cater to them. They got their choice of nominee already. Throw a bone to another important part of the party so we can have a united front.

Hmm. Biden won white voters in the Midwest and I’ve seen folks be persistent that it be a folksy, authentic, aw shucks, gee golly wow white woman from Winnetka, Minnesota so....

Kamala has experience turning out and serving constituencies of Black, AAPI, and Latino* people (*votes Biden struggled w/ in some states). Kamala should be the pick.

I’m pretty anti-VP Klobuchar as well. Biden occupies the “working-class Moderate” lane already, no need to double down on that with the running-mate selection.

He needs to throw a bone to the progressives who feel shut out of the process by Biden and whoever he might pick to “succeed him”. That means a Tammy Baldwin or Liz Warren.

And Kamala’s electoral record is pretty unremarkable, running behind Jerry Brown in both her elections to AG. That’s not to say Warren’s is, but I’m not holding her’s up as why she should be the pick.

Picking Tammy Baldwin would jeopardize her seat and we shouldn't do that. Also, as the primaries have shown, most progressives live in cities and/or states that are already heavily Democratic. It wouldn't have an effect for Biden in the electoral college. It would just increase his popular vote margin.

I would be mostly fine with Warren but she is 70 years old. So it wouldn't be the best look having two White 70+ year olds being the "leaders" of the Democratic Party.

Anyways, beyond everything, what would your reaction be if Biden chose Harris to be his VP?

I’d be a bit disappointed as I’d trust Biden to deliver on progressive legislation and navigation of the federal bureaucracy more (I.E student loan forgiveness) with Warren as his governing partner. And I don’t much like the idea of Biden basically selecting the nominee in 2024, assuming he doesn’t run again.

But I trust Kamala to rip Pence a new one in the debate and to be a competent President if the unspeakable happened. I like her, I just like Warren way more.

[TiltsAreUnderrated]

Has anyone thought about Tulsi Gabbard for VP? Popular among Republicans, woman of color, great biography. I know she’s not liked by a lot of the party, but isn’t that kind of the point? She would bring the other side in without alienating the base.

The base, and I mean the volunteer base of the Democratic Party who will GOTV are Black women. We need to cater to them not weak kneed Republicans. Screw Tulsi.

We actually don’t need to cater to them. They got their choice of nominee already. Throw a bone to another important part of the party so we can have a united front.

Hmm. Biden won white voters in the Midwest and I’ve seen folks be persistent that it be a folksy, authentic, aw shucks, gee golly wow white woman from Winnetka, Minnesota so....

Kamala has experience turning out and serving constituencies of Black, AAPI, and Latino* people (*votes Biden struggled w/ in some states). Kamala should be the pick.

I’m pretty anti-VP Klobuchar as well. Biden occupies the “working-class Moderate” lane already, no need to double down on that with the running-mate selection.

He needs to throw a bone to the progressives who feel shut out of the process by Biden and whoever he might pick to “succeed him”. That means a Tammy Baldwin or Liz Warren.

And Kamala’s electoral record is pretty unremarkable, running behind Jerry Brown in both her elections to AG. That’s not to say Warren’s is, but I’m not holding her’s up as why she should be the pick.

Picking Tammy Baldwin would jeopardize her seat and we shouldn't do that. Also, as the primaries have shown, most progressives live in cities and/or states that are already heavily Democratic. It wouldn't have an effect for Biden in the electoral college. It would just increase his popular vote margin.

I would be mostly fine with Warren but she is 70 years old. So it wouldn't be the best look having two White 70+ year olds being the "leaders" of the Democratic Party.

Anyways, beyond everything, what would your reaction be if Biden chose Harris to be his VP?

The most tangible electoral effect most VPs apply is the home state boost. Baldwin won Wisconsin by 10 points while Walker lost by 1, so she'd clearly bring that to the table. Taking a wider view, cities that are heavily Democratic can exist in states that are not and juicing turnout amongst urban progressives can be helpful there, and it arguably makes more sense to court progressives even where there's a lower distribution of them if the top of the ticket is already well-suited to moderates.

I don't think Baldwin would be picked (despite being the strongest VP candidate, IMO) because of the Senate loss, but in any timeline where there's a decent chance of a male VP pick, Feingold would be a serious contender.

[2016]

I actually hope Biden picks Harris or Warren so Haley can crush either of them in 2024.

[Da2017]

A tier
Baldwin
Duckworth
Harris
B tier
Demings
Lujan-Grisham
Whitmer
C tier
Warren
Lance Bottoms
D tier
Abrams
Rice
F tier
Gabbard
Gillibrand
Hillary Clinton

[henster]

Has anyone thought about Tulsi Gabbard for VP? Popular among Republicans, woman of color, great biography. I know she’s not liked by a lot of the party, but isn’t that kind of the point? She would bring the other side in without alienating the base.

The base, and I mean the volunteer base of the Democratic Party who will GOTV are Black women. We need to cater to them not weak kneed Republicans. Screw Tulsi.

We actually don’t need to cater to them. They got their choice of nominee already. Throw a bone to another important part of the party so we can have a united front.

Hmm. Biden won white voters in the Midwest and I’ve seen folks be persistent that it be a folksy, authentic, aw shucks, gee golly wow white woman from Winnetka, Minnesota so....

Kamala has experience turning out and serving constituencies of Black, AAPI, and Latino* people (*votes Biden struggled w/ in some states). Kamala should be the pick.

I’m pretty anti-VP Klobuchar as well. Biden occupies the “working-class Moderate” lane already, no need to double down on that with the running-mate selection.

He needs to throw a bone to the progressives who feel shut out of the process by Biden and whoever he might pick to “succeed him”. That means a Tammy Baldwin or Liz Warren.

And Kamala’s electoral record is pretty unremarkable, running behind Jerry Brown in both her elections to AG. That’s not to say Warren’s is, but I’m not holding her’s up as why she should be the pick.

Where are people basing this from her '16 race against another Democrat? Or in '14 when she ran behind Brown? Her '16 race just doesn't factor for me when I look at her electoral record.

[DisneyDem]

Exactly. Because not only was Sanchez another dam, she was a particularly Weak one.

Has anyone thought about Tulsi Gabbard for VP? Popular among Republicans, woman of color, great biography. I know she’s not liked by a lot of the party, but isn’t that kind of the point? She would bring the other side in without alienating the base.

The base, and I mean the volunteer base of the Democratic Party who will GOTV are Black women. We need to cater to them not weak kneed Republicans. Screw Tulsi.

We actually don’t need to cater to them. They got their choice of nominee already. Throw a bone to another important part of the party so we can have a united front.

Hmm. Biden won white voters in the Midwest and I’ve seen folks be persistent that it be a folksy, authentic, aw shucks, gee golly wow white woman from Winnetka, Minnesota so....

Kamala has experience turning out and serving constituencies of Black, AAPI, and Latino* people (*votes Biden struggled w/ in some states). Kamala should be the pick.

I’m pretty anti-VP Klobuchar as well. Biden occupies the “working-class Moderate” lane already, no need to double down on that with the running-mate selection.

He needs to throw a bone to the progressives who feel shut out of the process by Biden and whoever he might pick to “succeed him”. That means a Tammy Baldwin or Liz Warren.

And Kamala’s electoral record is pretty unremarkable, running behind Jerry Brown in both her elections to AG. That’s not to say Warren’s is, but I’m not holding her’s up as why she should be the pick.

Where are people basing this from her '16 race against another Democrat? Or in '14 when she ran behind Brown? Her '16 race just doesn't factor for me when I look at her electoral record.

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

Has anyone thought about Tulsi Gabbard for VP? Popular among Republicans, woman of color, great biography. I know she’s not liked by a lot of the party, but isn’t that kind of the point? She would bring the other side in without alienating the base.

The base, and I mean the volunteer base of the Democratic Party who will GOTV are Black women. We need to cater to them not weak kneed Republicans. Screw Tulsi.

We actually don’t need to cater to them. They got their choice of nominee already. Throw a bone to another important part of the party so we can have a united front.

Hmm. Biden won white voters in the Midwest and I’ve seen folks be persistent that it be a folksy, authentic, aw shucks, gee golly wow white woman from Winnetka, Minnesota so....

Kamala has experience turning out and serving constituencies of Black, AAPI, and Latino* people (*votes Biden struggled w/ in some states). Kamala should be the pick.

I’m pretty anti-VP Klobuchar as well. Biden occupies the “working-class Moderate” lane already, no need to double down on that with the running-mate selection.

He needs to throw a bone to the progressives who feel shut out of the process by Biden and whoever he might pick to “succeed him”. That means a Tammy Baldwin or Liz Warren.

And Kamala’s electoral record is pretty unremarkable, running behind Jerry Brown in both her elections to AG. That’s not to say Warren’s is, but I’m not holding her’s up as why she should be the pick.

Where are people basing this from her '16 race against another Democrat? Or in '14 when she ran behind Brown? Her '16 race just doesn't factor for me when I look at her electoral record.

She's never lost a general election going back to 2003 when she first ran for San Francisco District Attorney.

In order to win in SF, she definitely had to win a large percentage of the Asian vote. In 2016, she won 47% of the Latino vote against Loretta Sanchez which is pretty decent. Kamala also won 79% of the Black vote in 2016.

[Mr. Morden]

New York Times story here on Harris:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/11/us/politics/kamala-harris-biden-vp.html

The story suggests that while Harris is (of course) not playing as overt a public game as Abrams, she’s also not playing as overt a private game as Warren:

In several interviews, Ms. Harris has said she would be “honored” to serve with Mr. Biden, but there is no public campaign similar to that carried out by Stacey Abrams, the former candidate for governor in Georgia. There is no surrogate lobbying effort like the one for Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, which includes direct polling presentations. Instead, even people close to Mr. Biden — often bombarded with pleas from those vying to be his running mate — have remarked about how little they have heard from Ms. Harris and her allies.
.
.
.
This does not mean she isn’t privately maneuvering, according to more than a dozen people familiar with her activities or with Mr. Biden’s search for a vice president. Ms. Harris, who declined to be interviewed for this article, has dedicated the five months since she ended her campaign to housecleaning steps meant to position her better for what comes next: whether it’s a vice-presidential bid, a longer career in the Senate, a run for governor or a position like attorney general in a Biden administration.

Another interesting detail is that Al Sharpton was apparently ready to endorse Abrams for veep but was talked out of it(!):

After The New York Times reported that Mr. Sharpton was set to publicly endorse Ms. Abrams for vice president, some supporters of Ms. Harris took issue. In a follow-up interview, Mr. Sharpton said he was now refraining from going public, and would deliver his preferences to Mr. Biden’s selection committee.

[Mr. Morden]

Baldwin says she’s in “regular contact” with Biden; won’t comment on whether she’s discussed being veep:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tammy-baldwin-joe-biden-vp-candidate-meat-industry/

Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin said she is in "regular contact" with Joe Biden and she has been working with his campaign, but she would not comment directly on whether she has discussed being his running mate. "I keep my counsel with the vice president's campaign private," she told CBSN's Tanya Rivero in an interview Monday.

Baldwin said she has advised the campaign "extensively" on her home state of Wisconsin, which Hillary Clinton narrowly lost in 2016, while Baldwin won by nearly 11 points in 2018. She also said she is participating in regularly in surrogate activities in this "virtual campaign age."

[RussFeingoldWasRobbed]

I don't think she has Obama level skills with turnout though.

Politicians like Obama come once every 50 years. Comparing everyone to him, like they did before 2008 with JFK, is counterproductive.

No kidding. When people were gawking over Pete and comparing him to Obama, I was thinking you've got to be kidding, right?

[Neo-Malthusian Misanthrope]

National Union tier:
Condoleeza Rice
A tier:
Tammy Duckworth
B tier:
Tammy Baldwin
London Breed
Sally Yates
C tier:
Kamala Harris
Amy Klobuchar
Elizabeth Warren
Gretchen Whitmer
D tier:
Stacey Abrams
Catherine Cortez-Masto
Val Demings
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Michelle Lujan Grisham
Susan Rice

[OSR stands with Israel]

I don't think she has Obama level skills with turnout though.

Politicians like Obama come once every 50 years. Comparing everyone to him, like they did before 2008 with JFK, is counterproductive.

Reagan and maybe even Bill Clinton were arguably more charismatic

[JRP1994]

https://twitter.com/jeneps/status/1260033502818402304

[Suburbia]

Biden should pick Warren.

Harris and Abrams are not presidential material, Klobuchar would be good as AG or Chief of Staff.

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

Biden should pick Warren.

Harris and Abrams are not presidential material, Klobuchar would be good as AG or Chief of Staff.

How is Kamala Harris not "presidential material"? She's literally one of, if not, the most qualified among the prospective VP candidates.

You literally like to speak a bunch of nonsense 95% of the time.

[Suburbia]

Biden should pick Warren.

Harris and Abrams are not presidential material, Klobuchar would be good as AG or Chief of Staff.

How is Kamala Harris not "presidential material"? She's literally one of, if not, the most qualified among the prospective VP candidates.

You literally like to speak a bunch of nonsense 95% of the time.

She could not last until Iowa, some black voters don't like her, she is not ADOS

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

Biden should pick Warren.

Harris and Abrams are not presidential material, Klobuchar would be good as AG or Chief of Staff.

How is Kamala Harris not "presidential material"? She's literally one of, if not, the most qualified among the prospective VP candidates.

You literally like to speak a bunch of nonsense 95% of the time.

She could not last until Iowa, some black voters don't like her, she is not ADOS

You've been hanging around too much Black conservatives and other idiots on Twitter lol.

Just stop it.

[DisneyDem]

Can anyone make a clear argument why London Breed is not at the top of the list? Because she seems perfect

[soundchaser]

Can anyone make a clear argument why London Breed is not at the top of the list? Because she seems perfect

The one-word answer would be: who?

[Lognog]

Can anyone make a clear argument why London Breed is not at the top of the list? Because she seems perfect

nothing helps win the rust belt better than a super liberal (socially) San Francisco mayor 

[DisneyDem]

Can anyone make a clear argument why London Breed is not at the top of the list? Because she seems perfect

nothing helps win the rust belt better than a super liberal (socially) San Francisco mayor 

I just think she has all the benefits of kamala Harris (youth, Black woman) without the negatives such as the Terrible presidential campaign, da and AG record) where am I wrong?

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

Can anyone make a clear argument why London Breed is not at the top of the list? Because she seems perfect

nothing helps win the rust belt better than a super liberal (socially) San Francisco mayor  

I just think she has all the benefits of kamala Harris (youth, Black woman) without the negatives such as the Terrible presidential campaign, da and AG record) where am I wrong?

She doesn't have a national profile or DC connections. Also, no one has ever made the major leap from Mayor to Vice President. That would be an extraordinary and unprecedented ascendance.

It would also be troubling because Biden will be in his late 70s/early 80s and we'll need a VP who will be ready to be President at any time. Additionally, Biden wants a VP who he is close with. A best friend-like relationship President Obama and him have together. Biden doesn't have a personal connection to Mayor Breed.

[DisneyDem]

I just want him to pick A black woman who didn’t repeatedly defend wrongful convictions, laugh at the R word, and face zero consequences for either. Is that too much to ask?

[Ogre Mage]

Paul Waldman makes an interesting point --

The running mate’s real job is not to make people love her or turn out to support her, but to positively affect how people think of the nominee. Take the case of one running mate who performed abysmally in his own presidential run that year, but nonetheless was a near-perfect choice: Joe Biden.

Barack Obama picked Biden not because of his proven appeal to voters, but because he could reassure certain people about Obama. Biden was an older white man who had been in Washington for decades; the political point of his selection was to quiet fears people might have had about Obama being too young or too green. And it worked.

So if you’re wondering what kind of effect a potential running mate might have on the outcome of the election, the question you should ask is, “What would choosing this person say about Joe Biden?”

What that means is although it’s easy to overthink the choice and believe it’s possible to pull off some clever, narrowly tailored electoral maneuver (With this running mate, we’ll pick up Midwestern suburban women aged 45-64!), what Biden actually needs to do is make a big and easy-to-understand point about who he is and what his presidency will be like.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/11/how-think-about-bidens-choice-vice-president/