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

[Mr. Morden]

Some insights into Biden's thinking from Edward-Isaac Dovere, and how it could be Bas (although to be fair, he's written puff pieces about Warren, Susan Rice, Duckworth, and Kamala already)

Now, much to Bass’s—and pretty much everyone else’s—surprise, Biden’s team is taking her seriously as a potential vice-presidential running mate. One theory is that she’s being vetted to help Biden win favor with the Congressional Black Caucus, which she chairs. Another is that Biden is trying to use the process to elevate as many black women as he can. Yet another is that he’s looking to distract people from speculating about some of the more likely choices. But inside the Biden campaign is another consideration: Over the next month, he’s effectively going to decide whether there will be a competitive Democratic primary in 2024 (or maybe 2028, if he wins and tries to serve until he’s 86 years old). He’s the leader of the party now. Will he decide its future by anointing a successor, or pick someone, like Bass, who’s less likely to run for president?

Biden has wanted to be president for almost 40 years. Now that the White House finally seems within reach, he does not want to be outshone, according to people who know him. He wants to win, but he wants the win to be about him, not his running mate.

The Biden campaign has been trying to decide whether to pick a running mate who satisfies the left or one who represents the racial and ethnic diversity of his party, since Biden himself does neither. Here’s where another argument for Bass kicks in: She shows that Biden doesn’t have to choose. Although Bass doesn’t have much of a relationship with Bernie Sanders, she hasn’t attracted the disdain of his most vocal and committed supporters. That helps explain the satisfaction among Bass’s Sanders-aligned House colleagues when she was named the head of the Biden campaign’s Biden-Sanders unity task force on the economy. Several top Sanders allies told me they were eager to see Bass picked—so much so that they wouldn’t go on the record, out of fear that making her look too aligned with the senator from Vermont could backfire and hurt her chances.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/07/karen-bass-joe-biden-running-mate/613975/?utm_medium=social&utm_term=2020-07-13T09%3A00%3A31&utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=edit-promo

Also notable is this part:

I asked Bass whether she’d see the vice presidency as the culmination of her career or a stepping-stone to the presidency. She started with a long answer about wanting to focus on the work in front of her, and mentor the younger political generation, which has inspired her. “The vice president has considered himself like a transitional leader. That’s how I view it, because I envision a next stage of my life, whenever that comes,” she said.

I stopped her: If there were an open race for the presidency in 2024 or 2028 and she was Vice President Bass, would she run?

“I cannot envision that. That’s the best I can say. I mean, I’m 66. I can’t see that,” she said.

“Joe Biden is going to be 78,” I pointed out.

She paused. “Well. I don’t know how much time I have.”

[brucejoel99]

The Harford Courant says Chris Dodd is “first among equals” on the team leading the VP search, because of his long running friendship with Biden:

https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-chris-dodd-biden-vice-president-20200713-ukrephnva5d7bmnls2cgm2mmg4-story.html

This was also borne out by WaPo's Duckworth article from last week.

[YE]

Some insights into Biden's thinking from Edward-Isaac Dovere, and how it could be Bas (although to be fair, he's written puff pieces about Warren, Susan Rice, Duckworth, and Kamala already)

Now, much to Bass’s—and pretty much everyone else’s—surprise, Biden’s team is taking her seriously as a potential vice-presidential running mate. One theory is that she’s being vetted to help Biden win favor with the Congressional Black Caucus, which she chairs. Another is that Biden is trying to use the process to elevate as many black women as he can. Yet another is that he’s looking to distract people from speculating about some of the more likely choices. But inside the Biden campaign is another consideration: Over the next month, he’s effectively going to decide whether there will be a competitive Democratic primary in 2024 (or maybe 2028, if he wins and tries to serve until he’s 86 years old). He’s the leader of the party now. Will he decide its future by anointing a successor, or pick someone, like Bass, who’s less likely to run for president?

Biden has wanted to be president for almost 40 years. Now that the White House finally seems within reach, he does not want to be outshone, according to people who know him. He wants to win, but he wants the win to be about him, not his running mate.

The Biden campaign has been trying to decide whether to pick a running mate who satisfies the left or one who represents the racial and ethnic diversity of his party, since Biden himself does neither. Here’s where another argument for Bass kicks in: She shows that Biden doesn’t have to choose. Although Bass doesn’t have much of a relationship with Bernie Sanders, she hasn’t attracted the disdain of his most vocal and committed supporters. That helps explain the satisfaction among Bass’s Sanders-aligned House colleagues when she was named the head of the Biden campaign’s Biden-Sanders unity task force on the economy. Several top Sanders allies told me they were eager to see Bass picked—so much so that they wouldn’t go on the record, out of fear that making her look too aligned with the senator from Vermont could backfire and hurt her chances.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/07/karen-bass-joe-biden-running-mate/613975/?utm_medium=social&utm_term=2020-07-13T09%3A00%3A31&utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=edit-promo

I'm as much of a Kamala critic as anyone on this thread but Biden needs someone who is a stronger VP than Bass. Bass simply is not high profile enough for this job. Duckworth and Demings of course would get initial attention but I think either would stick to the message.

Being high profile isn't important. Having the necessary experience is and Bass can argue she knows what it takes to work with divided government (see: her cooperation with Schwarznegger during the California budget crisis) and is aware of the workings of Washington (due to her time in Congress and as chair of the CBC). It's not as if she's a freshwoman or an unimportant backbencher.

Honestly Bass has the perceived strengths of Kamala Harris and is presumably less divisive than Harris. After MLG and Duckworth, she's my third choice at this point.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Warren, Demings, Harris are out Susan Rice in as Veep.  Harris never wanted to be Veep anyway

[wbrocks67]

Some insights into Biden's thinking from Edward-Isaac Dovere, and how it could be Bas (although to be fair, he's written puff pieces about Warren, Susan Rice, Duckworth, and Kamala already)

Now, much to Bass’s—and pretty much everyone else’s—surprise, Biden’s team is taking her seriously as a potential vice-presidential running mate. One theory is that she’s being vetted to help Biden win favor with the Congressional Black Caucus, which she chairs. Another is that Biden is trying to use the process to elevate as many black women as he can. Yet another is that he’s looking to distract people from speculating about some of the more likely choices. But inside the Biden campaign is another consideration: Over the next month, he’s effectively going to decide whether there will be a competitive Democratic primary in 2024 (or maybe 2028, if he wins and tries to serve until he’s 86 years old). He’s the leader of the party now. Will he decide its future by anointing a successor, or pick someone, like Bass, who’s less likely to run for president?

Biden has wanted to be president for almost 40 years. Now that the White House finally seems within reach, he does not want to be outshone, according to people who know him. He wants to win, but he wants the win to be about him, not his running mate.

The Biden campaign has been trying to decide whether to pick a running mate who satisfies the left or one who represents the racial and ethnic diversity of his party, since Biden himself does neither. Here’s where another argument for Bass kicks in: She shows that Biden doesn’t have to choose. Although Bass doesn’t have much of a relationship with Bernie Sanders, she hasn’t attracted the disdain of his most vocal and committed supporters. That helps explain the satisfaction among Bass’s Sanders-aligned House colleagues when she was named the head of the Biden campaign’s Biden-Sanders unity task force on the economy. Several top Sanders allies told me they were eager to see Bass picked—so much so that they wouldn’t go on the record, out of fear that making her look too aligned with the senator from Vermont could backfire and hurt her chances.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/07/karen-bass-joe-biden-running-mate/613975/?utm_medium=social&utm_term=2020-07-13T09%3A00%3A31&utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=edit-promo

I'm as much of a Kamala critic as anyone on this thread but Biden needs someone who is a stronger VP than Bass. Bass simply is not high profile enough for this job. Duckworth and Demings of course would get initial attention but I think either would stick to the message.

Being high profile isn't important. Having the necessary experience is and Bass can argue she knows what it takes to work with divided government (see: her cooperation with Schwarznegger during the California budget crisis) and is aware of the workings of Washington (due to her time in Congress and as chair of the CBC). It's not as if she's a freshwoman or an unimportant backbencher.

Honestly Bass has the perceived strengths of Kamala Harris and is presumably less divisive than Harris. After MLG and Duckworth, she's my third choice at this point.

Not sure how Harris is divisive? People may have strong opinions on her but I don't think she's "divisive" per say. The only person in the running who I would consider that is Warren, since she's very polarizing

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Some insights into Biden's thinking from Edward-Isaac Dovere, and how it could be Bas (although to be fair, he's written puff pieces about Warren, Susan Rice, Duckworth, and Kamala already)

Now, much to Bass’s—and pretty much everyone else’s—surprise, Biden’s team is taking her seriously as a potential vice-presidential running mate. One theory is that she’s being vetted to help Biden win favor with the Congressional Black Caucus, which she chairs. Another is that Biden is trying to use the process to elevate as many black women as he can. Yet another is that he’s looking to distract people from speculating about some of the more likely choices. But inside the Biden campaign is another consideration: Over the next month, he’s effectively going to decide whether there will be a competitive Democratic primary in 2024 (or maybe 2028, if he wins and tries to serve until he’s 86 years old). He’s the leader of the party now. Will he decide its future by anointing a successor, or pick someone, like Bass, who’s less likely to run for president?

Biden has wanted to be president for almost 40 years. Now that the White House finally seems within reach, he does not want to be outshone, according to people who know him. He wants to win, but he wants the win to be about him, not his running mate.

The Biden campaign has been trying to decide whether to pick a running mate who satisfies the left or one who represents the racial and ethnic diversity of his party, since Biden himself does neither. Here’s where another argument for Bass kicks in: She shows that Biden doesn’t have to choose. Although Bass doesn’t have much of a relationship with Bernie Sanders, she hasn’t attracted the disdain of his most vocal and committed supporters. That helps explain the satisfaction among Bass’s Sanders-aligned House colleagues when she was named the head of the Biden campaign’s Biden-Sanders unity task force on the economy. Several top Sanders allies told me they were eager to see Bass picked—so much so that they wouldn’t go on the record, out of fear that making her look too aligned with the senator from Vermont could backfire and hurt her chances.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/07/karen-bass-joe-biden-running-mate/613975/?utm_medium=social&utm_term=2020-07-13T09%3A00%3A31&utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=edit-promo

I'm as much of a Kamala critic as anyone on this thread but Biden needs someone who is a stronger VP than Bass. Bass simply is not high profile enough for this job. Duckworth and Demings of course would get initial attention but I think either would stick to the message.

Being high profile isn't important. Having the necessary experience is and Bass can argue she knows what it takes to work with divided government (see: her cooperation with Schwarznegger during the California budget crisis) and is aware of the workings of Washington (due to her time in Congress and as chair of the CBC). It's not as if she's a freshwoman or an unimportant backbencher.

Honestly Bass has the perceived strengths of Kamala Harris and is presumably less divisive than Harris. After MLG and Duckworth, she's my third choice at this point.

I'd actually argue Bass would be much more divisive once picked than Harris, but that's just my two cents. 

[YE]

Some insights into Biden's thinking from Edward-Isaac Dovere, and how it could be Bas (although to be fair, he's written puff pieces about Warren, Susan Rice, Duckworth, and Kamala already)

Now, much to Bass’s—and pretty much everyone else’s—surprise, Biden’s team is taking her seriously as a potential vice-presidential running mate. One theory is that she’s being vetted to help Biden win favor with the Congressional Black Caucus, which she chairs. Another is that Biden is trying to use the process to elevate as many black women as he can. Yet another is that he’s looking to distract people from speculating about some of the more likely choices. But inside the Biden campaign is another consideration: Over the next month, he’s effectively going to decide whether there will be a competitive Democratic primary in 2024 (or maybe 2028, if he wins and tries to serve until he’s 86 years old). He’s the leader of the party now. Will he decide its future by anointing a successor, or pick someone, like Bass, who’s less likely to run for president?

Biden has wanted to be president for almost 40 years. Now that the White House finally seems within reach, he does not want to be outshone, according to people who know him. He wants to win, but he wants the win to be about him, not his running mate.

The Biden campaign has been trying to decide whether to pick a running mate who satisfies the left or one who represents the racial and ethnic diversity of his party, since Biden himself does neither. Here’s where another argument for Bass kicks in: She shows that Biden doesn’t have to choose. Although Bass doesn’t have much of a relationship with Bernie Sanders, she hasn’t attracted the disdain of his most vocal and committed supporters. That helps explain the satisfaction among Bass’s Sanders-aligned House colleagues when she was named the head of the Biden campaign’s Biden-Sanders unity task force on the economy. Several top Sanders allies told me they were eager to see Bass picked—so much so that they wouldn’t go on the record, out of fear that making her look too aligned with the senator from Vermont could backfire and hurt her chances.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/07/karen-bass-joe-biden-running-mate/613975/?utm_medium=social&utm_term=2020-07-13T09%3A00%3A31&utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=edit-promo

I'm as much of a Kamala critic as anyone on this thread but Biden needs someone who is a stronger VP than Bass. Bass simply is not high profile enough for this job. Duckworth and Demings of course would get initial attention but I think either would stick to the message.

Being high profile isn't important. Having the necessary experience is and Bass can argue she knows what it takes to work with divided government (see: her cooperation with Schwarznegger during the California budget crisis) and is aware of the workings of Washington (due to her time in Congress and as chair of the CBC). It's not as if she's a freshwoman or an unimportant backbencher.

Honestly Bass has the perceived strengths of Kamala Harris and is presumably less divisive than Harris. After MLG and Duckworth, she's my third choice at this point.

I'd actually argue Bass would be much more divisive once picked than Harris, but that's just my two cents. 

Any particular reason why?

[Mr. Morden]

The Daily Beast has a brief recap of Harris’s friendship with Beau Biden:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/kamala-harris-was-in-biden-circle-of-trust-then-came-debate-night

“Short of personal friendship with Dr. [Jill] Biden, there is no bigger credit that you can have with the vice president than a relationship with Beau,” said one source close to the Bidens, who told The Daily Beast that the family, marked by tragedy and incredibly tight-knit after decades in the public eye, would naturally hold anyone with Beau’s stamp of approval in the highest esteem. “He was the heir.”

And then on the fallout from the “that little girl was me” debate moment:

But some in Biden’s circle, and in the Biden family, have been slower to warm to Harris after the “little girl” moment. A source close to the Bidens told The Daily Beast that Valerie Biden Owens, the vice president’s sister and longtime adviser, is still “chilly” on Harris, and that Dr. Jill Biden was privately flippant when Harris endorsed her husband in March.
.
.
.
But those in a position to make their feelings on Harris’ potential as a running mate heard still point to the debate as potentially disqualifying—and note that both Dr. Biden and Valerie Biden Owens hold huge sway in any final decision on a running mate.

“I don’t think the emotions of Dr. Biden and Val have softened,” said one source familiar with the Biden family’s feelings on the matter, who allowed that polling on Harris’ utility as a running mate “and the persistent whispering of advisers trying to smooth things over” might change their opinions.

[libertpaulian]

Ugh, that blowhard John Morgan is back on the scene?  Has he threatened to leave the Democratic Party again?

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

The Daily Beast has a brief recap of Harris’s friendship with Beau Biden:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/kamala-harris-was-in-biden-circle-of-trust-then-came-debate-night

“Short of personal friendship with Dr. [Jill] Biden, there is no bigger credit that you can have with the vice president than a relationship with Beau,” said one source close to the Bidens, who told The Daily Beast that the family, marked by tragedy and incredibly tight-knit after decades in the public eye, would naturally hold anyone with Beau’s stamp of approval in the highest esteem. “He was the heir.”

And then on the fallout from the “that little girl was me” debate moment:

But some in Biden’s circle, and in the Biden family, have been slower to warm to Harris after the “little girl” moment. A source close to the Bidens told The Daily Beast that Valerie Biden Owens, the vice president’s sister and longtime adviser, is still “chilly” on Harris, and that Dr. Jill Biden was privately flippant when Harris endorsed her husband in March.
.
.
.
But those in a position to make their feelings on Harris’ potential as a running mate heard still point to the debate as potentially disqualifying—and note that both Dr. Biden and Valerie Biden Owens hold huge sway in any final decision on a running mate.

“I don’t think the emotions of Dr. Biden and Val have softened,” said one source familiar with the Biden family’s feelings on the matter, who allowed that polling on Harris’ utility as a running mate “and the persistent whispering of advisers trying to smooth things over” might change their opinions.

Susan Rice is gonna be Veep

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

The Daily Beast has a brief recap of Harris’s friendship with Beau Biden:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/kamala-harris-was-in-biden-circle-of-trust-then-came-debate-night

“Short of personal friendship with Dr. [Jill] Biden, there is no bigger credit that you can have with the vice president than a relationship with Beau,” said one source close to the Bidens, who told The Daily Beast that the family, marked by tragedy and incredibly tight-knit after decades in the public eye, would naturally hold anyone with Beau’s stamp of approval in the highest esteem. “He was the heir.”

And then on the fallout from the “that little girl was me” debate moment:

But some in Biden’s circle, and in the Biden family, have been slower to warm to Harris after the “little girl” moment. A source close to the Bidens told The Daily Beast that Valerie Biden Owens, the vice president’s sister and longtime adviser, is still “chilly” on Harris, and that Dr. Jill Biden was privately flippant when Harris endorsed her husband in March.
.
.
.
But those in a position to make their feelings on Harris’ potential as a running mate heard still point to the debate as potentially disqualifying—and note that both Dr. Biden and Valerie Biden Owens hold huge sway in any final decision on a running mate.

“I don’t think the emotions of Dr. Biden and Val have softened,” said one source familiar with the Biden family’s feelings on the matter, who allowed that polling on Harris’ utility as a running mate “and the persistent whispering of advisers trying to smooth things over” might change their opinions.

Didn't Kamala and Jill do a fundraiser together last month? Dr. Biden was very effusive in her praise of Harris during that event. Dr. Jill Biden also said herself on MSNBC in late June that Kamala was on the "short list" for VP.

I think that Kamala's debate statement did sting the Bidens but I don't think it will have a significant effect on her chances to be selected as VP.

[Rookie Yinzer]

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...

[DisneyDem]

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...

Stuff like He’s running in the wrong primary was purely issue based. Not that KH was not issue based, it just had the added layer of personal. Let me give an example. Putting aside his age, let’s pretend never Trumper Gordon Humphrey became a Democrat and ran for president, and I, somehow age 35, ran for president against him. If I were to Point out he’s vote against the Americans with disabilities act. It would be a policy difference, but it would go beyond that. I would be saying you stood in the way of my ability to achieve the American dream. Putting a side whether Harris was justified in saying that, and I believe she was, that kind of a tag coming from a close family friend is very jarring. Again not saying she wasn’t justified, but saying it’s akin to even the most blistering policy critiques it’s not really fair. There is another layer. Now I don’t know if Jill or the rest of the family is truly over it and the fundraiser is a sign of that, or if it was to deflect criticism is that she was blocking her, But I could understand her perspective either way

[Devils30]

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...

We’re harping on it because it’s relevant to whether the Democratic nominee decides to pick someone who didn’t do that to him in a debate over her. I thought her attack was fair game but you can’t blame Biden if he doesn’t pick her.

[heatcharger]

Jill Biden blocking Kamala from stealing the Vice Presidency like:

[DisneyDem]

Just listen to the end of the  that’s the ticket podcast. Dan Pfeiffer said he will pick Harris, wall Alyssa master Monaco said he will pick rice. Both of them gave the caveat that it was based on no insider knowledge

[Interlocutor is just not there yet]

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

[Donerail]

Ugh, that blowhard John Morgan is back on the scene?  Has he threatened to leave the Democratic Party again?

Not sure what this is about — John Morgan hasn't been mentioned in the last couple pages — but I wholeheartedly endorse Biden/Morgan 2020.

[Rookie Yinzer]

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...

We’re harping on it because it’s relevant to whether the Democratic nominee decides to pick someone who didn’t do that to him in a debate over her. I thought her attack was fair game but you can’t blame Biden if he doesn’t pick her.

Nah. It’s relevant to you because you hate her. Y’all keep bringing it up when Joe Biden said MONTHS ago that he was over it.

Let me be clear that if he doesn’t pick her it is what it is. But the debate is a dumb ass reason and the people who keep bringing it up like she betrayed him are acting like he is a fragile ass child. He wasn’t above reproach for the praise he lavished on known segregationists. Period.

[GeorgiaModerate]

It will be really nice when there is some actual VP news in this thread instead of the endless sniping among people who dislike particular candidates.

[Mr. Morden]

Nah. It’s relevant to you because you hate her. Y’all keep bringing it up when Joe Biden said MONTHS ago that he was over it.

Let me be clear that if he doesn’t pick her it is what it is. But the debate is a dumb ass reason and the people who keep bringing it up like she betrayed him are acting like he is a fragile ass child. He wasn’t above reproach for the praise he lavished on known segregationists. Period.

Wait, let's be clear here.  I brought it up because there's a news story about how people in Biden's personal / political orbit care about it, and therefore it's relevant to this thread.  I agree with you that it's an incredibly dumb thing for them to care about.  But that's what was reported, so that's why I posted it.  This is "Biden VP news megathread", not "Biden VP what I personally think the campaign should care about megathread".

[BidenHarris2020]

He really should just announce already.

[Dr Oz Lost Party!]

The Daily Beast has a brief recap of Harris’s friendship with Beau Biden:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/kamala-harris-was-in-biden-circle-of-trust-then-came-debate-night

“Short of personal friendship with Dr. [Jill] Biden, there is no bigger credit that you can have with the vice president than a relationship with Beau,” said one source close to the Bidens, who told The Daily Beast that the family, marked by tragedy and incredibly tight-knit after decades in the public eye, would naturally hold anyone with Beau’s stamp of approval in the highest esteem. “He was the heir.”

And then on the fallout from the “that little girl was me” debate moment:

But some in Biden’s circle, and in the Biden family, have been slower to warm to Harris after the “little girl” moment. A source close to the Bidens told The Daily Beast that Valerie Biden Owens, the vice president’s sister and longtime adviser, is still “chilly” on Harris, and that Dr. Jill Biden was privately flippant when Harris endorsed her husband in March.
.
.
.
But those in a position to make their feelings on Harris’ potential as a running mate heard still point to the debate as potentially disqualifying—and note that both Dr. Biden and Valerie Biden Owens hold huge sway in any final decision on a running mate.

“I don’t think the emotions of Dr. Biden and Val have softened,” said one source familiar with the Biden family’s feelings on the matter, who allowed that polling on Harris’ utility as a running mate “and the persistent whispering of advisers trying to smooth things over” might change their opinions.

I mean, we've also gotten reports saying that Jill got over the exchange... and she and Kamala seemed to have great chemistry during their virtual fundraiser.

[Beet]

Some insights into Biden's thinking from Edward-Isaac Dovere, and how it could be Bas (although to be fair, he's written puff pieces about Warren, Susan Rice, Duckworth, and Kamala already)

Now, much to Bass’s—and pretty much everyone else’s—surprise, Biden’s team is taking her seriously as a potential vice-presidential running mate. One theory is that she’s being vetted to help Biden win favor with the Congressional Black Caucus, which she chairs. Another is that Biden is trying to use the process to elevate as many black women as he can. Yet another is that he’s looking to distract people from speculating about some of the more likely choices. But inside the Biden campaign is another consideration: Over the next month, he’s effectively going to decide whether there will be a competitive Democratic primary in 2024 (or maybe 2028, if he wins and tries to serve until he’s 86 years old). He’s the leader of the party now. Will he decide its future by anointing a successor, or pick someone, like Bass, who’s less likely to run for president?

Biden has wanted to be president for almost 40 years. Now that the White House finally seems within reach, he does not want to be outshone, according to people who know him. He wants to win, but he wants the win to be about him, not his running mate.

The Biden campaign has been trying to decide whether to pick a running mate who satisfies the left or one who represents the racial and ethnic diversity of his party, since Biden himself does neither. Here’s where another argument for Bass kicks in: She shows that Biden doesn’t have to choose. Although Bass doesn’t have much of a relationship with Bernie Sanders, she hasn’t attracted the disdain of his most vocal and committed supporters. That helps explain the satisfaction among Bass’s Sanders-aligned House colleagues when she was named the head of the Biden campaign’s Biden-Sanders unity task force on the economy. Several top Sanders allies told me they were eager to see Bass picked—so much so that they wouldn’t go on the record, out of fear that making her look too aligned with the senator from Vermont could backfire and hurt her chances.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/07/karen-bass-joe-biden-running-mate/613975/?utm_medium=social&utm_term=2020-07-13T09%3A00%3A31&utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=edit-promo

I'm as much of a Kamala critic as anyone on this thread but Biden needs someone who is a stronger VP than Bass. Bass simply is not high profile enough for this job. Duckworth and Demings of course would get initial attention but I think either would stick to the message.

Being high profile isn't important. Having the necessary experience is and Bass can argue she knows what it takes to work with divided government (see: her cooperation with Schwarznegger during the California budget crisis) and is aware of the workings of Washington (due to her time in Congress and as chair of the CBC). It's not as if she's a freshwoman or an unimportant backbencher.

Honestly Bass has the perceived strengths of Kamala Harris and is presumably less divisive than Harris. After MLG and Duckworth, she's my third choice at this point.

Not sure how Harris is divisive? People may have strong opinions on her but I don't think she's "divisive" per say. The only person in the running who I would consider that is Warren, since she's very polarizing

How is Warren polarizing? What a bunch of gibberish to say nothing.

[GoTfan]

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...

We’re harping on it because it’s relevant to whether the Democratic nominee decides to pick someone who didn’t do that to him in a debate over her. I thought her attack was fair game but you can’t blame Biden if he doesn’t pick her.

Nah. It’s relevant to you because you hate her. Y’all keep bringing it up when Joe Biden said MONTHS ago that he was over it.

Let me be clear that if he doesn’t pick her it is what it is. But the debate is a dumb ass reason and the people who keep bringing it up like she betrayed him are acting like he is a fragile ass child. He wasn’t above reproach for the praise he lavished on known segregationists. Period.

Anyone who expresses misgivings about Harris immediately becomes a personal enemy of yours.