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

[Heebie Jeebie]

Those are all terrible ideas.  Can we please stop pretending that Biden wouldn't choose Kamala Harris as his running mate?  She's the only reasonable choice.

[Heebie Jeebie]

Those are all terrible ideas.  Can we please stop pretending that Biden wouldn't choose Kamala Harris as his running mate?  She's the only reasonable choice.

Trump's campaign would have a field day if Harris were Biden's running mate

They'd replay their debate exchanges

Is Harris qualified to be VP? Yes.

Would Harris be the best choice for Biden, strategically, if he were the nominee? No.

Has there been a Biden-Harris debate moment that would hurt Biden in the general?  I can't think of one.  Anyway, Harris is a black woman who is properly credentialed (a Senator!).  Plus, she actually wants to be president.  She's the only person who meets those criteria, and she's the closest he could get to recapturing that old Obama/Biden magic.  Everybody needs to stop overthinking this.  If Biden is the nominee, Harris will be his running mate.

[Heebie Jeebie]

Of the candidates being seriously considered, who do you think is most like Biden himself in temperament and approach to politics?

[Heebie Jeebie]

https://twitter.com/jbarro/status/1269983636314632193

I was a strong backer of Warren during the primary and was very disappointed she didn't win, but I think she would be the wrong choice for Biden's running mate.  Frankly, she's too old.  I hope Biden picks Harris.

[Heebie Jeebie]

The article from this morning reminded me that there’s no good reason Carol Mosley Braun is not  on the shortlist

A 72-year-old former Senator who couldn't beat Rahm Emanuel in a Chicago mayor's race (she got 9%!)?  She doesn't exactly sound like winning choice.

[Heebie Jeebie]

Abrams would bring a shake up to the status quo more so than Harris, due to fact Harris has been a SF liberal not a Maxine Waters liberal. We have had enough Valerie Jarretts and Susan Rice in Dem WH. Harris will be another Susan Rice

Harris, like Biden, is an institutionalist, and she'll go where the party goes.

[Heebie Jeebie]

We can now all agree that Warren isnt gonna be picked

I disagree. There's no reason to think that Warren isn't still in the running.  What made her appealing two weeks ago still makes her appealing today.  Or do we really think Biden will make such a consequential decision based solely on today's New York Time's front page? 

[Heebie Jeebie]

A friend was watching the funeral today and asked me why  sheila Jackson lee was not on the shortlist. I had no good answer. What do y’all think?

Is this going to be a thing until August? Naming every Black woman on Earth and asking why they aren’t in the conversation? LOL.

I mean, why not Halle Berry?

[Heebie Jeebie]

One big reason to pick Harris is that it would open up a Senate seat in California and there are about a million talented California Democrats waiting for a chance to get promoted.

[Heebie Jeebie]

I wish Gillibrand were in the running.

[Heebie Jeebie]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/11/politics/biden-kamala-harris-keisha-lance-bottoms-val-demings/index.html

Top 5 on the List:
1.) Kamala Harris
2.) Keisha Lance Bottoms
3.) Val Demings
4.) Michelle Lujan Grisham
5.) Elizabeth Warren

I suspect Biden makes his choice the last week of July right before August 1st. Maybe August 1st, since it does fall on a Saturday. Allows for that weeks news cycle to get the puff pieces ready to pump out the VP nominee.

I'm really happy to see MLG so high on the list. Two years as governor is kind of thin, but Biden is showing some real weakness with Latinos and he really needs to be thinking about Texas in 2024/28, a state where Lujan Grisham should play well.

[Heebie Jeebie]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/11/politics/biden-kamala-harris-keisha-lance-bottoms-val-demings/index.html

Top 5 on the List:
1.) Kamala Harris
2.) Keisha Lance Bottoms
3.) Val Demings
4.) Michelle Lujan Grisham
5.) Elizabeth Warren

I suspect Biden makes his choice the last week of July right before August 1st. Maybe August 1st, since it does fall on a Saturday. Allows for that weeks news cycle to get the puff pieces ready to pump out the VP nominee.

I'm really happy to see MLG so high on the list. Two years as governor is kind of thin, but Biden is showing some real weakness with Latinos and he really needs to be thinking about Texas in 2024/28, a state where Lujan Grisham should play well.

She's also been in congress for six years. Don't think experience is much of an issue here if Val Demings is in the mix, too.

I dunno how MLG does on the trail and whether she would create enough excitement. Voters don't just vote because the VP is of the same background. Especially if we're talking about Hospanics, who are a far less homogeneous voter block as opposed to AAs. I think Kamala Harris is the best choice to VP, followed by Val Demings.

My impression of Hispanic voters is that older ones are somewhat socially conservative and economically progressive, while younger ones are basically like young voters everywhere--socially and economically liberal, but unreliable as a voting bloc.  The catch, of course, is that the Hispanic population is significantly younger on average than other Democratic constituencies.  

[Heebie Jeebie]

https://twitter.com/dick_nixon/status/1271487077742510080

[Heebie Jeebie]

https://mobile.twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/1272157069337034765

[Heebie Jeebie]

That’s why he should still consider types like Whitmer and even Klobuchar. They’d be much more popular overall than woke Warren and Harris.

Just look at this year's primary results, which show that voters despise candidates like Warren and Harris and also love... Amy Klobuchar?

The Democratic primary electorate is not the same as the general election electorate.

[Heebie Jeebie]

Biden is gonna pick a Senator. Picking someone from South FL as African American doesnt help Biden.  Val Demings wont be picked. That's why Biden is going with Abrams. 

The protests will die down, Lebron James was close to Stephen Jackson, and was very vocal in the Trayvon Martin.  Once Lakers start playing, there wont be anymore protests.

There isnt a dime's worth of differences between Warren or Harris. Jill Biden has a friendship with Warren

Huh?

I was saying that before the Atlanta protests. But, Senators are gonna be selected not Val Demings.  Biden is seriously looking at Tammy Baldwin, it turns out, not just Warren. If that's the case, then Dems are looking to expand the map for Senate and Ron Kind will be the next Senator

This is stupid.  There’s basically no evidence that the veep pick is politically important--certainly not enough to swing a difficult Senate race.

[Heebie Jeebie]

Biden knows how old he is. He's going to pick someone he thinks is ready to take over and be president from day one. That's not going to be a first&term congressional rep or the mayor of medium-size city. He's going to pick a Senator, someone from the House leadership, the governor of a big state, or a high-level former cabinet member.

[Heebie Jeebie]

He'll pick Harris, paving the way for my Harris/Duckworth dream 2024 ticket:

[Heebie Jeebie]

Just pick Harris so we can have the Biden/Harris ticket everyone has been predicting since January 2018.

I've said this before, but I do think that's going to end up being the case. It's a similar situation to Clinton picking Tim Kaine in 2016: there was a lot of speculation leading up to her choice, but everyone knew deep down inside that it was always going to be Kaine who was chosen.

Let's hope whatever choice is made doesn't get panned quite as badly as 2016's after the fact.

Word.  I think I'm the only person in the country who still thinks Tim Kaine was an outstanding choice.

[Heebie Jeebie]

I'm thinking about what happens to the contenders in the event they're not picked as running mate...

Val Demmings - In 2022, she could run for governor against DeSantis or for Senate against Rubio.  Frankly, I think she'd be far more useful in either of those races than she would be on the national ticket.

Michelle Lujan Grisham - In 2022, she'd run for re-election as NM's governor, obviously.

Keisha Lance Bottoms - In 2022, she could run for re-election as Atlanta mayor or against Collins for Senate, if Warnock loses his race this year.  I'm assuming Abrams gets the Democratic nomination for governor again.

Susan Rice - In 2022, she could become Washington D.C.'s first US Senator.

Gretchen Whitmer - In 2022, she'd run for re-election as MI's governor, and Debbie Stabenow is likely to retire in 2024 and Whitmer would be a natural pick for her replacement.  As with Demmings, Whitmer would be far more useful running in these races than on the national ticket.

[Heebie Jeebie]

If Washington DC finds itself electing senators in the near future, there’s a long list of local elected officials (including current Mayor Bowser, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, and a bunch of council members who’ve run city-wide) who are more likely to win than the relatively unknown Susan Rice.

If you're right, that's a powerful argument for removing Rice from the veep discussions.  If she doesn't even have enough sway to win a Senate race in her home town, what could she add to the national ticket?

[Heebie Jeebie]

Val Demmings - In 2022, she could run for governor against DeSantis or for Senate against Rubio.  Frankly, I think she'd be far more useful in either of those races than she would be on the national ticket.

The more I think about this, the less convinced I am.  Ag Commissioner Nikki Fried seems like a much better choice to run against DeSantis, and Reps Darren Soto and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell would both be better picks to challenge Rubio.  I think normally Demmings wouldn't even be in the conversation for state-wide run, let alone in the veep discussion.  I'm perplexed as to why she's gotten the attention she has.

[Heebie Jeebie]

A couple of thoughts.

Klobuchar is just expressing a personal opinion, and people shouldn't read too much into it.  Amy is a good Democrat who might make a good Senate Majority Leader one day, but her thoughts on this subject don't carry any more weight than anyone else's.  I doubt anyone in Warren's camp even gave a second thought to Amy's comment.

Speaking of Warren, Biden really needs to be asking himself, "Do I want Warren in the tent pissing out, or out of the tent pissing in?"  Warren was a real thorn in the side of the Obama administration (a million times more so than Sanders was).  Warren, unlike Harris or the others, can credibly threaten the stick in addition to offering the carrot (not explicitly, of course, but implicitly).  Something to think about...

[Heebie Jeebie]

I hope they're just trying to boost Demmings's clout ahead of a 2022 run against Rubio.

[Heebie Jeebie]

It isn't that Kamala is the worst idea, I just believe Biden has better options including women of color. Demings would absolutely be a plus for all but the far lefties (Kamala will do no better here). Lujan Grisham isn't high profile but her background in public health, Congress and as Governor would be ideal. Duckworth also as a war hero has a more compelling story.

I just don't see how Kamala resonates with people. Her career is all insider, coastal politics and is heavily focused on social issues as opposed to economic ones. If unemployment is 10% and student debt is even worse in 2022, you can guarantee average voters will turn on this type of party.

This. Worst, this sets up the direction of Democratic politics for the rest of the decade. You have to look past one election. Her getting picked would be a disaster for the country, but this is the current timeline, which is of course why Biden will pick her.

Politically and ideologically, Harris is about as close to "generic Democrat" as you're going to get. I wouldn't call that a disaster.