So Biden is out, but he didn't resign. He'll be president until January.
If Democrats are smart, they'll quickly coalesce around Kamala Harris and be done with it. She may not be perfect, but on short notice she's the best they have.
But then, when have Democrats ever been smart?
UPDATE: Hold on. In a second Twitter post, Biden endorsed Harris:
My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best… pic.twitter.com/x8DnvuImJV
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024
No one will be challenging Harris for the nomination. No one.
Apparently Joe Manchin disagrees. Maybe also that tool who won five delegates in the primaries who the money guys really want.
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And yet Obama hasn’t endorsed her.Some reports are he wants another candidate. Let’s hope not. It will tear the party apart the way Teddy Kennedy did when he challenged Carter. The convention was extremely divisive even though Carter was already the candidate
I've never been that excited about Kamala Harris. But now --- Go Kamala!! I'm totally excited.
Things that could help her win over some fence-sitting independents:
- Name and face recognition
- No mental slowness or onset of dementia
- Is 59 years old (Trump is 78!)
- Can speak in coherent sentences
- Doesn’t wear diapers
- Pleasant personality
- MAGA and Trump has not had time to smear her
- Experience as a US Senator
- Almost 4 years of experience as VP of US
- A woman
- Biracial (not sure if this helps or hurts overall)
Bonus factors:
- Not a rapist
- Not a sociopath
- Not a narcistic
- Not a felon
- Not a populist, demagogue conman
- Not a wannabe authoritarian
- Doesn’t cheat on spouse with porn stars
- Not nasty and cruel as f***
And when MAGA and Trump do try to smear her, it is going to be a very bad look for them. Cringeworthy and stomach-churning ugly.
Red meat for the rabid, but I think we've finally reached peak Trump.
Sounds good, I really hope that's all true.
Trump can be extremely careless with his words, and he often gets away with it. But maybe it will start to hurt him this time.
And when that happens, the media will have a few half hearted pieces pointing all that out, but will nonetheless normalize Drumpf and MAGA attacks on Harris by (1) seriously covering and discussing them (even if pointing out--in bland and nuanced euphemisms, of course--that they are false); (2) spewing forth the inevitable firehose spray of horse race stories--not considering whether the MAGA attacks are false, racist, misogynistic, or just plain despicable, but whether they help or hurt Unser Drumpfenführer in the polls, and finally (3) obsessively covering the Harris "scandal" of supporting and defending Biden right up until the moment he withdrew--trust me, this is coming.
Her responce shouldn't be shock. At this point does anything he does shock anyone anymore? Her responce should be to counter his lies without much mockery and derision. Treat him like the toddler he is without talking to him like he's a toddler. Brutal honesty with a hint of derision and or mockery. She has to seem like the adult in the room. Which won't be too hard.
Good stuff.
Do you think Trump would have picked JD if he knew he was running against Kamala? I definitely don't put it past Trump to try to change.
Plus you just know how Trump is going to be whining that it's cheating and unfair to him to switch after the GOP convention.
he could try to swap in vivek.
i don't see bowman's hindoo wife being as keen to smear a presidential nominee as vp nominee. she's a rank partisan john roberts clerk, but that also means she worships presidential power, & not necessarily party specific.
He's an even bigger sychophant than Vance. But Trump is a biased piece of ????. Ramaswamy would need to be forced on him. I don't see that happening when he already has a white sychophant who is sufficiently up Trumps ????.
Also she's an experienced prosecutor, good at turning Donald Including-and-&-the Trump's nasty incoherent words into boomerangs.
Trump and Biden constipated our politics. Now we've got some movement, and it's such a relief! Kamala, get him!
Haha, that's one way to put it. And it's actually true.
Seems that the most presumably compelling reason to nominate Harris is: name recognition? There are a few things being overlooked: 1) Whoever is nominated is going to be HUGE news. Tons of coverage. The name and face recognition will skyrocket as national interest and stories upon stories ignite. 2) Charisma. I think no candidate lacking charisma has won in my 60 years of life. Even George W. was able, with his handlers, to manufacture a phoney good ol' boy charimsa. I admire Harris. She lacks charisma. 3) Winning. Winning. Winning. I bet Pelosi, Schumer, Obama and dozens more are analysing and talking about who could bring more electoral votes, who more swings or centrists, who can make a majority of a nation fall in love. If Harris proves to be the strongest, most engaging and remarkable candidate in America, then hooray. If Whitmer/Shapiro or Whitmer/Booker or Pritzker/Booker are deemed the ticket with the best chance - we should reach for the gold ring.
Nothing compelling about her having access to all the money that’s already been raised for “Biden/Harris” or her already being the vice president which usually is the next person in line to run?
Better trolls please!
Well in case anyone is reading this and hasn't already read a hundred articles asserting the following: it's been repeatedly reported that the money raised for Biden/Harris would go to the DNC which would put it in a super-pac to support whoever the candidate is. This being true, then the Biden/Harris money so far raised makes no material difference regarding whomever the candidate might be. Thanks for calling me a troll though. A first for me.
You've been called a troll before. Which make you a liar which confirms you're a troll. That's in addition to your asinine embracing of an open primary.
it's been repeatedly reported that the money raised for Biden/Harris would go to the DNC
False. Harris was already on the Biden ticket. Her campaign can inherit Biden-Harris funds without issue.
The time for playing "Let's pretend" is over. Biden delegates will unite behind the nominee endorsed by Joe Biden, as they should. Anybody who wants to natter away about "mini primaries" and other idiocy is supporting Trump.
Harris has been vetted in a national campaign. Hence, there are unlikely to be any surprises. That is less true of other candidates.
>I think no candidate lacking charisma has won in my 60 years of life.
Joe Biden seems like an exception. Ditto Bush, Sr.
I’m in a Shakespearean mood today:
Joe: Nothing in his [political] life became him like the leaving of it. (Macbeth)
Kamala: Some have greatness thrust upon them. (Twelfth Night)
Damn, I just check the RCP average of polls and Kamala, without even being the nominee, is behind Trump by just 1.7%. Biden is 3% behind. I could see her surging ahead of Trump.
I wonder if this surge in enthusiasm we feel will spill over to independents?
Time will tell, but I am optimistic.
Already Trump is talking about not participating in the scheduled Sept. debate. Scared much?
Some criticize Kamala for an unimpressive 2020 primary campaign. But then, she was campaigning against Democrats. Against Republicans, she will likely bring her articulate prosecutorial skills to bear, and her enthusiasm.
And speaking of prosecutorial skills, now that Trump won't be going to trial for his Jan 6 crimes, perhaps Kamala will be trying this case in front of a jury composed of the American people.
Some criticize Kamala for an unimpressive 2020 primary campaign. But then, she was campaigning against Democrats.
America has a long history of unsuccessful presidential campaigns by candidates who ultimately won the big prize in subsequent cycles: Nixon, Johnson, Reagan, George HW Bush, Joe Biden and Donald Trump all got elected president after failing in earlier attempts.
[crying in gary hart]
Grab him by the pussy Kamala!
News outlets reporting Joe Manchin is thinking about re-registering as a DEM to challenge Kamala Harris. This is incredibly self serving and will cause MORE people to hate Joe Manchin IMHO.
Now for Kamala.
I hope she brings a zest for campaigning and that DEM "big names" come out to support her. She is capable and smart and I HOPE that she displays some toughness in dealing with Trump
Trump now becomes the "old man" in the campaign.
What will be interesting is her pick for VP.
I am proud to have voted for President Biden and will always hold him in high regard. He did an astonishingly good job considering what he inherited.
Now a question
Is Kamala an interim? OR will she stay on for two terms? Don't just jump and say two terms. THINK about it for a minute or two.
That's fine. Manchin can beg someone to nominate him at the convention and get two votes from delegates. It would be a fittingly ignominious end to the career of a man who devoted his life to sabotaging his own party so he could get media headlines.
No kidding! What the fuck is he thinking?
is dean phillips a delegate?
Are two of his family going to be delegates?
Gavin Newsom may not be having his greatest day ever.
Or, if he thinks she can't win, it's the best day ever.
This day is not about Newsom. Period.
Any attempt to avoid debating her will just look cowardly, and any attempt to debate her will only make him look more disordered.
I hope plenty of attention is given by the media to Trump's snarling abusive response, and in contrast to Joe Biden's gracious remarks after someone took a shot at Trump. It really demonstrated the man's total lack of decency.
Agree. And Biden made a call, had the guts and decency to talk directly to the reprobate SOB, too. I'd like to see the full contrast come out.
Harris' candidacy would address one core group of voters whose enthusiasm had been waning significantly: Black voters, especially women. She's going to energize the base, which is what's needed to be successful in the GOTV operation. People need a reason to stand in hours-long lines to vote in GOP-controlled states and Harris is the winning choice.
But she shouldn't be anointed; there should be at least one debate and the formal opportunity for delegates to make their choice ahead of the convention. Have them use a ranked voting system.
My big takeaway about Kevin Drum's comments on this matter are that there's not much point in paying attention to Kevin Drum's comments on much of anything anymore.
Dude, nobody forces you to read this blog. Or to make inane comments.
You did that all by yerself.
Not much of anything anymore.
I swear to God if those in the media calling for Biden to drop by Labor Day start to have second thoughts or regrets for they have done, I'm going to find where they live and leave dead skunks on their front stoops.
Okay, maybe I won't do that. And maybe everything will turn out alright and Harris is nominated and the Dems coming out of Chicago will be united and happy she'll have a big lead in the polls...
..And maybe not. Already Republicans are calling on Biden to resign the Presidency itself because logically if Biden is too sick too run, why is he still President, hmm? That will prominent GOP attack line. And if Harris isn't ahead of Trump by Labor Day then I guarantee you the same who wanted Biden to step aside as the nominee are going to demand he resign as President, because if one can happen so can the other. Hopefully people have thought this through.
By the way, who's in charge? Biden or Harris? That will be another GOP talking point along with charges she concealed with his staff his physical and mental health. The only want to blunt these charges is for Harris to be President. That call from the same pundits will come any day now. And if not, then you have a political black hole opening up with an ailing Biden now as lame a duck as you can possibly be with cabinet members not knowing if they will back for another four years and thus perhaps free to do what they want, especially on foreign policy. And will said policy be conducted with the Vice-President's political interests in mind or someone elses.
There should be a contested convention, because Harris will be the nominee of such a convention. That's a foregone conclusion and everyone knows it. There's no reason for the delegates to ditch her (Manchin will get ZERO votes at the convention. ZERO! What a pathetic man trying to shove his way into the situation) and she gets all their money and doesn't have to start a campaign operation from scratch. Oh by the way, do you think a few weeks is enough time for a vetting a VP candidate? I hope that's long enough.
You see, all these problems were apparent if Biden stepped down but unfortunately too many people were freaked out by swing state polling even though none showed Biden trailing by more than seven points, not an insurmountable challenge. In the future, if a said candidate is behind in the polls by that amount before a nominating convention, can that candidate pull out or should pull out because they're trailing in the polls? Hmm? The example has now been set.
Again, if I hear any regrets....
But then, when have Democrats ever been smart?
Old that damn old Democratic Party, winners of the popular vote in seven of the last eight Presidential elections. What a bunch a dummies for winning the support of the people!
Please...there's a reason why the conservatives I knew always called the GOP the "Stupid Party".
Tonight's the full moon, people, when human affairs often get shaken up
This announcement will certainly help identify the chaos agents.
oddly, not alexandria ocasio-cortez or any of her squad.
The DC insiders, major media and big money donors have now gotten their wish. Their scripted messaging campaign has come to fruition. Originally, many, many, many months ago, this was the GOP messaging campaign too.....although after the donor class and media ran with it, the GOP flipped and attacked it.
Very few actual democrats wanted this and now we get to see if ignoring the voters and following this planned script is actually a good idea. Nobody actually knows, but it is good for ratings and gives the election season more zing! And thats what really counts.
That's the first time I've seen two-thirds described as "very few." The voters were ahead of the media on this.
Dumping Biden was absolutely a risky move and we may still end up losing. (And personally, I think if we're going to take that risk, we should get our money's worth; pick the candidate we truly think has the best chance to win, not the one who's next in line. Dem leaders should be actively recruiting alternative candidates and encouraging them to throw their hats in the ring. We should have learned our lesson about coronations by now.)
But sometimes there are no good options, only less-bad ones.
"She may not be perfect, but on short notice she's the best they have."
Don't compare her to perfect. Compare her to the alternative. And anyone at this moment in time who can successfully defend the idea that she won't be a great president knows something I don't know.