Kamala Harris isn't some perfect solution to all that ails the Democratic party. But she is basically the only other plausible option, and insisting that a white or male figure untested on the national stage is somehow a safer option is telling on your own racial and gender attitudes.
i cannot get over the basic incoherence of “harris dropped out before voting in 2020 therefore she is definitely unelectable” and then in the same breath saying “this governor who has never run a national campaign would be guaranteed to be more successful”
We can all debate whether America will elect a Black woman as president in the abstract, but will this electorate choose a sane, competent and centrist politician who is under the age of 60 instead of a convicted felon and chaos agent? I will take those odds.
Trump is unpopular. His policies are unpopular. He has never won the popular vote. His preferred candidates down ballot go down in flames. Democrats are on the right side of a highly motivating issue swing voters: abortion. Biden has struggled to take that fight to Trump. Harris won't.
Harris would inherit what has actually been a pretty successful presidency: a strong economic recovery, a track record of major legislation despite gridlock in Congress. She would be less tied to some of Biden's missteps, like his tone-deaf, lopsided handling of the crisis in Gaza.
Again: I am not saying she is some perfect vessel. I have read the articles about her dysfunctional management style, and I know she says loopy things that become memes (that isn't always a bad thing!). I am just saying that you could do a whole lot worse.
Democrats are phrasing this election as a fight for democracy. But Biden stepping down would anoint his hand-picked successor. That is not democracy. It is not even what a VP is for.
Democracy is a brokered convention. Sure, that's messy, but it has always been. When did we become afraid of that?
Chiding people for avoiding a brokered convention (aka the smoke-filled room us voting in a primary was put in place to eliminate) that a narrow group of debate hand-wringers has deemed necessary in a race that's statistically tied four months out because they're "brave" is certainly something.
Literally the job of VP is to take over in the event the president steps down or becomes unavailable.
If Biden isn't up to being a candidate, he isn't up to being president now. If he steps down, it has to be from everything.
You're right. But that's not a practical option here unless something critically damaged Harris. Especially because the delegates at the convention 100% represent only the Biden side of the party and not the whole party. It would be a mess unfortunately.
Re "brokered convention": nearly all of the DNC delegates are pledged to Joe Biden. And whoever is ultimately the nominee, those delegates and no one else will choose him/her.
Hey guys, remind us how the history of this thing goes.
Also, how's an 8-1 court sound for the rest of your lives?
We don't need a brokered convention. There was a primary and (CHALLANGER TO BIDEN) did not emerge and did not force him out.
We're ridin' with Biden. Support the guy ffs
The last brokered convention was in 1952, when Democrats nominated Adlai Stevenson, who lost. The next to last brokered convention was in 1948, when the Republicans nominated Thomas Dewey, who lost. ...
There's non-zero chance that one of the possible favorites cheated on their spouse, Rs already know this, and it will somehow matter to the national media.
As appealing as President Gretch might be, I agree w/ all you've written about Harris being Democrats' only reasonable option . . . except perhaps that African Americans would feel slighted if she were passed over. Haven't Black communities & leaders seemed more committed to Biden than to Harris?
Idk, I’d be pissed off about it even if I didn’t like Harris. Considering the names being thrown around as alternatives, it’s clearly not about policy but “electability”.
As far as “electability,” can’t think of anyone more “electable” for non-dog-whistle who isn’t too smart to run this year.
Saying loopy things that become memes is a benefit if you’re otherwise engaging and funny. I think the vast majority of people when seeing her go off promoter think she’s … well, the polite way to say this is that she lacks confidence.
Will black women deliver another close election to Dems right after Dems give them the symbolic finger in front of the nation? Seems like that might be an impediment to victory too. Especially since nobody else you could get to do it is meaningfully different on policy.
right. “we cannot trust the person who was on a winning national ticket to win again, our only hope is someone who has never run a national campaign in any capacity and has never been vetted on the presidential scale.” word?
It's not even just the racism.
It's also that Biden has had a historically successful presidency. Forgoing that incumbency is like Al Gore running away from Bill Clinton.
I do not understand this at all. he has enabled genocide in Palestine, failed to relieve student loan debt, and nothing about my material situation is any better under his reign than Trump's. oh yeah and he ended asylum. so sick of this. he has been a terrible president.
I’m one of the people who loved Elizabeth Warren in 2019 and couldn’t see Biden having _any_ chance of winning. The primary voters flocked to Biden, and they were right! He beat Trump and his legislative record is amazing.
Given the way a good chunk of America had a full on meltdown in reaction to the last Black person that was President the ramifications of which we are still enduring, I don't think it's overly cynical or dismissive to expect the same if Harris were the top name on the ticket.
Yes but Obama won! Twice! Popular vote and electoral college! A lot of people got real mad and so we got Trump, who lost the popular vote and had been a loser ever since. Trump is weaker than he was in 2016, and the Democrats have strengths they did not have in 2016.
But Hillary Clinton lost, so some people still reeling from that fear misogyny added to racism will be too much. It may reflect their own biases, but it may also be the experience of previously underestimating voter support for sexism/racism.
Uh yeah but Dems can’t win without huge majorities among black people. They definitely can’t win with just white people. Republicans win that one every time because, speaking as a white person, most of us are fucking awful, sorry
It’s almost like Obama was the majority choice but you wouldn’t know it based on media accounts that implicitly assume only white people are Real Americans
