Never mind the pandemic that has killed over 100,000 Americans or a racial time bomb caused by the police officer killing an African American... gotta get out there to campaign and collect contributions...
Well, yeah, I commented on this earlier. Overall, it’s fair game. She’s a finalist for VP and thorough vetting is expected. As you’ve pointed out, she has a somewhat shaky history on race relations - justified or not, it’s an issue that keeps coming up. I just have a problem with crap journalism that overlooks details, creates false connections and pokes fires just to get clicks. I wasn’t speaking to this issue as a whole; just to that link that was posted last night. This all boils down to an optics battle that she is badly losing, and you’re right - it will probably cost her any chance she had at being picked by Biden. Fortunately for the people condemning her, though, she’s a workhorse that will continue to fight on. While they’re calling her a racist or whatever, she’s been busy expanding vote-by-mail, pushing for election security measures, helping secure $400M for the CARES Act, $47M for domestic violence survivors, raising awareness to how Covid is taking a toll on rural communities and various other measures to help rural and Black communities. She’s also met with many leaders in the Black community since dropping out and has seemed genuinely interested with understanding why they rejected her in the primary.
A minor point in the scheme of things but who is paying for all these tests? Is this what Kushner meant when he said "our stockpiles"?
Such BS that everyone has to be tested before attending, yet he expects people to stand in lines to vote, or that he expects others to feel safe getting back to work and school. He ensures he tests anyone who comes near him. What a self-centered hypocrite.
I'll start by saying that I like Amy Klobuchar a lot. I support her as a Senator and, in fact, I actually love her as a Senator. In the relatively distant past I'd even hoped she might run for president one day. I know her heart is in the right place and that she's done a great lot of good. And she's been very successful in attracting moderate Republicans and Independents to her/our cause and that counts for a lot. We're extremely lucky to have her, for all sorts of reasons. And I don't think she's a racist at all. But, when it comes to considering her as a running mate, I think her record as prosecutor is problematic enough to be disqualifying. Now... that was a different time and, 20 years ago, maybe her record didn't look as bad as it does in today's environment. In other words, maybe the "optics" weren't as bad. But I don't think any candidate for anything would ever want to say, "Yeah, that's what I did, but people didn't think it was that big of a deal at the time." Especially in matters of race relations and police brutality. So Klobuchar owns up to her mistakes there. Is that enough for me? It doesn't matter. I'm not a black voter. And I'm not a black voter in 2020. To use a word that's been tossed around a lot lately, the notion of a "sympatico" running mate was the primary argument for Biden to select Klobuchar. It meant that they were on the same page. They really like each other and that really does matter. They share a moderate ideology and a likable approach to politics--they're both happy warriors. They're both good at reaching across the aisle and getting things done that way. So those were some of the good arguments for choosing her--that she'd fit well with Biden and govern well with him. For a time, that had her in the top 3 or even in the lead. And of course Minnesota was a reason to select her too. But that was before Minnesota was burning. Just as Biden's "then you ain't black" gaffe makes it more likely that he'll choose a running mate of color, the situation in MN paired with Klobuchar's record as a prosecutor makes it significantly less likely she'll be his pick. The greatest threat to Biden's election right now is the enthusiasm gap. Right now we're not fearful enough about that. Biden's ahead in the polls because there are more Biden voters than Trump voters. But Trump's voters are significantly more motivated. That was the case in 2016 too. So we can't afford to give important Democratic voting blocs, like black or progressive voters, a reason to stay home. We need to give them a reason to be excited. Right now Biden isn't polling well enough in either bloc to win. Trump's base will show up--they're rock solid. But the Democratic base is black voters and progressive voters, so he needs to do better with both groups than he is now. Questions of fair or not fair don't enter into this. It's math. Klobuchar doesn't help Biden in either area and she harms him in both. In fact, she's the last choice of both groups. But, even if we imagine that black and progressive voters will turn out in force and pull the lever because they badly want to beat Trump, that isn't good enough. We need enthusiastic voters because enthusiastic voters spread the word, they volunteer, they donate, they help to GOTV. Right now black and progressive voters are saying, "It's not good enough to be an alternative to Trump--I need you to show me something. I need you to see me and give me a reason to be excited about voting for you." So is Klobuchar "bad?" I don't think so. I actually think she's great. Just not as Biden's running mate. If she is Biden's running mate, I don't think it's an exaggeration to say we will lose this election.
@baller4life315, that was way too longwinded and argumentative than was warranted by your post. Sorry about it. I should have stuck with indica.
Not wanting to insult the idea of "write in candidates" or even "no vote is a vote", but in this election we really have two choices... reelect donald trump or vote for the other candidate. That other candidate is Joe Biden this year. In 2016, the two candidates were trump and Clinton. We saw how that worked out. This year, America can't afford to make that mistake again. Its really four more years of this, or Biden. In 2024, there will be another opportunity to vote for Sanders, or Warren, or Yang, or ted cruz or nikki haley or whoever else you really wanted this year.
I don't think Republicans and small government is as much the norm anymore, especially considering the most recent EO. You vote straight Republican, and by 2024, you may see a totally different country. I'd urge you to, at the very least, vote out the President, who is not a Republican, but a self-serving sycophant.
All good and I didn’t get that vibe! We’re on the same page in that we both recognize she’s not going to be his VP choice at this point, and that voter enthusiasm should supersede all other factors. Hell, I’ve argued in the past for Biden picking Abrams for that very reason. Setting aside Russian interference, the Comey letter and other factors that tipped the election to Trump - Trump won in 2016 because his approval rating was higher in swing states than it was nationally. For an election that came down to the margins, that’s a critical factor. Between that and the goal of reaching 270, I definitely understand the appeal of Klobuchar as his running mate. A targeted approach makes a lot of sense, and as a running mate, nobody is better suited to help attack those margins and peel back those non-college, white working class voters that carried him in 2016. Obviously, that’s very unlikely now and Jim Clyburn pretty much hit the nail on the head: “We are all victims sometimes of timing….This is very tough timing for Amy Klobuchar, who I respect so much,” Clyburn told reporters. When asked directly if Klobuchar’s chances at the nomination were diminished, Clyburn said, “that is the implication, yes,” although he added that Klobuchar “absolutely is qualified” to be vice president. I think it’s very obvious he’s going to pick a Black female at this point. Warren is the wildcard, but I think with each passing day it’s becoming more evident the timing will dictate the need to go in that direction.
A sobering read... The Most Mendacious President in U.S. History On Trump, his Twitter lies, and why it’s getting worse. By Susan B. Glasser May 29, 2020 On Sunday, on Tuesday, and again on Wednesday, President Donald Trump accused the TV talk-show host Joe Scarborough of murder. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, he attacked the integrity of America’s forthcoming “rigged” election. When he woke up on Wednesday, he alleged that the Obama Administration had “spied, in an unprecedented manner, on the Trump Campaign, and beyond, and even on the United States Senate.” By midnight Wednesday, a few hours after the number of U.S. deaths in the coronavirus pandemic officially exceeded a hundred thousand, the President of the United States retweeted a video that says, “the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat.” This is not the first time when the tweets emanating from the man in the White House have featured baseless accusations of murder, vote fraud, and his predecessor’s “illegality and corruption.” It’s not even the first time this month. So many of the things that Trump does and says are inconceivable for an American President, and yet he does and says them anyway. The Trump era has been a seemingly endless series of such moments. From the start of his Administration, his tweets have been an open-source intelligence boon, a window directly into the President’s needy id, and a real-time guide to his obsessions and intentions. Misinformation, disinformation, and outright lies were always central to his politics. In recent months, however, his tweeting appears to have taken an even darker, more manic, and more mendacious turn, as Trump struggles to manage the convergence of a massive public-health crisis and a simultaneous economic collapse while running for reëlection. He is tweeting more frequently, and more frantically, as events have closed in on him. Trailing in the polls and desperate to change the subject from the coronavirus, mid-pandemic Trump has a Twitter feed that is meaner, angrier, and more partisan than ever before, as he amplifies conspiracy theories about the “deep state” and media enemies such as Scarborough while seeking to exacerbate divisions in an already divided country. Strikingly, this dark turn with the President’s tweets comes as he is using his Twitter feed as an even more potent vehicle for telling his Republican followers what to do—and they are listening. Just this week, amid the Scarborough-murder libels, about the accidental 2001 death of a young woman who worked for him, Trump tweeted out that he was now against the reauthorization of the federal wiretapping authorities in the fisa bill. Immediately, Republican lawmakers in Congress who had until that point supported it suddenly refused to vote in its favor. Bowing to the reality that some Republican votes were needed by the House’s Democratic majority in order to pass the measure, Speaker Nancy Pelosi reluctantly withdrew the bill from consideration. On Thursday, she mocked her G.O.P. colleagues for shifting on the basis of a “twinkle of a tweet” from Trump. He is now wielding actual and not just rhetorical power via social media. And he knows it. Read the rest at the link if you're interested...
Side note: I’ve been in Louisville for the past couple of days. The anti-McConnell tv advertising has been quite refreshing. Candidate Amy McGrath and the Lincoln Project are absolutely flooding the airwaves with ads hitting McConnell from all angles. I know it’s a long shot but one can dream!
Most of my “he was better than Hillary” friends use that as their excuse for voting for Trump. That or “Democrats dont respect the constitution”. I’ve had so much fun trolling them lately.
Great post. And when I used the word "math" in my last post, I ought to have used the word "timing." Clyburn is so wise and I agree with every word he said and every word that you said in your post. And I absolutely agree that Klobuchar is qualified for the job. If there were a woman of color that I thought was as well suited (or nearly as well suited) to helping with the enormous recovery we're facing now, I'd support her. I really want to support a woman of color. To me though, the "timing" of the pandemic and everything it's caused, calls for an Elizabeth Warren. Warren would excite progressives and young voters. She wouldn't excite black voters like a black running mate. But black voters too have a high estimation of Warren. Not as high as a woman of color, but still high. But, if it isn't her, as I've said before, I'd be almost equally happy if Biden created a czar-like position for her to oversee the economic recovery, the inequities that led to the economic crisis being as bad as it is (esp. for disenfranchised Americans), and the health and safety recovery. I freaking love Stacey Abrams, but I think she's a wild card. If Biden selects a woman of color, my first choice would be Susan Rice. Either way, I'd prefer to see Kamala Harris on the SC than on the ticket.
Agreed on all points. Not sure why Susan Rice isn’t higher on the rankings of some of the experts. She checks off so many boxes. The only drawback would be the inevitable disinformation campaign Trump and the RNC would run against her. So many fake scandals (Benghazi, surveillance, etc) for them to exploit. Everyone has baggage, of course, but the connection to Obama would be the fake scandal we would never hear the end of. Biden might opt to avoid that altogether. Regardless, I think she’s the dark horse in the VP race. If I were a guessing man I’d venture to say she’s #2 on Biden’s shortlist (behind Kamala). The one I can’t figure out is Val Demings. She’s skyrocketed to #2 on Election Betting Odds. No disrespect to Demings, but she’s been in Congress for like 3 years, and I think if Biden is going to pick a Black female he has to be very careful to not obviously pander. Not sure how you pick her and argue that’s not the case. Maybe she improves his chances in Florida, but I haven’t seen any polling or data to indicate she improves his chances there. I’m open to being sold on her, though. That said, I’ve argued in favor of picking Abrams in the past and it would be the same case. Biden might have to defend picking an Abrams or Demings because of their lack of experience, whereas Kamala and Rice both are nationally recognized and have strong resumes. It’ll be interesting to see who he settles on. He needs to nail this pick.
